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American Quarter Horse Association
Rita Crundwell is seen with one of her horses at an American Quarter Horse Association event.
The chief financial officer of a small Illinois city -- a woman who had a lavish lifestyle that included a $2.1 million motor home and a horse farm -- is under arrest, accused of embezzling $30 million from the city.
Rita Crundwell, 58, was arrested Tuesday at City Hall in Dixon, Ill., the Chicago Tribune reported, and later charged with wire fraud.
Paid a salary of $80,000 a year, Crundwell spent large sums to operate her 150-horse Meri-J Ranch, as well as $340,000 on jewelry and $2.1 million on a luxury motor home, the FBI alleges in its criminal complaint.
"I guess people assumed she was making a ton of money in the horse business," the Tribune quoted Dixon Mayor James Burke as saying about her apparent wealth.
Burke went to the FBI after an employee covering for Crundwell while she was away discovered an unusual bank account with multiple six-figure transactions. The account was in the city's name but included "RSCDA" as a co-account holder, and that turned out to be Crundwell, the FBI said. Funds from the account had been withdrawn over time.
Purchases allegedly made by Crundwell with city funds include a $146,000 Kenworth truck, a $140,000 Freightliner truck, a $57,000 Chevy Silverado pickup and a $259,000 horse trailer.
Dixon, a city of 15,000 and boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan, has an annual budget of less than $9 million a year. The city has had budget cuts over the years, Burke said, but Crundwell argued some of the financial shortfalls were due to funds owed by the state.
Burke said Crundwell had worked for the city since she was a teenager and was appointed comptroller in the early 1980s.
The FBI didn't know how the $30 million compares to past cases of public embezzlement.
"We don’t keep official records or rankings of such things," FBI spokesman Royden Rice told msnbc.com. "Suffice it to say, according to the complaint, this was a very large fraud considering the size of Dixon."
Burke on Wednesday issued a statement trying to make sense of how so much money could have been embezzled.
"We realize the main question is how can someone allegedly steal 30 million dollars and get away with it for so long?" he said, and then explained that two accounting firms prepare an annual audit, while the state also reviews city documents. None ever cited "red flags," Burke said.
He added that the city will try to claim some of Crundwell's assets and it "will be interviewing and retaining a new certified public accounting firm to conduct the annual city audit."
As for Crundwell, her Meri-J Ranch says on its website that horses bred by her have won 52 world championships.
Crundwell is well known on the horse circuit, having appeared at countless shows.
Several YouTube videos by the American Quarter Horse Association relate her success raising and showing horses, and already on Wednesday some viewers were voicing their anger.
"Rita Crundwell should be banished from all (record) books and be forced to give back all trophies and of course these is no money to give back but she should be banished from all records," wrote one YouTube viewer. "The reserve winners should get their rightful earnings and trophies."
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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You can Dress Em Up..But,You Can't take them Anywhere!
Is Chicago where all the criminal politicians come from? or are they all criminals.
People get busted everyday embezzling a few grand out of billion dollar budgets, but this woman managed to milk $30 million out of a $9 million budget?
Must be the worst managed and supervised municipality in country. Also, you got to take your hats off to her - doing a little bit of dirt is icky, but after a certain level it just looks like a work of art and the kind of stuff where you need a wheelbarrow to lug your ballz around. I mean, a 2 million dollar motor home? My retirement dream is to have enough to buy a motorhome and tool around the country someday - I didn't even know there existed $2 million motorhomes - what, they have jacuzzis and swimming pools and shark tanks, and...? :D
http://www.bnd.com/2012/04/17/2144571/comptroller-in-dixon-accused-of.html
Well...MSNBC...is it 30 Million or 3.2 Million?
She has been an employee of the city since she was 18.... has a successful horse business.
Those two statements alone raise questions.
cms5: Maybe read more then the first line and title of the story.... Second paragraph of your linked article states: "A federal criminal complaint also accused Rita Crundwell of misappropriating more than $30 million since 2006 to finance a lavish lifestyle, including operating a horse farm.
Read more here: #storylink=cpy"
Looks like the city bought a profitable, award winning horse farm, and they didn't even know it. This, or we are looking at the latest patsy.
This is a prime example of why there should be term limits in every faculty of gov't (excluding the supreme court). From the local comptroller to the US Senate. She grew up in the system, learned the system, manipulated the system to her favor, and gamed the system until she accidentally got caught.
Micro economics tend to shed light on macro economics. And with the resulting cases of fraud, embezzlement, and unchecked levels of corruption throughout local economies, I can only imagine the rampant likeness in our larger state and federal governments.
Gotta love the 1%, they keep trying.
tontosh
The town is Dixon, Reagan's boyhood home ... Read Baby Read!
Thanks Shawn! My bad!
She took 3.2 M in a matter of months...shocking. Was she planning for retirement?
kimba54.1,
I don't care if it was Reagan, Obama, or any other crooked politician, Republican or Democrat, they are all crooks.
Another Illinois Republican stealing the life savings from women and old people...and kids, don't forget the kids
My question is, is the Illinois government going to recover the monies by selling off her assets or just do the usual wrist slap, bad girl, and send her to a vacation jail where she will spend the minimum time and come home all assets intact.
It's beginning to sound like we need term limits for all government employees, not just elected officials.
I must have missed the line where it said she was a Republican
1). Seize and sell off all assets and recoup as much money as possible then re-distribute it back to the tax payers that suffered for it.
2). Hang the filthy Bith on national TV as a message to the rest of the politicians across the country.
3). Throw a party.
So who's the next crook u're gonna vote for LOL
Imagine the good that could have been done for the entire population of Dixon. IL had a comptroller with the savvy to divert the equivalent of 3-1/3 years- worth of Dixon's annual budget, been coupled with a benevolent personal character.
$30 Million, invested over time in safe, interest earning investments! Maybe doubled, tripled! New state of the art teaching and learning facilities for the Dixon's children; economic development which would have expanded Dixon's tax base; infrastructure and energy conservation improvements which would have lowered Dixon's annual budget expenditures. The list is endless.
One of the perplexing things about these sort of financial scandals is that they point out that too often those who are gifted with the ability to manipulate money -- and could apply that skill either for doing great good or for committing evil -- choose the latter.
Government and corruption are synonyms, most people on the teat are stealing, one way or the other. The only partial antidote is less government. The fewer government employees, the less corruption. Hey, it's simple grade school math, why don't you understand.
Well robert, the "good" would have been not taking the money from the citizens in the first place, for sure, most of what the government gets is wasted. Government is cancer of a nation.
Phil @ 1.4
Isn't that the truth! My first question is "What took so long?"
Mr.PheaNiques: "Another Illinois Republican stealing the life savings from women and old people...and kids, don't forget the kids"
Ha, ha - I get it. You're satirizing just how a liberal can invent a "fact" and spin anything. Good one!
First rule of successful embezzlement...NEVER go on vacation EVER
Long gone are the days when people ran for office for the betterment of their community or country. Now it's all about lining their pockets. Time to @!$%# can everyone and start over.
I haven't seen anyone post "Another Obama ploy to eat the rich", ---- yet
It always amazes me that these people never know when to stop. Why would they believe it could go on forever without detection? It takes a lot of nerve for sure.
@hockey girl
You didn't miss it, it wasn't mentioned by the author of the article...but the story is on MSNBC (in ALL CAPS I might add) and Eric Holders FBI was allowed to investigate and make an arrest during an election year...how much clearer do you need it to be
i think we have a math issue here. 30 million since 2006 means she was taking 5million per year out of a 9 million budget. pretty tough not to miss over half the budget.
Who does she think she is, a US Senator?
I thought there was a war on women?
(Scratches head). did you read the article? It's in Dixon IL, NOT Chicago. Maybe you confused "Chicago Tribune" for Chicago?
This is exactly why we pay so much in taxes, fees, fines, etc. and still have @!$%#y roads @!$%#y health care @!$%#y everything. we need to start putting people like this in prison for ever.
There must be something in the water in Illinois....that's all I can say!!!
@HAHAhahaa.... So well said!!!!!!!!!!!!
If she is convicted, which is likely, they should take her house and ALL of her horses and trucks and other properties and see if they can sell them and get their money back. Then put her on a chain gang repairing roads in the state for about twenty years.
Just another crook from Illinois, gettin to be rather common, hugh??
Chicago is a democratic stronghold but the rural areas of Illinois are strongly majority republican,
first we heard about union reps in chicago, then bell california, then chicago again this kind of stuff has been going on there since the 30's probably before that. i totally believe that this kind of stuff is going on in every city in the country, there is so much money out there from taxes, interest & anyother monies collected by the government, nobody out there know's where it all is. come on people it is time for the honest, regular hard working joe to demand a stop to government getting in our face when it is them who are causing all the problems
More evidence that the 'financial services' economy created 30 years ago is a complete failure. The number of people wanting to be 'rich' keep increasing - but - the 'financial services' economy does not provide the opportunity.
How many other 'successful' people in our economy created their success by unscrupulous means? Does it matter - as long as they got theirs?
@Robert - Excellent idea - but only after being placed on a television show that publicly humiliates them (flogging?). I'm not sure it would be a deterrent, but it would all make us feel better.
She just liked to horse around on the taxpayers money.
I guess the city couldn't afford an auditor.
People are accusing Republicans because of it being the boyhood home of Reagan, well guess what the mayor of this town is a Democrat!!!
As per LUVMYFAMILY on another site:
Reading these comments, it is obvious that the vast majority of posters have NEVER been to a meeting of a government body. The incompetence at the local level is awesome. Why the hell do you think so many municipalities, districts, agencies, and the like are running in the red?
I can tell you this, none of you were there, and if you had been, you wouldn't have known any better. You elect idiots who meet for an hour or two every few weeks, get paid a few bucks, and walk around like they're important.
The smarter and more greedy of the locals, get the backing of the fatter cats, and off they go to the next highest level. Hey there brilliant posters, have you noticed a hell of a lot of government agencies anywhere, whether run by Republicans or Democrats that are running in the black?
And before you start going on about the wonders of private enterprise, I would suggest you take a look at the number of business enterprises that contract with the government and then expect to be reimbursed for cost overruns. Did I misunderstand? Is that what private enterprise competence is all about?
Until you've attended a few meetings, I would suggest you zip it. Most of you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
Do you know this to be fact that she is republican or are you just spouting off ignorant stuff to get you noticed by someone that doesn't give a crap about you?
@ IWonder,
The fewer government employees the less corruption???
It actually leads to MORE corruption. Less employees means less oversight. Remember that it was another employee who blew the whistle on this.
If it had been up to you, the work would have been stretched over too few employees and nobody would have noticed.
It's just so arrogant to think that money controls everything and is all-important.
Just exactly do you Right Wing Nuts think is going to happen if you put a couple of million government employees out on their ears? It's a population that Mittens has completely overlooked. How do you think all of those government employees feel about themselves - or better yet, the RWN - when all you all have been talking about is putting them in the bread line?
Obama '12
Biden '16 - '24 (Hey! at least you'll have a white man back in the oval office!)
But you look kind of old in your pic, so you may not live to see it.
She was a Democrat when she started working for the government. But once she got rich, she changed to Republican because she didn't like the government taking all her money. (Did I just type, "her money"?)
The writer said the woman had a successful horse farm. Hhhmmm...what time of year do you plant horses on a horse farm?
Interestingly, the horse community is generally democrats. In my discipline it is about 80 percent democrat. I work with horses every day. I have no idea who this woman was, but she sure had a FREE REIN.
danimyl;
You must be new here. Don't you know that Mr. PheaN. is a RWNJ like yourself and was only being sarcastic.
On the other hand, I did read that Rita Crundwell donated $3250 to the Republican National Committee in 2010. Dixon is considered a very RED community
Find the bitch a room next to Bernie Madoff.
I've been to Dixon. Can't imagine there being $30 million to steal. Nor can I imagine somebody getting away with that for so long in a town of that size. Mayor, ever heard of conducting regular audits?
@Silver Flyer...I like it, do mind if I use that?
For the record...I am a Fiscal / Constitutional Conservative and a Social Libertarian, who would love nothing more that to see the "D" and "R" Party put on its collective Azz...The two-party substitue for democracy is the Enemy of America and every value that once made America Great...
If you are out there, Ron or Colin or Chris or Anonymous other, And if you love America more than you love your Party, please stand up and give America a choice...It could be our last...There are more than enough D,I,Rs who still love America to reclaim the American Dream for all Americans
Nah didi, most government employees are thieves, no matter where they are.
The bigger the government, the more employees, the more employees the more thieves. It's as simple as 1, 2, 3.
Ask youself, did that little town need her position?
How could she get away with scarfing up so much money from such a small community?
City officials were busy looking for evil smokers in their midst to "save money" instead of auditing this slag maybe? ;>)
Seriously, the entire city leadership should step down for sheer incompetence- except for the person who tweaked onto the thefts and reported it. They should elect that person god for their city.
I really have a problem "understanding" how she got away with this for so long in a city government. Apparently they just trusted her word for everything. I'm commander for a local veterans group and we have a set-up that requires 2 signatures to even make a check valid for cashing. We saw too many organizations (and governments!) in which a trusted Treasurer couldn't/wouldn't keep their hands out of the till, so to speak. To protect our organization from any similar fate in the future we set up the 2 signature authorization system with our bank. We debated 3 signatures but decided that would be overkill and just cause delays more than help. Any city treasurer should need at least 2 signatures to conduct any city business. Then this would NEVER have happened without the crime being immediately obvious. Plus, that city should have had an audit done by an outside agency every year to make sure their books were good. This was sheer incompetence at work.
Mr.PheaNiques, you have obviously never been to Illinois, let alone to Dixon. Dixon is a democrat stronghold in Lee County. The area is very union oriented, 3 out of 4 of the city commissioners are former union members or union officers. The mayor is democrat. The city council is majority democrat. The comptrollers position is appointed. About the only republican in town is the sheriff. Better to keep silent and be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt.
I guess i need to turn up the volume on my sarcasm emitter
GREED GREED GREED.. Prison for all.
#1- this lady CFO..steals $30 million... a wopper (reason told- nobody was watching)
#2- The nations watchdogs (GSA)..spends almost a $ million or more for partying. (reason told-its not our money)
#3- Lady hits the lottery for a $ million and still collected food stamps. (reason told-I'm not working)
#4- 61 DC workers fired for collecting unemployment funds and working too. reason told- none-just idiots)
#5- Mitt Romney closes his Swiss bank account of $20 million, two weeks before the Feds ask the bank for US account holders names. (reason told-NONE-but refueses to show his 2012 income tax return)
Long list but..you get the point.
This does not add up. Wait, the truth is elusive. Robin Hood bandits are rare because they become well known quickly, ending their game. That's to the one who wished she'd put the money to local use. Of course, the local government not only did not put the money to good use, apparently they weren't even careful to track it.......
Will crundwell bolt to israel? If so, will they return her or offer her sanction for one of their "pricetags"??
9 million city budget and she scammed 30 million over the years............the elected officials are not the sharpest apparantly. I mean she has stolen over 3 years of city budgets.
What.....this happened in Illinois ? I can't believe it. There are NO crooks in Illinois, especially Chicago, right ? I thought something like this only happened in Louisiana or on the beltway.
Yep, these city administrators aren't the sharpest tacks in the box.
She would look great on a wanted poster with Blagojevich. /sarcasm/
People in Illinois expect their public servants to steal from them. There's even a special prison wing for convicted ex-governors.
I guess they can throw that old saying "Its hard to get rich in a small town..everybody is watching" out the door!
I'd give up seven, ten, or even 15 years in the pen for 30mil. That's better than the 40 years I'm estimated to work before retiring.
My first thoughts, exactly, gtouch, that the elected officials weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. Then, I started thinking - I was a City treasurer and financial analyst for a small CA city that had a general fund budget of around $30 M every year. There was no way possible to hide a separate bank account and we were audited every year. Something is wrong with this story...I cannot believe that it was just one person with the lack of oversight and internal controls. She had to have co-conspirators inside city government.
Unless, of course...the state of Illinois doesn't require yearly audits from its local agencies - but even still.
Gtouch, that is one way, and the correct one, of looking at it. I'm thinking they should put her in charge of all the finanaces. She took 9 million and turned it into 30 million. Freakin deserves a raise if you ask me. But yeah, she needs go to jail anyway.
myspellcheckerisbroken.......or at least run for governor.
She's a republican you stupid teabagger.
Where did it say she was a Republican? I didn't see any mention of political persuasion? Usually when that leave that out.....it's because the are registered Democrats. Republicans in Illinois are fairly rare....especially anywhere near Chicago.
@J-DOGGIN
spend just 6 months in prison then let me know if you still feel that way. i have been and no amount of money promised to me upon release would get me to go back.
@Just Wondering-There have been auditors and presently the auditor that did last years is not commenting...there has to be more than a few people in on this scheme...and we cant repair our old veterans memorial pool for the kids that costs like 2 mil because we have no money to do so...the kids last year even went petitioning and to OPARAH and Extreme Makeover to try to get help to no avail, and shes ebmezzling this money...SHAME
@J-Doggin
Prison is a mother@!$%#er. I would be willing to bet that you would give back that 30 million after about a week. I know I would.
@Kate - hopefully your town won't have to go on for long without restitution - the assets will be seized and subject to the jurisdiction of the court and probation. Maybe by next year the kids will have the swimming pool renovated depending on how long the judiciary process goes on. Maybe she will plead out and the assets will be released very soon. At least, it doesn't sound like all was lost at the gambling tables - a horse farm and related properties could be liquidated pretty fast.
For the horse farm and horses alone, you could probably get back almost half the amount! Never mind all the rest of the stuff! :-(
BishopMittis666, you are suspended for a day for violating rule # 1 of the Code of Honor.
Sally
Now that is a first time I have seen a comment with 'you stupid teabagger' in it get banned. Congratulations for a job well done.
Hey thats where John Saville works, he stolen millions from people in Crystal Lake and only got a slap on the wrist by serving seven years...
Sounds like JASON VORHEES needs to re-visit Crystal lake with his trusted machete.
WOW........that's all I have to say is just.......WOW!!
Oh the irony (and justice)....this article expose' just a day after the article about how women do not have equal pay as males.
Seems women are just as unethical and ruthless as "those bastard men" who've put down women for centuries...
I want to see what a 2.1 million dollar motorhome looks like. The high luxury motorhomes (around 42 feet) rival the cost of my condo at around $150K, I can't imagine what a multi-million dollar one looks like.
gimme..yes, that's why we deserve equal pay! ;)
A slap on the wrist, time served in a country club prison and she will be out in no time and enjoying that money she stashed away in some account in the Bahamas or some other place.
Yep. The money is offshore and she'll be out in a few years and then GONE.
Bunch of rocket scientists in that town for sure!
Surprise--corruption in Illinois.
They've never had that problem before have they?
Ever been to AZ? That place makes Chicago look like a bunch of saints.
WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE JUMPING ON THE CITIZENS OF ILLINOIS? THESE TYPES OF CRIMES ARE NOT JUST THE ILLINOIS WAY... THEY ARE THE WAY OF AMERICA! Politicians and government employees have been stealing from citizens in every state of this nation. Don't act like it does not happen in other states besides, Illinois. Don't act as if does not happen in YOUR state, as well! it does!
ALL politicians have been using their posts to make a profits. Illinois is getting the bad rep because of their Govenors and mayors of a big city. But look at who we elect to any office. They are elected when they are rich and get richer the longer they stay in office, then get paid a retirement for the rest of their lives. With full medical. Not bad for 4 years or even 8 years. Try to get that at any other job. And what do they do for that, NOTHING except raise taxes for the Middle class and poor. Mean while they make sure the companies they have stock in don`t pay taxes and make huge profits. How do they know which stock will make the best to buy?? Thats easy insider trading.Something that is illegal for the rest of us. Plus when a oil company wants to drill on public land, its OK so long as they pay a kick back. Look at the pipe line that was suppose to make jobs. It would be fine if they changed their route. Instead its going to the coast wheree they will sell the oil to China. Some friendly country. Why do you think the Republicans are complaining about it? Not because of the oil but they lost money on the deal.
While it is true this is not just an Illinois problem, the State Auditor should have caught the misdeeds long before she reached 30 million. The question now is, who at the Auditor's office will be blamed.
Surprise, corruption in government! No wait, what am I saying, government is corruption.
Say on george, governments are corrupt, where ever they are. 15,000 how much government do they need, is it wiping their butts?
tie her to a horse and drag her until the horse can't run anymore.
Why hurt the horse? Just tie her to that $57,000 Silverado she bought and let "Horse power" do the job...
No city auditor? Such a small town and nobody took notice of the lifestyle this lady was living? There must be a brain drain in the town.
Nobody questioned why a multi millionair was working long hours to bring home $80,000 a year? I guess it's the same reason Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid make millions every year being civil servants.
Actually Harry was a very successful lawyer before being an civil servant. Don't know about Nancy
According to this mornings article in the paper, Dixon does get audits and the one who did last years will not comment
Nancy's husband is a bank unto himself. Very fat cat $$$.
Is anyone really surprised that this is Illinois? Pretty much business and politics as usual there.
First, what a bunch of idiots in that town - that size, that budget, and only NOW they notice something fishy? I suspect more corruption than just her!
Second - seize ALL of her assets, sell them off, and reimburse the city.
Of course, we all know what will happen. Probably nothing. She'll get attorneys and tie this up for a decade and the city will get nothing back. Then they'll lock her up and the taxpayers will cover her health care.
She may win either way!
Suckers!
Where were the auditors all these years? Anyway, all her possessions should be seized and sold to pay back a piece of waht she stole.
The city should go after the auditor when they get done with her.
$259,000 for a HORSE trailer?
Yeah ...it had heated stalls for a team of 8 horses...DishTV....and water and food troughs made from gold
Just kidding...but yeah I would not doubt some of the newer horse trailers can/do cost upwards of 150,000$,it depends on the size
Yup....very nice trailer!
yeah, it even had an automatic pooper scooper built in to it for cleaning
Those Horse trailers they pull behind Semis are not cheap. Showing horses at this level is an expensive proposition. You would be surprised at the number of $1 million Plus Motor homes at some of the big shows. It is certainly a rich persons game.
Duane: It sure is expensive, always was....The Sport of Kings, dont'ca know!
Not surprised that this is a horse person that did it.
jake you are making a huge generalization toward horse people.
Ovomit is doing this to the country, what about that ?
now your blaming Obama sheeesh,look at what the Gop is doing to this country and stop watching and reading these right wing media outlets do the research yourself you'll find the truth about whats really going on.Big money is fooling the gullible period.The truth hurts.Romney should own a shoe store he sells flip flops and some people want to buy em in every color.
You're both being thick.
Republicans and Democrats are both crooks. If you are only pointing the finger at one party while blindly believing everything the other party says then you are part of the problem.
You people are so f'ing boring. Can't you come up with anything new? I've never seen such a large group of people so afraid of 1 individual since WWII.
I do wonder what her political affiliation is...?
John Clinto - simply put - you're an idiot. And Dixon IL - btw is Republican country.....
If she was Republican I'm sure NBC would have led with that.
She's a republican you dopey teabagging moron.
john clinton; can you please show us the proof that Pres. Obama is stealing from the nation?
either that or stop your stupid comments on the President of the United States. Our taking advantage of the freedom to speech is just pathetic. We ought to be grateful that we can come online and say whatever we choose. And yet, we choose to come on and bash our Commander-in-chief.... what a nation?
Well he did promise CHANGE. This is the CHANGE. Live with it. What's a few Security Forces fiasco's. Government (billions) Overspending. Lavish Parties in Las Vegas and a few thousand other things that add up to trillions in debt. So much for what WE ALL thought the CHANGE would mean. Like I said, these are facts! Live with it!
The appalling lack of ethical behavior of folks in government is infuriating.
We need a special form of justice for these crooks who steal from every person in the community.
The town of Dixon IL also needs to re-think their financial controls, which are apparently absent at this time.
I'd like to know what her polictical affilliation is anyone know ?
Really? This is what you're concerned with? What possible difference would it make?
She was appointed, not elected. It really doesn't matter which political party she votes for.
Except that she thought she was "Entitled" to everyone else money! Sound familiar? It's a mindset....
:...It's a mindset...."
Kinda like you're a moron.
That part of Illinois is GOP country. She has REPUBLICAN written all over her.
She's just a typical crook, makes no difference. I wonder if anyone in the top income brackets make a legitimate living.
Boromir: How about...
...Warren Buffet
...Bill Gates
...Steve Jobs (RIP)
...Paul Allen
...Michael Dell
... oh, forget it. Your mind was already made up.
Stop hating on the 1%, pick yourself up and do something productive (not you, specifically, Boromir).
Burke said Crundwell had worked for the city since she was a teenager and was appointed comptroller in the early 1980s.
Can we please edit our stories and try spell check? bush league editing...
You know what they say about glass houses and throwing stones.
If "comptroller" is the word you mean, it is correct. Strangely enough, "controller" is the pronunciation.
Ms. Opinion: "...and was appointed comptroller in the early 1980s."
Can we please edit our stories and try spell check? bush league editing..."
I hate to tell you but there's nothing "bush league" about this. The word, "comptroller" is absolutely correct. Google dictionary and see:
"The primary difference between "Controller" and "Comptroller" is in the word itself. That is to say, there is no real distinction outside the terminology. Each position is generally a senior management title for an individual who is in charge of an organization's financial accounting."
Just saying....
"A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization." see:
Okay, that just made it all worthwhile. LOL
I would have to suggest that the Mayor and others are pretty fkn stupid "IF" these Allegations are true!! But what she won while studding and showing horses has nothing to do with the allegations
The whole state is stupid. New York has problems but our State Comptroller audits city budgets and expenditures to keep the crooks semi honest. Can you just imagine if Obama has his way and the Olympics is held in Chicago?
She was using the money she was stealing from the city to pay for studding and showing horses. That's how the two are related.
Nobody has the money to stable/feed/care for 150 horses on $80,000 a year.
I feel the same way. Unless she was paying people off, whatever she won was genuinely won, and she can keep the trophies. If the allegations are true, that's all she'll have left after paying restitution and perhaps sitting in jail for awhile.
That part is clear, but what john d is referring to is the winning has nothing to do with her stealing money. She could have loss and it wouldn't change anything.
If I were to steal money from the city, and used it to buy lottery tickets, would I still be entitled to the winnings?
Scuba
think about it for a minute. If it was drug money, would u be entitled to keep all your assets. NO! Money gotten illegal is not yours to spend so whatever u gain from it is not legally yours
@rkb
I think we are arguing the same point. I believe that she should be stripped of her winnings from any horse shows because she was only able to participate in those shows by stealing the money.
It is a direct result of her alleged "sticky fingers". Without the money she would not have gotten anywhere near the gained status and she would have not been in any position to win. I agree that if convicted, she should be stripped off all trophies, medals, etc. Besides, she won't be needing them where she is going (if convicted, of course).
I am trying to figure out how she got past the state board audits. Unbelievable.
Either she knows someone or they have an odd definition of audit there.
Sounds like this f l o o z y was living "high on the hawg", and just didn't know when to stop her scamming. Maybe a few years in the pokey might teach her a few things.
When is it enough? $30 Million Dollars and no one else in Town Hall noticed? That doesn't say much about that Town now does it. I wonder how much cash our Secret Service has spent on hookers and booze over the years does anyone care to guess? I guarantee you it's a helluva lot more than that. Forget about it. Obama is a thief as well how much did that African Safari he and his tribe took cost us taxpayers? There you go it's no surprise and it goes on all the time. Stick it to em every chance you get that's what i say!!
Agreed. After $25m is missing no one saw any flags?
I read your comment in the voice of Stewie.
If you havent noticed most small towns are run by nepotism, protectionism, and cronism.
Who is going to call each other out?
U can pretty much say that about most presidents. Clinton had mediocre income and assets prior to being elected and just after he left, he was a millionaire many times over.
Clinton made tons on books and speaking. He was an incredibly popular president, people are willing to pay to read his thoughts or hear him speak.
Now every government employee is going to blamed for this. Bring it on repukes.
Plus you do realize this is the conservative part of Illinois.
30 Million over how many years? Geeze
No audit policies in place?
30 Million??!
Thats the problem, I think the states do audit the towns, so I am trying to figure out how this happened.
If I'm reading another article correctly...she took 3.2M in a matter of months.
She was probably best buddies with the State auditor.
*cough* Republican!
Another republican stealing from the people.
Show me a career politician of ANY party and I'll show you a thief!
True, but how many of those politicians/thieves steal while spewing about "family values"? Of course, they could be talking about Mafia families.
First, she was in an appointed position. Second it doesn't say any where in the article what party she is affiliated with. Third, your precious Democrats aren't any better. They have lied, cheated and stole just as much as the republicans. Hell one of them even redefined what was and wasn't considered sex while he was in office. Remember that whole little blue dress and cigar issue a few years back.
Yes, just like the former governor, Blowjobovich...he wasn't corrupt...nah...
"I am not a crook"~Richard Nixon
Ahhhh, hate to break it to you, Democrats steal, too.(I am a dem.)
Obama/Biden 2012!
Is it me, or does the horse look better than her?
It is a nice looking horse.
Have to check the teeth on the horse first.
Was thinking the same thing. It took me a few minutes of reading after looking at the pic that they were talking about a woman not a man.
You know non of the money was spent on plastic surgery..
The horse does look better than her. "Rode hard and put away wet"---so to speak.