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Robert Ray / AP file
Rita Crundwell, former comptroller for Dixon, Ill., leaving federal court in May 2013. Crundwell was sentenced Thursday to nearly 20 years in prison.
A former bookkeeper for a cash-strapped Illinois city, who admitted embezzling $53 million to finance a lavish lifestyle centered on prize-winning horses, was sentenced Thursday to almost 20 years in prison.
Rita Crundwell, 60, wept as she apologized to the city of Dixon, which couldn't even get its rusted dump trucks replaced or cut grass at the cemetery while its funds were being diverted to a secret account she controlled for two decades, NBCChicago.com reported.
Crundwell pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud in connection with the scheme. Her lawyer asked for a more lenient sentence of 13 to 16 years, but the judge wasn't in a forgiving mood.
“You showed a much greater passion for the welfare of your horses than you did for the people of Dixon who you represented,” U.S. District Judge Philip Reinhard said as he shaved just five months off the maximum sentence of 20 years.
The breath-taking theft underwrote Crundwell's extravagances: two horse farms that produced 52 world champions, a $2 million motor home, a Ford Thunderbird convertible and $340,000 worth of jewelry.
She sobbed as she left the courtroom -- after a parade of municipal officials testified about she stonily rebuffed their requests for funds with the claim that Dixon, the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan, just didn’t have the money.
The small city, in farm country about two hours from Chicago, had to borrow $3 million to pay its bills.
“She saw city employees every day that gone over two years without raises because of her theft,” Mayor Jim Burke said.
Agency head Michael Stichter recounted how Crundwell rejected his requests for equipment and told him, "If you knew where a money tree was, I'd be willing to get you a dump truck."
Prosecutors say Crundwell raided Dixon's coffers by creating phony invoices for bogus supplies and services. She used city funds to pay the "bills," and the money went into an account that she had set up under an official-sounding name.
When she took a long vacation in 2011, her replacement uncovered the irregularities and the FBI was brought in. In recent months, the feds have been auctioning off her assets to reimburse the city.
But the city won’t recover most of what was lost, and Crundwell’s greed is still costing the government money: the U.S. Marshals service has already spent $1.7 million to care for her beloved horses.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
View more videos at: http://nbcchicago.com.
This story was originally published on Thu Feb 14, 2013 1:46 PM EST
Leave a Comment:
i bet shes a Liberal, Anyone wanna take that bet.
I know she is a d.a.! She got greedy and needed a long vacation which was her demize. Thank goodness the judge did not buy her crocodile tears.
Amen Lisa!!!
How irritating! They should show a photo of her and not one of her prize horses!!!
@Robert D Clarkson, the only ones I know dumb enough and greedy enough to do what she did are members of the "Tea Party". You can bank on it! :P
Well, according to the voting data, Dixon votes Republican almost 52 percent, Dems 46 percent, and Independents 2 percent. Chances are she is a Republican, especially with the horse farms, wonder if she had dressage?
This info is specifically for the moronic comment of Rob Clarkson. It does not matter whether this despicable woman is a Dem or a Rep. I am glad that her ass is in prison for the next 20 years. What, I wonder, would your comment be if they had disclosed that she is a Republican? My bet would be that you probably would not have commented, period.
Lisa. All people are sorry after they get caught. They are only sorry that they got caught.
ALaskaGirl,
Well put. Bobby is just one of your typical whiny teabaggers that is still crying up a storm that 'Mittens' didn't get elected.
You were very eloquent. I won't be.
Robert, you're a troll and a total douche. Feel sorry for anyone that has to live or be around you. Now go cry yourself to bed and get a diaper change.
She won't be horsing around any more! They ought to put her on a prison work farm for life.
I'll take that bet Robert D. Clarkson. I live 3 miles from her farm. Oh and by the way, this is Ronald Reagan's home town, she's total a Republican. This is a Republican town from hell. But anyway, thanks for playing.
Thank you, tombones.
I think you described Robert very well. Accuracy counts!
Thomas, Illinois: I read the Reagan thing as well(and I believe she is a Repub.), but figured it would taint my argument and the righties would self-combust at the mere mention of their God, Ronnie Raygun! HA!
It's difficult to enjoy these comment sections anymore; too many make ignorant political statements that have nothing to do with the article. That's why America is in rapid decline; more and more Americans are out in left field with no clue about anything.
If she worked for the Federal goverment, this would be acceptable; she would get re-elected; and even retire with a great pension...... while us working stiffs would pay the bill.
I thought maybe she was Charlie Rangles Play pal! Oh well one politican is as bad as another.
I wonder how long anyone of us would get if we were to rob a bank? She should NEVER be able to get out.
Robby Clarkson is just a FOX troll. Pay no attention to him.
This Bitch should have received 50 years with NO parole. As it is she will probably get out after 12. Then she can grab all the cash she has stashed and head for the boarder. Worthless.
Nope.. This is a Republican thing, trust me..
Wow...serious pi$$ing match going on here.
The fact remains that she seemed to screw everyone in her community equally. Makes you wonder how many people who relied on those city funds suffered because of her greed.
I don't think the judge should have taken anything off of her sentence.
5-9 years per dollar. Bankers punishment!
BITCH!
Jail time ??
on OUR dollars AGAIN ?
SCREW THAT !!!
Strip her of her Citizenship & walk her to the Mexican Border
& NEVER let her back into OUR country ....
deport her to Syria, Venezuela, Cuba or Pluto...
just toss herazz like the garbage it is ..!!
Mister Fids, that idea is extreme and radical. I was going to suggest life in prison, but I like your idea way more, in fact I love it. Let's combine our two ideas, and tell her she has a month to find another country to accept her or face life in prison. I don't think other countries would take it too kindly to us sending our convicted criminals to live there.
I just spent about an hour researching if she is republican or democrat mainly because I want to end the pointless discussion focusing on that, since she's a criminal and anyone with a brain knows criminals can be any political affiliation. I searched the RNC and DNC donor lists and she is not on either, I checked facebook for comments she may have made related to politics and found nothing of the sort, I searched to see if she was ever on a ballot and she wasn't because she was appointed. However I did find that she was appointed by a republican, which proves nothing but leans towards her being a republican. Anyways, 100 years from now democrats and republicans will be like Shiites and Sunnis, keep working hard to accomplish that wonderful goal.
Robert D Clarkson is an idiot. Anyone want to take that bet?
I'm guessing MENSA doesn't hold their convention in Dixon.....you have to be pretty dumb to not see $53M going the wrong way even if it was over two decades.
Or work for the Federal Government :-}
This happens in so many organizations. A TRUE annual audit by a firm that has no ties to the organization be audited should be performed in every city/county/township in this country. More fraud is going on under everyone's nose that anyone wants to admit. If the person doing the fraud is of the race represented in the organization, cheerful, happy, fun, etc. people turn a blind eye away for their suspicions.
This goes for all non-profits and tribes, tribal organizations and churches. This type of crime shouldn't be a slap on the wrist - if it was someone poor they usually get more of a sentence than someone who is rich. Someone who is attractive gets longer sentences than someone who isn't. Someone who is a minority gets longer sentences than someone who isn't.
Board members and elected officials should be held accountable for not putting in place appropriate controls.
Twenty years ? she should have gotten twenty centuries !
It's sad to see how basic principles are ignored in light of the perception that "oh, he/she would never abuse their privileges - they've been in their position for so long and we wouldn't want to offend them by putting a system of checks and balances in place or having a performance audit done!"
Forced vacation is an integral part of a sound internal control system. So is segregation of duties such as authorization of transactions, recording of transactions, and custody of assets. These both could have prevented this from happening. I say COULD because any system is circumventable through collusion, but when you have >1 individual involved the ruse typically lasts only a few years.
Hopefully other small towns will learn from this cautionary tale and take a closer look at their own oversight.
steve you are so correct - also any organization that doesn't have "independent" auditors and others who aren't related to the staff after or during every budget period are asking for trouble.
I suggest all townships, county gov's, non-profits, tribes, tribal programs and churches demand these audits. These organizations are ripe for the picking no matter who the party is.
The Executive Board sure has some explaining to do, especially the Trustee's and Auditors who are responsible for keeping the Treasurer honest. For the fact that she gets to spend less than 20 years for 53M is an insult to the rest of us, sure sounds like our legal system takes these crimes very lightly.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely which is why checks and balances are needed.
This town did not utilize those checks and balances.
20 years? Really? It's not a if she went just a little overboard. She's been robbing us blind. Oh yeah she cries when she is caught... how about the rest of the country crying our eyes out...in debt... no jobs... this is a very sorry excuse for a person. And to think drug charges can be so harsh... or mild theft.
Our law system is corrupt. And why was this not found out...ohhhhhhh eons ago?
I think jobs that work with substantial funds need to have multiple people knowing where the funds are going. 20 years is a long time to go unnoticed.
The town's auditors were incompetent and negligent. They are being sued as we speak and have some deep pockets from which Dixon might make a decent recovery.
I guarantee you that there was at least one citizen in that town that suspected she was a thief. How can she have such an opulent lifestyle on the salary Dixon paid her? Who was the purchasing manager or head of revenue? Simple budgeting would have exposed this fraud (the woman) years ago. Every department gets a budget, it cannot be exceeded without the Controller/Auditor/Mayor's approval. It wouldn't take very long to notice that incoming receipts did not match expenditures. They were simply a town run by idiots taken by a blatant, conniving career thief. She was so greedy that she thought the money was hers. She should have made certain that any needs were taken care of before stealing, but she got away with it for 20 years....
$53 million? Is that number correct? That's over 2 1/2 million a year, where were the internal controls here? Some of the blame needs to go to her boss, who either was approving all of these fraudulent payments or didn't care enough to set up internal controls to stop this sort of thing from happening. Ugh.
The town board, auditor (if there are any), management, etc. should all be fired. She couldn't have done this without their cooperation or ignorance of their responsibilities - take your pick.
Demand your town, country or other board have independent (really) audits every year or every budget cycle. Change auditing firms every few years.
If only head of defense contract corporations could receive jail time for stealing billions from us tax payers.
A federal judge gave only 20 years for the embezzlement of almost $60 million paid in by taxpayers? When municipalities are raising tax rates on jobless residents? This is why the federal sentencing guidelines need to be replaced with a new "Minimum Sentencing Guidelines" scheme, with high minimums and an open-ended maximum (i.e., life in prison, no opportunity for parole) if aggravating factors are found.
And last year a federal judge sentenced Blagojevich to 12 years for stealing nothing. Rod may have been a jerk, but now he is a political prisoner.
Those lame sentencing guidlines should be hanged along with the dumb bastards that original proposed them and got them made into our pitiful law... Get a rope.....
She needs to be DEPORTED & stripped of her citizenship...
every elected or appointed official in ANY government in the USA
caught in the same situation should also be treated exactly the same .
Throw them out & NEVER let them return !
The judge is correct. Her only interest in the taxpayers was how much of their money she could divert to herself.
The other politicians in this town, and the auditors, if there were any also ought to be prosecuted for malfeasance. Stealing $50+ million is pretty easy to detect. Kudos to her temporary replacement for doing what others should have done.
and you are what dude............. and inbred rethuglican!
We reap what we sow.
You can bid on her jewelry. It is being auctioned off by the U.S. Marshalls Service
www.txauction.com
She should have been a Wall Street banker. Then not only would she have gotten off scott free, she'd have collected a 7 figure bonus!
Being in government is like winning the lottery. The higher you are the bigger the jackpot. Just don't get to greedy like this woman.
Just don't take long vacations!
20 years, what a joke, She spend 22 years stealing $50 million and you give her 20 years. Should be life with no possibility of parole.
Agreed...
Why pay her freight for any time at all...?
Deport the slug .
Imprisoning those who disregard the trust WE have placed in them is for FOOLS .
They have no use to us or our society so why not rid ourselves of parasites ?
I hope no one thinks this woman is the only thief in government stealing millions from the taxpaying citizenry...think Gov./Sen. Jon Corzine.
This was a lot for money taking from our community of about 8,000. The Auditing Firm is now the big news here in Dixon. The city is in the process of suing them. Were all like, how in the hell did she do this? But most of us sane people here in Dixon, just say: Well she is a Republican.. After all, this is Reagan's home town.
Who hired the auditing firm? I don't know how this could ever happen.
Rot in hell, you nasty bitch. You'll likely die in your cell. Hope it was worth it!
C*nt. Good riddance!
WOW!!! Were the city offcials asleep at the switch? For 20 YEARS!!! This is more than just about Rita...
I am from the Dixon area. Where did the writer of this story get his info? That line about
Dixon not even being able to fix their rusted out dump trucks and it being a cash strapped city is a bunch of, whatever.... I think that there will be lots more coming out about this story. People in this area are now questioning the fact that her nephew purchased her horse farm. Her nephew & his wife own the waste removal service that services Dixon and have won the low bid for the City contract for several years. I agree that everyone in the city government has a hand in this. I find it hard to believe that this stealing went on for so long and not one single person noticed anything wrong. Didn't the city council review budgets, etc., etc., and have questions? Hmmmm... time will tell....
Judee.... That is the cunundrum... City officials are complicit of they have a responsibility for oversight in financial matters. How in the world does anyone get away with bilking the city of $53M??? Simple... NO transactions required a second signature. No one was meeting with or checking up on Rita on a regular basis.
Heads should roll from the mayor through city council... This should cost them their seats and elected appointments based on their gross negligence and incompetence.
Hi Judee, I'm from Dixon also..
Don't think for one minute this is only happening in Dixon it is happening all over the country. Those that say they are patriotic on one hand have their other hand in your pocket so to say.
Stand up in the township/county/non-profits/tribe/tribal programs/churches and demand that their be an INDEPENDENT audit and it be transparent along with the salaries of the top levels of the program.
This is Illinois, people. The land of Obama, Lincoln, Daley, Capone, and Governors who do time. Corruption is thy name.
And some of us are stuck in the town and county of Reagan, damn the bad luck..
Heh... I live in NY state. You think Illinois is corrupt (yeah, it is)... live in NY state!!! And by the way, here in western NY the communities are loaded with people who steal from nonprofit and volunteer agencies like fire companies, etc who get slapped on the hand, make restitution and are bawling the who way through the court process (I didn't mean to do it. I apologize, I'll pay every cent back). Disgusting! And guess what, MOST are women.
No oversight. Everyone trusts the treasurer. No audits. One signature required to write checks. Then BAM! The sh*t hits that fan and everyone says... Oh not Tom, not Mary. I am so surprised! Well guess what folks! Not one person should EVER be allowed to handle money alone. ALWAYS a second signature on checks, and ALWAYS two people counting revenues...
You belong to a club, volunteer organization or nonprofit... you're stupid if you don't demand oversight.
Like I said... Heads should tool from the mayor to the elected city council for this MAJOR embezzlement scheme. There are NO excuses fot not doing the job they were elected and entrusted to do.
It's much easier to get away with something like this in smaller communities - there's not the manpower to put in place the checks and balances that you see in larger cities and entities. Often, the treasurer is the budget director, the secretary to the mayor, a member of the town council, the janitor for city hall, and the person who unlocks the service yard for road maintenance. If there's an external audit firm involved (which there should have been), they ought to also be serving right along side of her - I can't believe any responsible audit firm didn't ask for something more than an invoice to verify charges. There's no easy answer. In her case, if she's 60, and her sentence is 20 years, it may very well be a life sentence. For the person demanding deportation, where would you deport her to? Did I miss something?
I would think it would be harder in a smaller community. I know the state board of accounts audits our books annually, and we are much smaller than Dixon.
53 Million for a 20 year sentence, How many of you earn $2.65 M per year to sit in a cell for the crappy years at the end of life?
She will probably be out in 12 years or less with parole.
Pardon!
Tell me just exactly when should I expect the "crappy years to start"?? You must be pretty young or in poor health to think any years here with family, friends and feedom are crappy.
Anyone notice the opening picture caption? "Leaving Federal court May 2013" Er, ah...has May already passed and I missed it?
LG--Not in Reagan's home town... Everyone is a Republican here... Well, except me and a hand full of other smart ppl..
60 years old? She looks much older than that!
When you try and hide something like this for 20 yrs. I can imagine it would age ya pretty quick, lol..
Whats the difference Dixon or Chicago ? Not much I see.
Were a Republican town, well some of us are smarter though.. Reagan's home town. See the connection?
Interesting! If the caption under the top photo is correct, she left the courthouse three months from now.
Everyone that holds public trust should be suspect.
I hate to use a quote from Reagan but it applies to all businesses/organizations/etc. "Trust but verify". I have found dedicated public leaders and staff and totally irresponsible public leaders and staff. In a line-up you can't tell them apart. Some of the worst though looked like upstanding citizens and grandmothers some of the best looked like they couldn't put their colors together to get dressed which is why stereotyping who will commit a crime is the best defense for a criminal.
One of the most famous excuse was "I am a good and upstanding christian woman, married, have grandkids and help with church and the needy - how could you accuse me of this crime". $70,000 dollars a year she was skimming off under the guise that I deserve it because of everything I do.