By Matt Pearce, Los Angeles Times Owner Rita Crundwell ‘was kind of like Madonna’ in her field… Ask anybody in the quarter horse business. They’ll tell you. Rita Crundwell was one of the greatest owners anybody had heard of. The 59-year-old woman from Dixon, Ill., had hundreds of […]
By JOHN SCHRIFFEN of ABC News “What we have in this case is an object lesson in how not to manage public funds..” A former comptroller for a small town in Illinois pleaded guilty to embezzling $53 million from city accounts to feed a lavish lifestyle that included […]
by: Pat Raia of TheHorse.com “The care of the horses have been costing about $200,000 a month…” Horses, tack, trailers, and other equipment belonging to indicted Quarter Horse breeder Rita Crundwell brought more than $4 million during a two-day live auction in Dixon, Ill. Earlier this year, a […]
Rita Crundwell, former comptroller for Dixon leaves federal court in Rockford on Monday, May 7, 2012, after pleading not guilty at her arraignment to charges that accuse her of stealing tens of millions of dollars from the community. Prosecutors contend that Crundwell had been transferring Dixon’s money to a secret account since at least1990 and using the money to create one of the nation’s leading horse-breeding operations and buy luxury homes, cars and jewelry.
ROCKFORD, Ill. — The former comptroller of a small northern Illinois city pleaded not guilty Monday to charges alleging she stole more than $53 million of the public’s money to fund a lavish lifestyle and create one of the nation’s foremost horse-breeding operations.
The small northwestern Illinois town of Dixon took another body blow Tuesday as federal authorities charged that its longtime comptroller stole nearly double what prosecutors originally alleged.
DIXON, Ill. — The small-town bookkeeper dazzled friends and co-workers with invitations to her immaculate horse ranch and home, where she displayed trophies hauled back from world championship exhibitions and visitors in cowboy hats arrived to buy some of the best-bred horses in the nation.
The chief financial officer of the small northwestern Illinois town of Dixon was ordered released from custody yesterday afternoon, a day after her arrest on a charge she misappropriated about $30 million in city funds.
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