Local prosecutors in Lee County, Ill., last week filed dozens of felony theft charges against the former comptroller of Dixon as part of an ongoing local and federal probe into the former official, who is accused of pocketing more than $50 million in public funds to support a lavish lifestyle.
Rita Crundwell was arrested earlier this year and charged with federal wire fraud. She has pleaded not guilty. Crundwell is accused by local authorities of stealing public funds in 2010, though authorities believe she may have been stealing from the city for as long as two decades.
Dixon operates on just a $20 million annual budget. Crundwell had served as comptroller since the early 1980s, managing the city’s finances.
Crundwell allegedly used the ill-gotten funds to support her horse breeding business.
