Rita Crundwell
| Rita A. Crundwell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Rita A. Humphrey January 10, 1953 Dixon, Illinois |
| Residence | Dixon, Illinois |
| Occupation | Accountant, horse breeder |
| Criminal charge | Wire fraud (embezzlement) |
| Criminal penalty | 19 years 7 months imprisonment, forfeiture of $53.7 million |
| Criminal status | Imprisoned at Federal Correctional Institution, Waseca; projected release date of March 5, 2030 |
| Conviction(s) | November 14, 2012 (pleaded guilty) |
Rita A. Crundwell (born January 10, 1953) was the appointed comptroller and treasurer of Dixon, Illinois, from 1983 to 2012, and the admitted operator of what is believed to be the largest municipal fraud in American history. She was fired in April 2012 after it was revealed that she had embezzled $53.7 million from the city over 22 years to support her championship American Quarter Horse breeding operation. She pleaded guilty to her crimes and was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison.
Crundwell's Quarter Horse breeding operation, RC Quarter Horses, was one of the best-known in the country; her horses won 52 world championships and she was named the leading owner by the American Quarter Horse Association for eight consecutive years prior to her arrest.
Born Rita Humphrey, the daughter of Ray and Caroline Humphrey, she grew up on her family's farm near Dixon and in 1970, a year before graduating from Dixon High School, began working at the Dixon City Hall as a work-study student. She began showing quarter horses in 1978. She married engineering tech Jerry L. Crundwell in 1974, while working as a secretary for Dixon's mayor; they divorced in 1986.
In 1983 Crundwell was appointed the treasurer/comptroller for Dixon, and she worked in this capacity for almost three decades. She acquired a sterling reputation; for instance in 2011 one of the city commissioners praised Crundwell for her stewardship of city finances, saying "she looks after every tax dollar as if it were her own."
On December 8, 1990; Crundwell opened a secret bank account named RSCDA (Reserve Sewer Capital Development Account), making it appear to be a city account. She was the only signatory. She would have money deposited into another account called the Capital Development Fund, create false state invoices, and then write checks from the fund payable to "Treasurer," which she would deposit into the RSCDA account. According to federal investigators, this relatively uncomplicated scheme continued for 22 years.
On average, Crundwell stole $5 million per year from the city. In 1991, she stole $181,000, while in 2008 alone she managed to embezzle $5.8 million. She not only used the money to finance her Quarter Horse operation, but also to support a lifestyle well beyond her $80,000 city salary. Among other things, she bought several cars, a second house and a million-dollar motorhome.
Crundwell covered up her embezzlement by claiming the city's frequent budget shortfalls were due to the state being late in paying the city its share of tax revenue. She forced city departments to make drastic service cuts in order to keep the budget within reason. As a result, employees went two years or more without raises and the police department couldn't get new radios. The most visible effect, however, was on street maintenance. The city was forced to lay off three of its nine street repair workers and cut the rate of maintenance. In the decade prior to Crundwell's arrest, only 65 blocks of road were repaired or replaced.
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