Lessons from Dixon

Dixon, Illinois is 93 miles West of Forest Park. The town of Dixon’s comptroller, Rita Crundwell was recently indicted by Federal authorities for having stolen $30 million no wait $53 million from the town’s coffers over her decades long ‘reign’ as finance chief. I’m loath to quote Dixon’s famous son, Ronald Reagan but Crundwell gives credence to the ‘nine words’ he feared “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

Both Dixon (pop. 16,000) and Forest Park (pop. 15,000) use the City Commission form of municipal government, which dates to the aftermath of the 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston, Texas. Of 1,300 municipalities in Illinois, approximately 50 (2006 statistics) still have this form of government. Elected officials bear responsibility for facets of government like public safety, finance, public works, etc. A disadvantage of City Commissions is that the officials aren’t professionals trained and experienced to supervise those aspects of city government. This may have actually been evident in Dixon as former finance commissioner Roy Bridgeman lauded Crundwell as an “asset” who “looks after every tax dollar as if it were her own,” … and she did just that!

Crundwell stomped on the ‘checks and balances’ that would’ve revealed her chicanery to other Dixon officials.

Crundwell was able to open a bank account without anyone knowing (because she picked up all the mail and filtered anything related to that account). There was a bank account of city money in the name of an individual rather than the city. No one else ever reviewed a listing of city bank accounts. One person was able to write checks without anyone else approving or signing off on them. A relative performed her job any time she was out of the office.

There were audits but they didn’t pick up on the malfeasance. Audit reports went to the State Comptroller’s office Springfield but seem to have been just ‘filed’. “With the publicity the Dixon story has drawn, the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association is reminding its members around the state to check out their internal controls as well. I certainly hope Forest Park officials are taking heed.

Gary Ghertner Forest Park

Reader Comm

http://herald-review.com/news/state-and-regional/in-wake-of-dixon-theft-cities-double-check-the-books/article_ce5f561a-9e3f-11e1-93bd-0019bb2963f4.html

2 replacements in place for Dixon.

email me

notguilty@ritacrundwell.com

Rita Crundwell, the high-profile Quarter Horse breeder accused of embezzling millions of dollars from the coffers of a small Illinois town, has pleaded not guilty to the charge against her.

Crundwell owns RC Quarter Horses LLC and operates the Meri-J Ranch in Beloit, Wis., and another horse farm in Dixon, Ill. She has been a leading Quarter Horse breeder having earned Leading Breeder Award honors at eight American Quarter Horse Association World Championship Shows. In connection with the case, Crundwell’s 311 horses are now in the care of the U.S. Marshals Service.

In April Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents arrested Crundwell and charged her with one count of wire fraud after a federal grand jury in Illinois returned an initial indictment accusing Crundwell of misappropriating $30 million in funds from the town of Dixon, where she had served as city comptroller since the 1980s. Further investigation resulted in an expanded indictment accusing Crundwell of allegedly misappropriating a total of more than $53 million from Dixon over more than 20 years.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said that on May 7 Crundwell appeared in U.S. District Court in Rockford, Ill., where she pleaded not guilty to the wire fraud charge.

Crundwell’s attorney Paul Graziano, assistant defender for the Federal Defender Program, declined comment on the case.

While the case is pending, Crundwell remains free on bail.

DIXON, Ill. &#8212 The former financial officer for the small northern Illinois city of Dixon stole millions of dollars more than originally thought, federal prosecutors said Tuesday as they announced plans to try to seize her trucks, boats, horses and even unborn foals she owns.

A federal grand jury on Thursday returned an indictment charging Rita Crundwell with one count of wire fraud for allegedly siphoning more than $53 million from the city of 16,000 since 1990 into a secret account she controlled. Prosecutors originally alleged she had taken $30 million.

Prosecutors contend she used the money to pay for a lavish lifestyle as she worked as comptroller in Dixon, the boyhood home of the late President Ronald Reagan.

Prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit Thursday seeking 311 registered quarter horses and dozens of foals that are expected to be born this spring. A news release announcing the suit said prosecutors plan to sell the horses and “apply the proceeds toward restitution to the city of Dixon.” Prosecutors said the horses are subject to forfeiture because Crundwell either bought or “maintained them with criminal fraud proceeds.”

At the same time, the indictment seeks criminal forfeiture of two residences, a horse farm in Dixon and a home in Florida. It also seeks a $2.1 million motorhome, more than a dozen trucks, trailers, motorized farm equipment, a pontoon boat, and cars, including a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette roadster. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of more than $224,000 in cash from two bank accounts.

Federal prosecutors allege Crundwell created phony invoices that she characterized as being from the state of Illinois. She then allegedly put that money from a city account into another account, which she repeatedly used for personal use.

According to the news release, she said she used the state’s much-publicized dire financial straits to her advantage, telling city officials that the state was late in payments as a way to conceal her transfers of funds and her spending.

If convicted, Crundwell faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The former comptroller will be arraigned May 7 in U.S. District Court in Rockford. Crundwell’s attorney was not in his office Tuesday and in a recorded message he said he would not be back in the office until Wednesday. Crundwell could not be reached; the phone rang unanswered at a listing for her.

It has just become the pinnacle of public mistrust.  Thousands of horses and their offspring at risk if they have been associated with Crundwell.

Attachment A
COLLAR NAME CHIP NUMBER LOCATION
B240 RB TOUCH OF MOXIE 061 117 259 Collinsville, Texas
B257 BIG GIRLS RULE 985140000502976 Dixon, Illinois
B263 MONEYS MOXIE RECIP 985140000350495 Dixon, Illinois
B506 PIZZAZZY LADY 075 523 352 Dixon, Illinois
G192 HEIDI 053 809 066 Dixon, Illinois
G259 PHENOMENOL MS RECIP 985121015275272 Dixon, Illinois
G317 SHE SCORES RECIP 145 511 495A Dixon, Illinois
G324 PIZZAZZY LADY RECIP 985170001031512 Dixon, Illinois
G326 RECIP 075 516 859 Dixon, Illinois
G329 PIZZAZZY LADY 145 309 52A Dixon, Illinois
G423 SHES PROMISCUOUS RECIP 145 238 117A Dixon, Illinois
G446 ATTEST RECIP 985140000537700 Dixon, Illinois
G470 SHEZA TELUSIVE KID 145 309 52A Dixon, Illinois
O353 SWIFT ALL THE TIME 985140000508533 Dixon, Illinois
R509 RAINDROPS N RAINBOWS Dixon, Illinois
W004 TOUCHED BY SECURITEE 076 819 518 Dixon, Illinois
W006 IMPERIAL REASON 052 036 878 Dixon, Illinois
W018 JEWELS BY TIFFANY 145 162 347A Collinsville, Texas
W033 SUM IRON FOR ME 145 272 731A Beloit, Wisconsin
W103 ABSOLUTE IRON 052 359 512 Dixon, Illinois
W104 AINT I A NATURAL 052 359 512 Dixon, Illinois
W105 INVITED TO THE PARTY 985170000595021 Dixon, Illinois
W106 ALL THUMBS UP 052 853 851 Dixon, Illinois
W107 ANOTHER TOUCHDOWN 094 547 891 Dixon, Illinois
W109 BRIOS HOT 051 792 840 Dixon, Illinois
W111 CATHYS MARECEDES 052 115 551 Dixon, Illinois
W112 SHES ENTERPRISING 985121014651451 Beloit, Wisconsin
W113 COMPLETELY NATURAL 050 570 377 Dixon, Illinois
W114 COOLEST SCORES 094 539 291 Dixon, Illinois
W115 ELITE DETAIL 145 225 511A Dixon, Illinois
W116 COOSUNDAY 985140000413589 Collinsville, Texas
W117 I FOUND A PENNY 985170000447126 Dixon, Illinois