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DIXON, Ill. — A two-day auction of property owned by former Dixon Comptroller Rita Crundwell raised an estimated $4.78 million, a representative of the U.S. Marshals Service reported late Monday.

According to Lynzey Donahue of the Office of Public Affairs, the preliminary total for the Sunday-Monday sale at Crundwell’s ranch included the sale of horses, horse-related equipment, tack, vehicles and trailers.

The first horse in a 400-horse herd to be auctioned live Sunday sold for $775,000.

The prized stallion, Good I Will Be, was expected to fetch between $250,000 and $1 million, said marshals service chief inspector Jason Wojdylo.

“We certainly got closer to the million, and I think that set the tone,” he said.

The sale drew more than 2,000 people on Sunday.

The 59-year-old Crundwell is accused of directing $53 million in city money to a secret fund over two decades. Officials say the money was used to finance Crundwell’s world-renowned horse-breeding operation, several homes, luxury vehicles, jewelry and the sprawling horse ranch on Dixon’s Red Brick Road. She is free on a recognizance bond but officially remains in federal custody.

Noted at http://qctimes.com/news/local/preliminary-total-from–day-crundwell-auction-million/article_917b36ce-06cc-11e2-843d-001a4bcf887a.html