Dixon fires Crundwell

DIXON – Although she submitted a letter of resignation, Dixon’s top financial officer was fired Monday morning at a special council meeting that also was punctuated by another call for the mayor’s resignation.

The City Council’s vote to fire longtime comptroller Rita A. Crundwell was unanimous.

Crundwell was arrested April 17 at City Hall after investigators said she had misappropriated more than $30 million in city funds over six years.

Crundwell, 58, is free on a federal recognizance bond, charged with a single count of federal wire fraud. She is accused of defrauding the city by wiring $175,000 in city funds from a bank in St. Paul, Minn. to a bank in Cincinnati in November. Federal prosecutors have declined to say whether more charges are pending, or if others are suspected of being involved.

Neither she nor her attorney attended the meeting, but a letter of resignation was sent to Mayor Jim Burke over the weekend. It cited the conditions of her bond, which prevent her from holding a job in which she handles money.

The council decided not to consider the letter but instead to fire Crundwell effective April 17, the day of her arrest.

The city is looking into hiring an interim or new permanent comptroller, Burke said, but in the meantime, Crundwell’s duties have been assumed by City Clerk Kathe Swanson, who blew the whistle on Crundwell back in October.

No chances are being taken, though, Burke said. Now two additional people – him and Public Works Director Shawn Ortgiesen – will sign off on checks.