November 21, 2024
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Judge orders ex-Dixon comptroller Rita Crundwell to forfeit horse trophies

By Dixon Telegraph

FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2012 file photo, former Dixon, Ill., comptroller Rita Crundwell leaves a courtroom in Dixon, Ill. A federal judge has ruled that the imprisoned Crundwell can't keep a collection of horse trophies and other personal items stored in Illinois and Wisconsin. U.S. District Court Judge Philip Reinhard ordered on Tuesday May 26, 2015 that Crundwell forfeit the items to help repay more than $53 million in restitution that she owes the city of Dixon. Crundwell is serving 20 years in a federal prison in Minnesota for stealing from the city over two decades while she was comptroller. (Alex T. Paschal/Sauk Valley Media via AP, File) (Alex T)

ROCKFORD – A federal judge has ruled that imprisoned former Dixon comptroller Rita Crundwell can't keep a collection of horse trophies and other personal items stored in Illinois and Wisconsin.

U.S. District Court Judge Philip Reinhard ordered on Tuesday that Crundwell forfeit the items to help repay more than $53 million in restitution that she owes the city of Dixon, The (Dixon) Telegraph reported (http://bit.ly/1FgEKrY ).

Crundwell is serving 20 years in a federal prison in Minnesota for stealing from the city over two decades while she was comptroller. She used the money to support a lavish lifestyle and a nationally renowned horse-breeding operation. Crundwell was arrested in 2012 and later pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

Prosecutors asked for the items to be turned over in December after the U.S. Marshal's Service located them after her sentencing. Crundwell's attorney Ruth Robinson had argued that the items lacked "objective value."

The assets include about 700 trophies Crundwell won in horse competitions, a computer, clothing, bicycles, patio chairs, two motorized scooters and an all-terrain vehicle.

Sale of Crundwell's homes, horses and other assets so far has brought about $9.3 million to the city, which also received a $30 million settlement with its former auditors and bank.