Official Who Stole $54 Million From Dixon Released From Prison

Rita Crundwell was comptroller for the City of Dixon, Illinois, until she was caught after swiping around $54 million dollars and sent to prison for a term of 19 and a half years. Now, she's out of jail.

It's true that mathematics are not necessarily my strong suit, but according to the Bureau of Prisons website, she wasn't supposed to be looking at getting out of the GrayBar Hotel until at least October of 2029 (time gets shaved off for "good conduct")

Even though prison records say that Crundwell is still incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Pekin, Dixon city officials say that they were surprised to be told something different, according to WGN-TV News:

City officials say prison officials have told them she has been released to home confinement after serving less than half that sentence.
“It is incredibly frustrating that Dixon was given no victim notification of Rita Crundwell’s release,” Dixon Mayor Liandro Arellano said in a statement posted by the city. “Dixonites are still dealing with the social and financial aftermath of the damage she did, and our community deserved notice of and reasoning for this decision.”

I think it's safe to assume, judging by the Dixon Mayor's response, that there won't be any welcome home parades or parties waiting for her in the Petunia City. Some people hold a grudge when you embezzle millions of dollars from them, I guess.

Rita Crundwell's ranch, Getty Images

If you've always wanted to have your own Wikipedia entry but worried that you haven't done enough to warrant one, Rita Crundwell has shown that masterminding what may be the largest municipal fraud in American history is more than enough to get you a few paragraphs. Like this one, that describes how she siphoned the money from Dixon:

On average, Crundwell stole nearly $2.5 million per year from the city. In 1991, she stole $181,000, while in 2008 alone she managed to embezzle $5.8 million from a city with an annual budget of $8–9 million. Crundwell used the money not only to finance her Quarter Horse operation, but also to support a lifestyle well beyond her $80,000 city salary, purchasing several cars, a second house and a million-dollar motorhome.

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