Rita Crundwell - Fraud in Dixon Illinois : Small Town Shakedown - the fifth estate

We went looking for the worst case of a small town shakedown - and we found one, south of the border. For more than two decades Rita Crundwell, the trusted treasurer in Ronald Reagan’s hometown - Dixon, Illinois - was stealing millions from the town coffers.
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About the fifth estate : For four decades the fifth estate has been Canada's premier investigative documentary program. Hosts Bob McKeown, Gillian Findlay and Mark Kelley continue a tradition of provocative and fearless journalism. the fifth estate brings in-depth investigations that matter to Canadians - delivering a dazzling parade of political leaders, controversial characters and ordinary people whose lives were touched by triumph or tragedy.

[@ChristineMHale]

I cannot express how much I appreciate how you covered this case. So often the victims of white collar crime are glossed over or remain faceless, while attention is focused on the dollar amount of the fraud or the broken corporate polices/procedures or state & federal laws/statutes. Just as with violent crime and other major crimes, white collar crime has REAL victims - people who are wronged and who suffer at the hands of the criminals. Thank you for highlighting the crimes done to the citizens of Dixon and for showing us that they took that crime seriously.

[@johnderekmitchell1510]

White Collar Crime has a lot farther reach than Petty Crime. Sounds like she took some courses in City Government over in Chicago.

[@Hands2HealNow]

I'd like to see another report about how the town is running today.

[@meligoth]

What is amazing is that the town got almost all their money back. Most cases like this the victims will never see a penny returned.

[@tmcurly]

So this was by chance really 1 in a million ! The bank and accounting firm were responsible for letting the fraud carry on for 20 years!

[@peacefulpossum2438]

She was the only signatory -- that should have been a red light for the auditors. There should always be two signatures in any organization. Both the Mayor and the City Clerk should have known that. If they didn't, the auditors should have told them.

[@Jhnnymck4]

That is exactly right!!

[@robdewey317]

Awsum Possum yeah you are not paying attention to the story. Dork

[@precooked-bacon]

you can't always have perfect internal control with such a small staff. it's fine if she's signing as long as someone is reviewing. no smoking gun here.

[@peacefulpossum2438]

@@robdewey317 Yeah, I did, and I work in small government so I do know how this should work. And this is how Rita did it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3XNd4tsds2qnbM

[@peacefulpossum2438]

@@precooked-bacon You're right. It can be difficult to have perfect internal control with a small staff, but more problematic is that the person who should have been making responsible decisions regarding finances was the one embezzling money. Dixon is about twice the size of the city I work for, and we have good internal controls. We also listen to our auditors recommendations -- like the person taking in the money isn't the person doing the deposits, two signatures on checks, and department heads signing off on all invoices in their department. As for the small staff, Rita Crundwell bled the town so much that it was under-staffed. That's right. Three administrative staff members for a town of 16, 000 is nothing and she was directly responsible. She liked it that way too because there were fewer people who might catch her. A town of that size ought to have eight or ten administrative staff employees. As it was, Crundwell was running the town.

[@shellireads5249]

Whoa, she stole 53 million dollars? That's outrageous.

[@slimpickens9135]

Michelle Robinson and the yokels didn’t suspect a thing as long as s good ole girl was f***** over them

[@timothycasey4738]

Yes, $53 MILLION $$$ that is a LOT of $$$. Especially for a small community even more HURT FULL, to the community, city workers, and EVERY one concerned.

[@TjamVideoMan]

And the LOST INTEREST !!

[@chrishare3981]

Nobody did not look a little harder at her for all those years!

[@jhonfamo8412]

From a town that size? Wow

[@rasberryjamdoughnut2288]

My favorite is the town immediately getting back at her by selling her stuff. Gold

[@hollylove2650]

Steal from the people to feed 400 horses =trash

[@Batman-wv5ng]

holly love Well if there is any food left from horses they should feed her now .

[@steverosema4026]

@@Batman-wv5ng Butcher the horses an feed the whole prison.

[@pineapplepen540]

@The Black 9 Prisoners are in prison for different crimes and should be judged individually.

[@lisagarron6958]

@Ida Shoemaker yup thats what well bred Halter horses go for. That's the kicker as most people don't know. She didn't even ride these horses. The Motorhome they showed had all but a stable in there. For those crying "poor horses"? Those horses lived a life of luxury and for 700,000 they will most likely continue to do so. im sure they would have missed her at first but would be well over it by now. She may live and be out of prison to follow up with them.

[@dianehunsberger2271]

@@lisagarron6958 some of the horses died after the auction...due to various reasons...and at least stress

[@gabe-po9yi]

What a despicable human being. People lost their jobs and a town was put in near ruins. She came to tears talking about a favorite horse, but shed no tears for the devastation she wreaked on people's lives. What sent me over the edge more than anything about her ill-gotten gains was the diamond encrusted Sponge Bob. Unbelievable.

[@jmstrsn5148]

how about retroactive raises for the employees of the town who went years without one?

[@lisamendez7479]

Joseph, I totally agree with you. They should! All those people were loyal and hard workers. There's enough money now to go around! CRAZY story though, she robbed the whole town!! I will never understand those people who think their wants are more important than others needs?!

[@lukejenkins9341]

I liked the idea of divide it out oneby one

[@grantdm]

That whistle-blower should get an award for her good deed. Say 100,000 or something like that. She is the reason the city now has millions in surplus after all.

[@keithdengenis111]

@Ida Shoemaker Your spelling and grammar errors... yeah... Thanks for sharing. So, Rita is a selfish, amoral thief. Lack of government oversight; two decades...

[@johnathandouglas007]

Legend has it that they still need new truck's....

[@daca0401]

Moral of the story is that it takes $54 million to make $10 million in horses.

[@petermaier3832]

lol

[@user-wickedflower]

400 horses! Ive got 2 they are expensive beasts & i dont compete anymore. That horse sale would have broken her heart that would of hurt her most good for Dixon!

[@advaith365]

Would have been more fun to make her sit and watch and let her do the bidding of her own beloved horses. That would have been a slap on her anyhow disgusting looking face....

[@donmiller2908]

Buddhist (Anhänger des Dalai Lama) - "Better give Rita a Khashoggi style treatment, cut her inner 3 fingers on both hands" How do you know Khashoggi had the three middle fingers of both hands removed? Everything I read said he entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on October 2nd to get some marriage papers but never left. It was assumed he was dismembered and carried out of the consulate in pieces but how do you know specific details about his hands?

[@MilwaukeeF40C]

I wonder if the Romanians that sell to Ikea bought any. There is or was a facility that processes horses a county or two over.

[@RaoulThomas007]

I wonder how many employees Rita had working her ranches? She blew through $40 million!

[@marklandis5794]

Lewis C. Ummm what does her skin pigment have to do with anything?

[@tellurye]

I was so glad they sued those "auditors". I can see missing a year or 2 - but missing over 20 times? Time for a new auditor...

[@tammybettiga3464]

MOST LIKELY PAID UNDER THE TABLE..TO TURN THEIR EYES....

[@BEEBEE159]

@Leo Ix I put a link below to a KZbin video, which states the name of the accounting firm, so it appears that there was no such agreement not to identify the firm by name. The accounting firm is a nationwide outfit, one of the largest accounting firms in America. The firm is CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), and their website is CLAConnect.com. So if anyone is looking to embezzle some money, you may be able to go to work for one of the institutions that they audit. LOL kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3XNd4tsds2qnbM

[@geoffdearth7360]

I don't know if you remember Enron. It was the largest bankruptcy (I believe) in US history. Their accountant was Arthur Andersen which was a very large company which was liquidated.

[@BEEBEE159]

@@geoffdearth7360 Yep, I remember that one, of course. I used to work for PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the largest accounting firm in the world. These firms do not make much money on auditing, so they don't invest a lot of time and money in that department. Accounting firms, as I understand it, offer cheap auditing services in the hopes that those auditing customers will spend a lot of money on the firm's other more lucrative services. It's kind of like Ford...They don't make much money selling new cars, but instead make the bulk of their money on service and parts for maintenance and repairs of Ford vehicles.

[@AkSonya1010]

Their name is mentioned in other videos so it's definatly public knowlege

[@anne-droid7739]

Hope they gave the town clerk a raise!

[@fododude]

I hope so too!

[@neverloosehope4233]

From which money. Rita had stolen everything !

[@selinesbeau]

@@neverloosehope4233 They got it back by suing the auditors and selling all her crap.

[@dramafreak7122]

Yeah she deserves it

[@neetrab]

@whitey 1 fine with me. A hero.

[@zarasbazaar]

All that money didn't buy her any taste. What tacky jewelry and furnishings.

[@petmomful2260]

Wait, I like the Spongebob pendant!!

[@leonitajackson9756]

zarasbazaar everybody is a fool why didn’t anybody got suspicious that she is the only one have Mooney to entire town they are all blind by this crook sad

[@bobofunnyrabbit9665]

My thought exactly! What a bad taste.

[@Slarti]

Exactly, just look at how ugly and trashy the Kardasians are.

[@adventureswiththecrazyvet]

Money don't buy class just ask every rapper

[@TheGrandMaster1942]

“I thought she made her money in the horse business”. Well, that’s a ludicrous thought in and of itself.

[@ronbonora7872]

yeah they are pretty naive to say the least!

[@PatrickBaptist]

LOL, there isn't any money in the so called "horse business", just talk to any farmer. They will tell you how that is just a hobby that you lose money in horses.

[@kccox8516]

To make money from horse shows and races, you have to be wealthy.

[@loudmouf9246]

I agree with all of you.

[@bearball49]

We had little money and my son showed competitively. I went from being a stay at home mom to working full time to pay for the horse, board, tack, travel, entry fees etc. We didn't go into debt and it taught him something Rita never learned. You have to bust your butt to make it in life. He got up mornings when we were still keeping horses at our home, to feed and water horses, regardless of weather. The board and lessons when we moved the horse came at a price. He was only 11 years old but he worked at the boarding establishment working horses for the trainer to work off our fees. He had to ride his bike there if I was at work and it was a 10 mile ride..one way. He never complained so we kept paying for what we could until he graduated high school. It was a heck of a lesson for him. He had to work his way through college. His employer paid for the education of any employee. The only requirement was that they passed the courses. He got his degree and now has a fabulous job, working above what his degree should have given him. All that work paid off big time. He is the only super successful member of the family. We are very proud of him. Our sacrifices played a role in his success but learning just how hard you must work to achieve your goals was crucial...a lesson Rita never learned. Horses are a money pit...not a way to make a fortune. She just liked feeling important on the town's money. Not the first to get caught embezzeling in the horse business but this had to be the most satisfying.

[@pugsunset1]

I have a little different opinion on this. Yes, horses are expensive to keep and maintain properly. But with the caliber of horses she had, they sell for big dollars when they are outstanding and have won big awards like the Congress and the World. But, obviously, she just blew the money away on other things.

[@monroefuches2707]

I thought the whole thing was a tax dodge by design. There are some really dodgy exemptions and special treatment for horse owners.

[@bretwalley4673]

she got 20 years for stealing 53 million dollars, that works out to 2.65 million dollars per year, not a bad deal.

[@safepethaven]

So did Dixon also pay for Rita's fake capped teeth smile? And, did Rita's "boyfriend" have to surrender the vintage Corvette and everything else he received that was bought with stolen monies? With the symptoms the city experienced for twenty years, yes even with "professional audits of over a MILLION DOLLARS" [that was suspicious, too], likely they were paid off by Rita too to make the books look good. There should ALWAYS bee a checks and balances system for everything, especially money. Dixon was too complacent and for too long not to have investigated the hemorrhage of their funds. Starting with the rotation of auditors.

[@patlowney2834]

Rita crundwell. Played the townspeople like a bunch of fools.

[@slimpickens9135]

Pat Lowney is the fool

[@patlowney2834]

Slim Pickens so how much money did she fleece you for I'm not the fool Rita crundwell went to prison.

[@patlowney2834]

Slim Pickens no one cares what you think troll

[@yomama9567]

young boxing: Trumptard

[@tbugher62]

They were a bunch of fools.

[@tuneaddicted]

They left out the best quote from this story.. one mayor once said when asked about some city bill or something.. "go ask Rita, she'll know, she watches over every penny of this city like it is her own" haha

[@robbygee2539]

"She looks after every tax dollar as if it were her own."

[@susibrooks8620]

Deception has a way to distort truth into hellish greed to satiate the fulfillment of the narcissist. The first and worst pitfall known to humans.

[@oliviaortiz5157]

Lol they didn't think it was ACTUALLY true statement sad ☹️

[@MelissaBrownapt215]

Shame to overtrust your own kind. They can and will rob you blind. I was in Spain for 5.5 months and store clerks watched me. One time, as clerks watched me, I was watching someone standing right next to me fill her purse with hair accessories. I am Black. The other customer was a local Spanish girl. I don't assume that because you look and sound like me, that we share the same values.

[@steverosema4026]

Maybe that clerk wanted some Brown Sugar !!!

[@TjamVideoMan]

Kids get together and do that. The black kids raise suspicion just by their presence, especially in Asian stores, and get all the surveillance, distracting owners and security, while their nice white friends shoplift them BLIND!!

[@marklandis5794]

kittens2 Veternick But, since there is no god, we will have to lay aside such practices because we as fellow human beings know that they are not productive for society. Once you get down from your imaginary high horse, and lighten up a bit, you may actually begin to do some good other than acting as the self appointed morality police on KZbin.

[@deitpep6629]

Another relevant example is the city of Bell city council conspirators who voted themselves obscene raises and perks siphoning extra millions from their fellow unaware and perhaps less educated citizens of mostly the same ethnic background. And horse lady still miraculously swindled many times more city funds than all of them.

[@MelRHerr]

If they weren't even fixing streets you know they weren't helping out anyone struggling financially.

[@doriehess5835]

They still haven't fixed my street, or many others. This one's not done for over 25 years.

[@beme1]

@@doriehess5835 exactly, the corruption continues.... It's like a drug dealer: take them off the streets then someone else takes their place.

[@doriehess5835]

@@beme1 i had hopes when the council had new members. They got sucked into the mire too. 😔 nothing has ever changed here.

[@Essays4College]

Sounds like Rita Crundwell was the CON-troller

[@beme1]

This is more proof how we the people get screwed from our own governments. NEED TERM LIMITS

[@pbpp2904]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hV60gWiKd7mJnrs kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3e5mK2AqLVjqqs

[@derekmunro2298]

It wasn't the Government it was the theft from an individual low life.

[@fauxmanchu8094]

That ranch house is tacky! Very tacky!

[@1Nida]

Faux Manchu the 6 shooter chandelier is hilarious!

[@KhorneyFishRawrFearMeh]

Horse puns aka tacky

[@offgridjack5779]

They should make her watch a video of that auction and all "her" stuff being sold off. Especially the horses.

[@greenvilleobserver9431]

it was never her stuff

[@Zeldarw104]

Ikr!! Especially her precious 🐎.....😭

[@KB-mp1mw]

Kathy saw her moment and took it. She suspected something and knew she could get her snoop on when Rita was gone 😂🤷🏾‍♀️ good for her

[@troylee5273]

She didn't suspect anything. She accidentally stumbled on account after filling in for Rita 20 years. That makes her a hero?

[@SHurd-rc2go]

But what if she hadn't? 20 years?? No one noticed? No one saw maybe how other towns that size were doing? Staggering!

[@ydschools9745]

She paid someone off

[@benrivera3298]

Course she did! The bankers were in on it, the Auditors were complicit,. No question.

[@silverpairaducks]

@@benrivera3298 probably banged a few

[@samanthawells3399]

American Greed covered her story. She dated one of the auditors.

[@zisforzoo16]

Yeah they just haven’t found the evidence for that yet....this had gone on for 20 years there must be tons of individuals that may no longer even work at these places that were a part of this....absolute craziness

[@brotheramartey777]

@@silverpairaducks You're bad!

[@SuperBikeRacer7]

She didn't only rob everyone in that town but she also robbed everyone competing in the horse show circuit, edging out the competition with Ill gotten horses, vet care, tack, trucks, trailers ect! She cheated to win every single one of those trophies, buckles and ribbons!

[@goldwinger5434]

Doesn't work that way. If I steal a basketball and then use that ball to win a free throw competition, I still won the competition.

[@damiondmoore]

@@goldwinger5434 Yeah but if you got $50 million to bankroll a team of trainers, workout equipment, a nutritionist, top of the line food, doctors, sauna, Jacuzzi, cryotherapy and pay folks to manage your life just so you can practice shooting hoops and then have a limo and driver take you to and from events, it gives you a bit of an edge...

[@JamesYoung-vi6lm]

@@damiondmoore then how come there isnt more good white basketball players..... yeah..... like gold winger said it doesnt work that way

[@damiondmoore]

​@@JamesYoung-vi6lm Dude you just need to grow up and learn something. Let me help you. First, you just proved my point. No matter what race, those with elite facilities and resources 99% excel and will edge out the rest. Those very same basketball players you speak of comes from elite high schools and colleges with the resources for those players with millions, perhaps billions in sports boosters. Watch Hoop Dreams. Those players were considered top talent in the street which equals nothing in the NBA, which is why they needed to be sent to elite high schools and then college, and still failed to be top tier players. If what you said was true, then players would be coming off the street. Name one basketball player that is a street walk on? In any sport, name one walk on street player that balls in any sport that just shows up at a professional facility and plays? Not one. It doesn't work that way. Horse training requires hundreds of thousands of dollars per horse and a staff. Especially horse training. Are you implying that financial resources doesn't help build athletes? Then why is it that baseball players in the 80s who openly and admittedly used steroids were averaging about 30 more homeruns per year than today? Drugs gave them an edge, no matter how hard clean players trained. IN FACT, most major athletes across multiple sports during the 80s and 90s used doctor administered drugs and were the best in business. Rodgers Clemens, Lance Armstrong, Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds... There is not a single street walk on basketball, Baseball, Footballs player in the league, and there is plenty of street talent. Talent is absolutely worthless without discipline and it's harnessed and built on with money put into it. By your logic as long as one watches a video self educates on heart surgery and practices once or twice on a dog he should be an expert in heart surgery. Doesn't happen. No matter what industry. In baseball they literally call in "farming" talent for months and years after they are drafted from college. Lebron James had millions of dollars poured into him in before he hit the NBA. He had personal trainers in high school and scrimmaged games with retired pros. I can assure you, that if the NFL, NBA, MLB could just pluck players off the street and offer them $50,000 a year and a plane ticket, they would already be doing it. Its been tried in every sport and didn't work. Every athlete you worship had the resources from an elite institution. Maybe the talent to make a high school team, but if they are not picked up in about the 150 high schools that get as much if not more money in sports boosters than top colleges, then their career ends in high school. Ask any pro, when he got to high school his only goal was to get a scholarship to a private school with an elite program. The NBA alone prospects and scouts at only about 150 high schools worthy of their time. Cause they PRODUCE and BUILD talent. Are there prospects balling that get attention? Sure and then they are recruited to one of those high schools. Lebron James didn't come from Public School 131 and make the league. Neither did Jordan or Kobe. Get real. They were put into private high schools. The top schools, if they didn't we wouldn't know who they are today. At least think about what you are saying before you comment, cause all you did was prove exactly what I was saying. You don't know what you are talking about. Millennials just dream and actually believe they can just walk into sports arenas, no training, nothing, hit two or three lay ups and make the league now. Please. You will have to work hard and even then, you still need a lot of help to make it pro. There are basketball players we have never seen that would probably be the best, but never had a shot. You need a lot of help to make it pro and lots of cash.

[@bodyloverz30]

@@damiondmoore Oh boohoo, the lady is a legioned and I give her credit, for her 20 years of love of championship horses!

[@codyshepard5288]

Good to know that the Auditors are being held accountable too!

[@TheSnyderWeb]

"diamond encrusted spongebob square pants" well now I've heard everything

[@skatelisa]

Lol right 😂😂

[@pickles3128]

He should have been holding his pinky up (remember, that's what makes something "fancy"!) This one makes it look like he's giving the middle finger (to the taxpayers of Dixon, Illinois, I guess!)

[@greenvilleobserver9431]

@Somar Chimon that was hilarious

[@19gregske55]

If one looks closely, the body of the character looks to be composed of invisibly-set calibré-cut yellow sapphires, or perhaps yellow diamonds. I would love to know: (a) the final auction price on that piece, and (b) who bought it The jeweller was very skilled, and, he had access to quality stones. The piece is perhaps best described as "whimsy, in questionable taste".

[@flyingdog1498]

Wait until they go after Trump it will be a real eye opener.

[@Batman-wv5ng]

I don’t believe all those millions missing for long time and nobody knew .

[@steverosema4026]

53.7 MILLION 16,000 People Equals three hundred thirty-five thousand six hundred twenty-five for each person, 16781.25 sixteen thousand seven hundred eighty one dollars an twenty five cents per year per person, So where did all this money come from , when you only have 16,000 residents ? Must have the C.I.A living there somewhere selling dope.

[@barbdavu6992]

Ppl don't want to be bothered. Officials are too readily believed, thus allowing for fraud and corruption.

[@dionkraft6782]

@@steverosema4026 53.7 million devided by 16000 residences equals = $3356.25 per person. then divide that by 20 years equals: $167.81 which is the total cost per resident.

[@bernadettelovespie4734]

@@steverosema4026 it didn’t all come from taxes. Cities can get funding from county, state and federal levels as well to help them pay for things. She was able to get control of the money being sent in, then claim the funding was late or never received. Road repair would fall under DOT. I’m sure they were able to get funding from DOT but then she siphoned it off.

[@moewilson4605]

I remembered watching this a few years ago. Good reporting. I watched this again and was so pleased that Dixon got back some of the stolen money from the auction. White collar crime deserves real punishment. Seeing her horses and stuff auctioned off was icing on the cake on top of the twenty years in jail.

[@mapleleaf0]

If the auditors weren't in on it, their incompetence was so staggering as to be indistinguishable from being in on it. Here the lawyer who won the $40,000,000 civil suit for the town explains their "mistakes," not the least of which was not recognizing fake invoices nor verifying the "municipal projects" they were for. When the law changed requiring that the same people can't audit their own work, they got another company to sign that they did the auditing when in fact they had not. This is an excellent talk: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3XNd4tsds2qnbM

[@stevenhumphrey868]

precisely what happened here.

[@auditoneusa747]

Even the local Lions Club bank account requires 2 signatures on all checks. Lots of blame to go around.

[@maryannemelenka9250]

The auditors were in on it.

[@stevenhumphrey868]

They were ... The one of the local firms that used to do her taxes had a primary partner spontaneously retire, I wonder why. Her taxes were cooked too folks.

[@ronque23]

Maryanne Melenka Ashok Who were they? Arthur Andersen?

[@moncorp1]

@NEGUS MBARKA ~ Says the racist.

[@tommathew7684]

Maryanne Melenka UR right.

[@freewaykenny8911]

She didn’t report the fraud and pay taxes on it?

[@KCCardCo]

Releasing her early was a slap in the face to the taxpayers.

[@luv2cook.]

I’m just glad she got caught and they were able to sell her ‘stuff’. Jeez! Jail is about right for steeling from ur neighbors for 20 years. Good on the woman who figured it all out

[@sr633]

When Kathy looked at Rita's books she needed help, and asked the bank to send all records of the town's finances. That is when she found the secret account.

[@lassebauer]

Must be a psycho fraud epidemic: We’ve recently had a carbon copy case here in Denmark: A public office accountant named Britta embezzled 20+ mio $ and spent it on her horses.

[@johnmiller7453]

Same thing happened where I worked and also a friend of mine. It's always the accountant. And nobody noticed. What a bunch of dumb rubes.

[@ladybugbaldiga7358]

The "love" of money is the root of all evil. She let her whole town suffer.

[@N0xiety]

The funny thing is, if she wasn't so greedy, they still wouldn't have noticed anything. If she just left enough money for town to be properly looked after, no one would be the wiser. She seems to have gotten bolder and bolder over two decades, squeezing the town coffers too hard...

[@warriormanmaxx8991]

@@N0xiety- nothing "funny" about Rita the thief !!

[@dougrobbins5367]

"she had a pretty smile" She looks like she died two weeks previous to the pictures of her.

[@tomp1428]

Lol

[@kystars]

I agree, what A DOG. BOW WOW WUFF WUFF. Sorry, I didn't mean to insult the dogs out there.

[@sharianderson6450]

I hope she never gets out of jail.

[@0xsergy]

I hope she's forced to repay it..

[@neverloosehope4233]

Only 4 years jail !

[@lol_05.76]

@Lewis C. she got 20 years-- federal prison time, which every year must be served, unlike state prison time. Every year of fed time has to be served!

[@lorenzoamoso2952]

@Lewis C. I know that people will accuse you of playing the victim card, but they don't get it... or they don't want to. It is absolutely true. I have seen some stories worse than this, involving murder, and when it does come to rich white people, the law tends to be more lenient , especially when they are looked up to and loved by everyone in the community....all the neighbors in their rich little enclaves , coworkers, it's always the same... "They were such nice people I would never imagine something like this". like I said, I've seen documentaries worse than this, and unbelievable, literally.

[@newstarcadefan]

@Lewis C. oh no, there's no such thing as parole in the federal system. At best, she'll have to serve out at least 85% of 20 years. At minimum she's going to be in prison for at least 17, but no more than 20

[@corvuscrow5485]

This makes Rita Crundwell look like a smooth operator. She wasn't. I just watched a presentation by the firm hired to unravel the whole thing, it was in Everybody's face at All levels from All sides for at Least 24 years. Nobody was doing their job, i.e., Gross Negligence. She even made cash withdrawals. Hilarious.

[@LWWM]

When your accountant gives you financial statements in cartoon form, I think you have a problem!

[@archerbob6847]

I think its BS that 1 person could embezzle 50+ million, I'm not saying she's innocent but there's no way its only her

[@monicagomez4616]

I love that she was caught off guard and the whistleblower and mayor played it cool to nab her. She lived like family amongst those people of Dixon and did them such wrong for over 20 years? She was truly out of order.

[@tyrone4u559]

This was a great story. I hope it is made into a book or even a movie.

[@lisagarron6958]

it was on Netflix for quite a while. Im not sure if it still is. I watched it last summer.

[@NeptunesHorses5909]

"All the Queen's Horses" documentary

[@mikecorbeil]

It's now March 16th, 2020, having only come across a link to this story overnight, and this is an excellent investigative report.

[@omennemo8844]

I don't know how this woman got away with it for so long. I would've been alerted at all the expensive things she owned on a city salary. The whistle blower should be working in the White House.

[@erniew5805]

yes horses are not a money maker tax write-off for the rich

[@rl5055]

Reaching a settlement with the auditing firm explains that they knew something was aloof = complicity.

[@neetrab]

of course they knew they didn't do right.

[@xkguy]

AS an Illinois boy all I can think is...compared to the state and Chicago Rita was an amateur. Paul Powell (former Sec State in the 1960s) stole that much every year. He famously said: "i can smell the meat a cookin'"

[@stevenhumphrey868]

Rita committed the largest municipal fraud in US history to date.

[@Donato93]

I am so glad that she got 20yrs , but the Mayor should have got 30yrs for “stupidity “ 20yrs and he knows nothing. Give me a break .

[@kystars]

hey the auditors could not find anything, and he even wondered himself but they told him nothing was wrong. so give ME a break.

[@trutherone2140]

Also, there were several different Mayors over the 20 years. It was not a Mayors fault in any way , shape, or form.

[@photojones1]

A upside down horseshoe for a city arch is unlucky!

[@offgridjack5779]

The IRS should nail her now and check into those "auditors" too!! More prison time!!

[@millieschattime9924]

I've watched this story like 4x's she was a piece of work!!!

[@ydschools9745]

No one got suspicious???

[@GhostDrummer]

YD Schools out of sight, out of mind...

[@jsarratt1]

+YD Schools What the eye don't see, the heart doesn't grieve over...

[@AkSonya1010]

if you watch, the Mayor did get suspicious of her specifically and the auditors said she was clean so he went back with his tail in between his legs. Which to me said whomever he spoke had to be her partner in crime.

[@HybridPhoenix08]

@@AkSonya1010 He was saying all this AFTER the fact though. He may have never suspected a thing.

[@kevinbaird7277]

Rita Crundwell was released early, 9 years early, to a half way house in August 2021, unbelievable.

[@firstnamekaty8830]

12:06 Spongebob looks like he’s flipping a bird😂

[@karljay7473]

You KNOW someone has a mental disorder when the buy a Spongebob diamond thing like that. Give people power, see what happens, it's human nature.

[@tinydancer7426]

Perfect lesson about why no one person should have that much power over the finances of a business or government entity. It is basic common sense. There should be a complete internal auditing process in place with a system of checks and balances. The local government that I worked for has a "vetting" process in place that requires any business receiving any kind of payment has first been "investigated" to insure that there is no connection between anyone in the disbursement section and the business. That worked pretty well until it was found that an employee had created phony invoices resulting in payments to a business belonging to a family member. When that came to light, it resulted in many many changes being made to prevent such a thing to happen. That employee too saw the inside of a prison for many, many years.

[@paulw176]

she's prolly shakin' down her cellmate for Ramen Noodles and cheetos -

[@moncorp1]

There's a great presentation on Illinois Channel TV on YT by the federal prosecutor on this that gives more info on the case. She might not have hung out with her coworkers, but she was buddy buddy with the auditors. The bank had to cough up some money too if I recall for being so stupid.

[@Expatriate1977]

I visited dixon. Love it. One of my most favorite towns. Not just a great town but home to one of the greatest leaders in world History, Ronald Reagan

[@leelee0404]

America needs another Reagan now more than ever

[@w8lvradio]

Good (as always) on the Fifth Estate! The Sad Part is that when a Psychopathic Narcissist is outed that the Victims always say: How could they do this to others? And: Was it really worth it to them to do so? But it's PRECISELY why we must have systems in place to: Prevent anyone from doing this to others, and keep Psychopathic Narcissists from taking care of "#1".

[@rexharrison400]

A printed roll calculator in an office in this day and age, with that level of sophistication it was little wonder that she could pull the wool over their eyes.

[@samanthamonaghan7579]

This is why I say we taxpayers need to demand where our money goes in detail. Don't tell us new equipment show us invoices and line items for purchases.

[@Mystery207]

We need something like a audit of RHode Island I’d like to know why we pay car taxes and taxes on gas cigarettes and need a 40.00 Truck toll and They still want us to pay to get roads repaired.?!?

[@nemo227]

Mystery207 . . . begin writing to your legislators, news companies, friends. When I write to my elected officials I always close with, "I am looking forward to your reply so that I can share it with my discussion group" or friends, etc. I always want them to know that several people will know about their response.

[@darkknight1340]

Like everywhere else,criminally bad management,we need to get rid of all local government officials and start running things ourselves.

[@darkknight1340]

@@nemo227 And if you e mail them,try to put as many names in the cc line as you can.

[@nemo227]

@@darkknight1340 Very good idea.

[@montebrodie4086]

She did not go to jail for 234 months, she went to PRISON.

[@royhoco5748]

no small town official should have the power to control all the money, every expense, check, invoice should have to be approved by at least 2 people. a solid system of checks and balances should be in place and people should ask questions and demand answers.

[@barbaravendro3217]

I blame the mayor and every person in that office whose paycheck didn't grow for years. You turned a blind eye even though your gut knew better. Congratulation to your employee who had the courage of her convictions. The moment that she froze your payroll I would have removed her from the desk and called a government agency. Why did she get away stealing for 20 years? She bet her wealthy high of the hog life style on YOUR TRUST. How lucky in getting monies back.

[@pamelageorge8275]

I hope the employees got a good raise, new city trucks, paving, etc. that was long overdue! 👍

[@geoh7777]

Probably very little changed. Remember, it's still government people, proven psychopaths.

[@melkennedy4195]

I have always maintained that having one person sign cheques - is a recipe for disaster. ALWAYS!! Any company should have 3 people involved one the authorise and two signatories. That way 3 people have to be in the know of any funds leaving the bank account and what the funds are for. Again, in the same manner but for much less funds, there have been many companies and clubs who have been robbed by one signatory accounting. It amazes me that people are still trusted to do accounts on their own.

[@robbieunderwood8349]

All I can say is wow did anyone in that town never get a hunch that something didn't add up, no pun intended. Didn't ONE single person in 20 freakin years wonder how she was living like a rock star on a city employee wage??? Incredible.

[@oliviaortiz5157]

Can anyone wonder what kind of stories she must give to her cell mates lol🤔😕 GREED AND JAIL BAD COMBINATION 🤮

[@michaelmarcoux3653]

One of her horses was named "I Found a Penny." Subconsciously, I think she wanted to get caught. Either that or she was a psycho. But I'm glad to see the town made whole again. They were lucky.

[@doriehess5835]

Still in disrepair, but at least we have a flag on our arch now.🤨

[@doriehess5835]

@A Tangerine it would have if they used it for that.

[@doriehess5835]

@A Tangerine don't be so naive. They voted themselves a 76% payraise while some streets haven't been resurfaced in 30 years. It's very corrupt here.

[@karencroner9041]

@@doriehess5835 wow, who voted themselves a payraise? Seems like everyone had to be in on it - I don't understand how she got away with it.

[@doriehess5835]

@@karencroner9041 she was the one they threw under the bus to protect themselves. The city council voted themselves a pay raise afterwards.

[@jdcastillocastillo3492]

Dixon was always the place to go when I was a kid in high school(I grew up in Sterling just 12 miles west of there)never would have thought that this could happen in such an all American city.Hi Cara Lee!!!!!!!!!

[@Kaptain.Obvious]

How about back pay for employees who sacrificed all those years? Would love a follow up on how the money was eventually spent.

[@JohnDoe-uy4rb]

One lesson from this is that it shows how much the government can save by tightening its belt.

[@stevenhumphrey868]

Dixon is a city poorly lacking in maintenance and needs a lot of infrastructure repair. A town of 15,000 that does not even have an open public gym for kids to play in, roads are torn up, and the schools are starting to lack. Folks are leaving after 20 years of no investments and stolen property taxes.

[@gailjarvis2592]

Husband CPA: "The mayor, city council should have hired a new auditing firm years ago. A new accountant fresh from college would have seen this." - Me: Think of all the folks that couldn't pay for medical care for crisis, lost their homes, couldn't have fire protection or even be sure of the sanctity of their graves. She robbed them dead or alive. Sentence too small! Perfidy!

[@slimpickens9135]

Mrs. David Wesley hey at least she wasn’t Hispanic

[@Smokeless1167]

Let her stay in prison with horseheads on the walls for company.

[@RichGarciaTv]

the first thing I learned in school is not to have a single person hold multiple positions of power

[@hailmaryrecordings8255]

I just fled Dixon and its anomie. I have a few ideas concerning how the recouped funds can be allocated. They still haven’t spent a dime on the cities infrastructure, and they won’t. That money’s being given away alright.

[@stevenhumphrey868]

Sadly this is exactly true. This town is falling apart and it took on a lot of Muni Debt during the Rita years to make some of the longer term projects that needed to be done funded. Not only did Dixon lose the investment during that period, but we've also all been paying interest on the bonds that could have been paid back sooner, or perhaps we wouldn't have had to bond for certain projects at all. There is not even a public open gym in this city.

[@TheBestofFlintCityCouncil]

Kathy Swanson is the best. I would have done the same thing.

[@scootergreen3]

Great story! I'm glad she got caught and town paid back!

[@storieswithjedwhenitstimef6004]

It's not the immigrants you have to watch out for, it's your neighbors. smdh

[@fouts420]

this is a small town local government. can you imagine what the federal government is getting away with?

[@manatee2500]

Good story from our Canadian friends.

[@thellamalady4181]

400 horses: $48,000 a MONTH for feed $3,200-$4,800 every three months for worming $16,000-$32,000 every three months for shoeing... $$$ vet bills $$ riding lessons $$ trainers $ equipment ECT., ECT., ECT., Meanwhile the town is going dry, more and more budget cuts every year...and no one could figure this out???? She'd lived there her whole life, so people would know whether the family was wealthy or middle class and obviously she did not come from a wealthy family because people did wonder where her money came from and WHY did she bother holding a job if she was so rich to began with????

[@PInk77W1]

I think she had 400 horses over 22yrs. Not all at once. But I’m just guessing. If your point is a good one, how the heck do u live that lifestyle on $80K

[@melesmeles2095]

Wtf type of wormer are you using ?

[@carolmassengill5642]

God was outraged and prompted that lady to open those "for Rita's eyes only books.thank God!

[@ibobeko4309]

How much does it cost for one horse annual expenses ? i am from the city i did not know that a horse need every 3 month worming and shoeing.

[@pearldiver1006]

Thanks for the coverage.

[@cecillambert1092]

City with one signatory which controls all the money. That was the first big mistake. You always always have multiple signing authorities for a corporation, city, or the like.

[@tonymcneil978]

She was just way too greedy. If she had just taken a little each year to give her income a boost and still left the town with money to operate, no one would have suspected her.

[@vanmichael6517]

She and her horses earned 69 national championships... impressive

[@zinnieboy9919]

No city or town should ever allow only one person to be in charge of it's finances. There should be at least 2 or 3 people, with their bosses, mayor, etc checking on it on a regular basis. See what can happen when you give just one person the job of treasurer? I think there is a lesson to be learned here.

[@christopherbradley5575]

I hope the horses were well taken care of.

[@mercybyty4082]

"Born to be a bean counter" 🤣

[@michaelcap9550]

They should do a video of New Rome, OH. Revenue from speeding tickets.

[@mrblowhard2u]

Reminds me of the bookkeeper who "cooked the books" for about 15 years or so at the private Catholic school where I worked in the 1970's. But, instead of prosecuting they just let her 'resign' because they didn't want the publicity of a scandal. It was my boss (a crook himself it was later found) who exposed her.

[@notsosilentmajority1]

The first clue should have been that only SHE could sign off on any expenditures. That seems to always be a sign of corruption.

[@frankcramo4414]

Honestly, for the town to not realise 53,000,000 was missing is insane.It goes to show you this was an old school town which was taken advantage of due to trust.This lady is the devil