From Jason R. Wojdylo, Chief Inspector Asset Forfeiture Division, U.S. Marshals Service:
The U.S. Marshals Service held the first of several online auctions of show clothing and related items seized and forfeited from Rita A. Crundwell, the former comptroller of Dixon, IL. She is serving a 19 1/2 year federal prison sentence on a 2012 conviction in the Northern District of Illinois stemming from her crime that spanned more than two decades and involved the theft of public funds from the city where she was once employed. The information outlined at the conclusion of this message reflects the results of the most recent online auction that closed on Tuesday.
There is no dispute the retail price Rita Crundwell paid long ago for her forfeited belongings that we sold today was far more than we obtained in the online auction. After all, we know she paid thousands of dollars for some of the individual items. With more than $46,000 in sales, I am confident the national exposure of this auction generated the greatest return possible based on what was a limited audience of those who fit the size – that is, Crundwell’s small frame – of many of the clothing and apparel items offered for purchase.
The two-week online bidding process provided a world-wide opportunity for public participation, far more than would have been achieved with a live auction. I am satisfied with the results. More important, this case is about federal officials who are determined not to forget about the victims from a small Midwestern American town, who for decades paid their taxes in exchange for public services they would never receive because their comptroller sold them out by stealing the city’s money.
The once well-trusted Dixon, IL public official intentionally disguised her more than 20-year-long theft of public funds, ultimately admitting the opulence of her lifestyle was a sham. More than three-and-a-half years after her arrest by the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service continues to be on the hunt for her assets to sell off everything that serves as a symbol for what she stood for: fame, fortune, her brand, her ego – all built on the backs of the hard-working people from her hometown, 90 miles west of Chicago.
Trust, we will continue to turn the tables on her greed and criminal ways by working hard to hold Rita Crundwell accountable by recovering monies from her belongings for the city of Dixon and its residents as the victim of her selfish, abhorrent, and criminal conduct.
The online auction, and the recently-announced sealed bid process for her trophy and awards collection, are an opportunity to generate proceeds from more of her forfeited assets – albeit well short of the nearly $54 million she stole – that will add to the $9.5 million federal officials have already returned to Dixon.
Individual lot sale prices from the online auction that closed today can be viewed at www.txauction.com by clicking on the banner for the Crundwell auction. We will be releasing a plan to offer for sale the 117 of the 290 lots that did not sell today after the conclusion of the next online auction of property seized and forfeited this past summer, planned for November 17 – December 1 with items yet-to-be-seen.
A News Release will soon be issued detailing additional information, and will include the release of photographs of some of the items in advance of the website going live. The recently-announced sealed bid process for her trophies and awards that closes on November 30 is an opportunity to pass on the collection to a worthy non-profit organization. More information can be found at www.usmarshals.gov/assets/sales.htm.
I recognize there may be some people who want to forget about Rita Crundwell and the horrible fraud she perpetrated. It’s understandable. It’s okay to forget about her, but let’s not forget about her victims. For the sake of honest and good neighbors in Dixon who were deprived of so much, over such a long period of time, I hope this case will remain of interest.
Online auction results (October 20 – November 3, 2015):
·Total sale proceeds = $46,873
·Highest sold item – (lot number 5281, Luc Childeric English Saddle, $2,040)
·Highest number of bids for a lot – (lot number 5026, 2 pair of western spurs with “RC”, $755 with 115 bids)
·2,211 bids placed by 246 different bidders
