Article updated: 11/14/2012 12:08 PM

Dixon’s ex-comptroller pleads guilty in $53M scam

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Rita Crundwell, former comptroller of Dixon, pleaded guilty Wednesday to allegations she embezzled more than $50 million from a small city in Illinois to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a nationally known horse-breeding operation.

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A longtime bookkeeper pleaded guilty Wednesday to allegations she embezzled more than $50 million from downstate Dixon to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a nationally known horse-breeding operation. Rita Crundwell, the former comptroller, pleaded guilty to a charge of wire fraud in federal court in Rockford.