Dixon City Council poised to approve settlement

Officials of the northern Illinois city of Dixon are poised to approve a $40 million settlement in connection with former comptroller Rita Crundwell’s theft of millions of dollars in public money.

The Telegraph in Dixon reports the Dixon City Council on Tuesday is expected to give the settlement final approval at a public meeting. Dixon is to receive the money as part of a settlement with a bank and auditor the city contended failed to do enough to expose Crundwell’s scheme.

Crundwell is serving a federal prison term after pleading guilty to charges she stole more than $53 million over two decades. She was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors say she used the stolen money to live lavishly and to build a nationally-renowned horse-breeding operation.