CHICAGO (AP) - The longtime financial officer of a northern Illinois city who is accused of stealing $30 million is free on a $4,500 recognizance bond.
U.S. District Judge Michael Mahoney on Wednesday prohibited Dixon Comptroller Rita A. Crundwell from selling any horses or other property while her wire fraud case proceeds in federal court. The judge said Crundwell can travel in northern Illinois and to Wisconsin, where she has horse ranches.
Prosecutors say the 58-year-old Crundwell used much of the allegedly stolen money to fund a lavish lifestyle and run one of the nation's leading horse breeding operations.
FBI agents arrested the longtime comptroller on Tuesday. According to a criminal complaint, the siphoning of city coffers went undetected for years until another staffer filling in as vacation relief became suspicious.
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