Former Dixon comptroller Rita Crundwell released from prison early

DIXON, Ill. (WIFR) - Former Dixon comptroller Rita Crundwell who was convicted of embezzling nearly $54 million from the city has been released early from the Federal Corrections Institution in Pekin, Illinois according to Dixon officials.

Crundwell was sentenced in 2013 to 19 years and 7 months in federal prison, serving 85% of the sentence which would have a release date of October 20, 2029.

On August 4, the Federal Correctional Institution in Pekin informed city manager Danny Langloss she had been released eight years early, but “did not know the reason” according to city officials.

Crundwell had petitioned a federal judge for early release in April of 2020 due to her “deteriorating health condition” and pandemic but withdrew it in May after the Dixon City Council wrote a letter to the warden in Pekin strongly opposing her early release.

Mayor Liandro Arellano expressed his frustration that the City of Dixon received no official notification, “it is incredibly frustrating that Dixon was given no victim notification of Rita Crundwell’s release. Dixonites are still dealing with the social and financial aftermath of the damage she did, and our community deserved notice of and reasoning for this decision.”

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