A woman convicted of embezzling $54 million in public funds has been transferred to a federal prison in her home state of Illinois.
Former Dixon Comptroller Rita Crundwell is now housed in the Pekin Federal Correctional Institution, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) south of the northern Illinois city, Sauk Valley Media reported . She previously served prison time in Minnesota and at a federal medical center in Texas before she was sent to Pekin earlier this month.
The Bureau of Prisons Information, Policy and Public Affairs Division didn't specify why Crundwell was relocated. A number of factors may cause an inmate to be transferred, including the level of security and supervision they require, or their medical and programming needs, according to the division's website.
Crundwell, 65, has served about a quarter of her 20-year prison sentence. She pleaded guilty to stealing money from Dixon for more than two decades to support a lifestyle that included a nationally renowned horse-breeding operation.
Her scheme unraveled when she went on an extended vacation in 2011 and the person who filled in for her discovered her secret account, prompting the mayor to call the FBI.
Prosecutors said Crundwell began depositing Dixon's money in a secret bank account in January 1991. Investigators said the money deposits continued until her arrest in April 2012, months after the FBI began monitoring her transactions.
"All the Queen's Horses" is a documentary that covers Crundwell's case, calling it one of the worst abuses of public trust in the state's corruption-rich history.
