Illinois corruption 7/28/12: Dixon horse lady's $2 million motorcoach is available for viewing

Dixon Arch

Rita Crundwell, the longtime comptroller of Dixon, Illinois is accused of embezzling $53 million from the small city that is best known as Ronald Reagan's hometown. Crundwell allegedly stole the money to finance her prize-winning quarter horse breeding operations.

U.S. marshals seized most of her assets, including 400 horses that will be auctioned later this year. But the priciest plum is a motorcoach she purchased for $2.1 million--and if you are in suburban Milwaukee and you want to see an RV that is worth far more than most people's homes--it's available for viewing.

More from the Chicago Tribune:

Spanning 45 feet from front to back with two slide-outs, the 2009 Liberty Coach motor home comes from the company's Elegant Lady series and sports a "2 Thms Up" Wisconsin license plate.

"Truly no expense spared," said Tony Stevens, a contractor for the U.S. Marshals Service who works with seized inventory.

Federal prosecutors allege that Crundwell funneled money from Dixon's coffers into an account bearing her name, then used it to fund her champion horse breeding business and lavish lifestyle, including the motor home.

The Marshals Service seized the motor home in Beloit, Wis., on April 17, the day Crundwell was led away from Dixon City Hall in handcuffs. On May 30, a federal judge directed the Marshals Service to sell the motor home, on which Crundwell still owed about $434,000, according to court documents. Though she has not been convicted of a crime, the judge's order cites the need to proceed with the sale because of the potential for the vehicle to diminish in value as penalty fees for lack of payment and maintenance costs add up.

The Crundwell motorcoach boasts five televisions, a DVD player, a satellite dish, an electric stove, a dishwasher, a refrigerator, a washer and a dryer, as well as a king size bed. This is luxury that Louis XIV, the Sun King, who by the way was not from Dixon, could only have dreamed of.

If you have to ask if the warranty transfers over, then I don't think you can afford this vehicle.

Related posts:

• Ronald Reagan Trail: Dixon
• Ronald Reagan Trail: Lowell Park and 78 lives saved
• Marathon Pundit's Ronald Reagan Trail
• Midwestern Presidential Pathway: Dixon, a shining city upon a hill
• Midwestern Presidential Pathway: Ronald Reagan's Dixon, Illinois
• Ike, the military truck convoy, the Lincoln Highway, and Dixon, Illinois
• The only statue of Lincoln in military dress is in Dixon, Illinois
• New Reagan statue in Dixon, Illinois
• On this day 155 years ago: Lincoln campaigns for Frémont in Dixon, IL

Technorati tags: crime law legalpolitics america usa history Illinois Politics