President Joe Biden commutes sentence of Rita Crundwell

The former Comptroller and Treasurer of Dixon, Illinois, Rita Crundwell, was fired from her job in April 2012 after she was discovered to have committed what is believed to be the largest municipal fraud in the history of the United States of America. Her crimes eventually landed her in prison.

On Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, Joe Biden announced that he was commuting Crundwell's sentence.

Crundwell was found to have embezzled nearly $54 MILLION from the city of Dixon over 22 years to support her American Quarter Horse breeding operation, as well as a generally lavish lifestyle.

Crundwell used the money she stole to turn her Quarter Horse breeding operation, RC Quarter Horses, into one of the most successful in the country. Anyone who's ever even looked into the finances behind horseracing knows that it can be VERY lucrative for certain people, especially if they get a head start by stealing over $50,000,000.

Crundwell's horses won 52 world championships, and she was named the leading owner by the American Quarter Horse Association for eight consecutive years before her arrest.

Not only was Crundwell stealing money from the city, but she was doing it during a time when the city was NOT doing well financially, according to her own admission.

Glen Hughes, the mayor of Dixon, was "stunned, and maybe even angry" to learn that Joe Biden had excused Crundwell from her crimes that hurt so many people.

"Although today's news will be a dark moment in Dixon's history, Dixon has recovered very nicely both financially, and developmentally, from the Crundwell days," Hughes said. "Dixon is a great community to live in. We are focused on continuing to enhance the community, and are positive about its strength for the future."

Dixon City Manager Danny Langloss also seemed frustrated with Biden's decision, saying that it's hard for the city to put these crimes behind them if the culprit is in national headlines getting credit from America's president.

"It's just not right," Langloss said. "Just the laziness to carte blanche commute the sentence of everyone, or nearly everyone that was put on home detention during COVID, without even giving consideration to the victims or their crimes."

Caldwell isn't the only person Biden shouldn't have pardoned recently.

Judge Michael Conahan was handed a 17-year prison sentence in 2011 for sending children to for-profit prisons in exchange for illegal kickbacks.

Even Democrat Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was shocked and angered by Conahan's release:

"I do feel strongly that President Biden got it absolutely wrong and created a lot of pain here in northeastern Pennsylvania." The scandal "affected families in really deep and profound and sad ways. Conahan deserves to be behind bars, not walking as a free man."

Much of America agrees with Mr. Shapiro.