Her homes, horses, vehicles and now the jewelry. Dozens of Rita Crundwell's items will be sold on the auction block Saturday. It's one of the last chances to recover some of the millions taken from the city of Dixon.
The U.S. Marshal's massive jewelry auction gets underway at 10 a.m. Saturday. More of Crundwell's former possessions will be sold off to recoup a portion of the $53 million she admittedly stole. Watches, rings and necklaces are among the nearly 150 lots of the former comptroller's jewelry that people can bid on. There's a diamond buckle bracelet, a gold neck chain complete with dog tag pendant, as well as a diamond horseshoe ring worth close to $8,000.
"This case was remarkable. I've used the term often, unprecedented. It was an extraordinary undertaking by the government, by the prosecution team," said Jason Wojzylo, with the U.S. Marshals Service.
Altogether her jewelry is estimated to be worth 500-thousand. As of last week, when she was sentenced to just under 20 years for wire fraud, U.S. Marshals had $10.5 million in the bank from liquidating her assets. Now, her home in Englewood, Florida and all this jewelry are nearly all the remains.
Dixon could see proceeds in a few months, but after expenses and claims it's estimated the city will only get about $10 million back.
There was a viewing of the items earlier today in Fort Worth, Texas. The auction will be held live as well as on the web starting at 10 a.m. Go to www.txauction.org for more information.
Crundwell still faces 60 counts of felony theft in Lee County.
