May 07, 2025
Local News | Bureau County Republican


Local News

Dateline Dixon: ‘American Greed’ to feature Crundwell

DIXON — Former Comptroller Rita Crundwell’s theft of nearly $54 million will again be on display to a nationwide audience.

CNBC will air an episode of “American Greed” that features Crundwell on April 2. The episode’s title is, “The Cunning Cowgirl Crook.”

Crundwell stole nearly $54 million from the city during two decades before she was arrested at City Hall in April 2012. She’s serving a sentence of 19 years, 7 months in a federal prison in Waseca, Minn.

The city has received about $39.4 million from a settlement with its former auditors and a bank and the sale of Crundwell’s assets.

Crundwell will share the episode with Joe Mazella, who stole about $14 million in a real estate development scam, according to CNBC’s website.

Video from the auction of Crundwell’s horses in 2012 is included in a new 15-minute recruitment video for the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.