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President Biden sparked outrage in Dixon, Illinois, by commuting the sentence of Rita Crundwell, the former comptroller who stole nearly $54 million from the town over 22 years.
Crundwell, 71, pled guilty in 2012 and was included in Biden’s record-setting clemency of 1,500 individuals last Thursday. Local officials and state lawmakers criticized the decision, calling it a free pass for her crimes, according to a Fox News Digital report.
“Rita’s crime absolutely shocks the conscience…. at her sentencing on February 14th, 2013, [the judge] said that a significant prison sentence was essential to reestablish public trust and confidence, so what we’ve seen here over the last week is just unbelievable and really a complete betrayal by the federal criminal justice system,” Dixon city manager Danny Langloss told “Fox & Friends First” on Tuesday.
Langloss, the police chief during Crundwell’s arrest, said the community is “shocked,” “outraged,” and in “disbelief,” calling the commutation a “disservice” to her victims and a damaging blow to trust in the justice system.
“This is lazy governance, and it’s really abuse of authority and power,” Langloss added. “We’re outraged that Rita’s been released, but all the work I’ve done as a police officer around protecting children, alternatives to detention, the impact of detention on children, to have this judge walk free, to have a day taken off his sentence while they just really got this so wrong.”
The town of Dixon, Illinois is furious at Joe Biden for granting clemency to Rita Crundwell, the former Comptroller who embezzled $54M in the largest municipal fraud scheme in American history.
“We’re just shocked, outraged. As a community we feel betrayed by the president.” pic.twitter.com/NDkgsKK41X
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) December 13, 2024
The White House stated the 1,500 commutations apply to those on home confinement during COVID-19 who successfully reintegrated into their communities, emphasizing “second chances.” However, Biden’s mass action also commuted the sentence of a corrupt judge involved in the “cash-for-kids” scheme, where juveniles were sentenced in exchange for millions of dollars.
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