Feds to auction online horses seized from arrested comptroller

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Marshals Service will auction the first 93 of hundreds of horses owned by a former Illinois city official charged with stealing public funds.

The online auction atwww.professionalauction.com will start at noon Friday and will close on Tuesday for 46 of the horses and Wednesday for 47 horses.

A live auction will be held in Dixon on Sept. 23 and 24 to sell the remainder of the nearly 400 horses owned by Rita Crundwell.

Crundwell was arrested in April and is accused of stealing more than $53 million from the city of Dixon since 1990 while working as its comptroller. She has pleaded not guilty to a wire fraud charge. Prosecutors say Crundwell siphoned the money into a secret bank account and used it to sustain a luxurious lifestyle.