Rita Crundwell: America's New Queen of Municipal Embezzlement

Even with just the $30 million in public funds that federal investigators initially believed Rita Crundwell stole from Dixon, Illinois, an expert was calling the alleged crime "the perfect storm of embezzlement." But that storm just plumped out into a Category 5 Hurricane of Embezzlement, as prosecutors have upped their estimate of Crundwell's take to an astounding $53 million.

The former comptroller and current horse breeder was able to take so much because the financial controls in Dixon stunk and because she spread the stealing out over 22 years, says the U.S. government. The town's mayor and city council didn't get suspicious about all the disappearing money, because Crundwell told them that the state was simply late on payments due to Dixon. (Really? That actually worked for more than two decades?) Much of the cash went to the pol's beloved horses, which bear hilariously apt names like "Packin' Jewels," "Potential Fortune," "Have Faith in Money" and "She Scores."