What a shame.
An Illinois school employee will spend the next nine years in prison for stealing 11,000 cases of chicken wings worth $1.5 million intended for students during the COVID-19 pandemic, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors’ reports, Vera Liddell used her position as food service director for Harvey School District 152 to carry out the disturbing crimes that only came to light after the district realized the school system was overspending.
Liddell, 68, began the scheme in July 2020 and did not stop until February 2022, according to the Cook County Prosecutor’s Office. According to ABC 7 Chicago.
She purchased incredible amounts of chicken and used the school’s cargo van to deliver the food, but students never saw a single bird, prosecutors said. Per WGN.
Even though schools were closed and the pandemic was at its peak, school districts near Chicago continued distributing meal kits to students who were learning remotely.
She was originally charged in January 2023 with theft and operating a criminal enterprise.
Liddell, who served as the district’s food service director for 10 years, pleaded guilty in the case before being sentenced to nine years in prison, WGN reported.
The school’s business administrator, during a routine audit, discovered that food expenses were $300,000 over budget with several months left in the school year, which led to Liddell’s arrest.
