Prosecutors announced that an Illinois school employee would serve the next nine years in prison for stealing 11,000 cases of chicken wings worth $1.5 million that were intended for kids during the peak of the COVID pandemic.
Prosecutors said that Vera Liddell committed the unappetizing crime while serving as the food service director of Harvey School District 152. The crime was only discovered after the district realized it had overspent its budget.
As reported by ABC 7 Chicago, the Cook County State Attorney’s Office stated that Liddell, 68, began the scam in July 2020 and continued it until February 2022.
Students never saw a single wing, according to prosecutors, even though she purchased an astounding quantity of chicken and transported the food in a school cargo van, as reported by WGN.
At the height of the pandemic, schools were shuttered, but the district near Chicago continued to provide lunch kits to students enrolled in remote learning.
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In January 2023, she was first accused of stealing and running a criminal business.
Prior to receiving her nine years in prison, Liddell, who oversaw food service for ten years at the district, entered a guilty plea in the case, according to WGN.
A routine audit by the school business manager resulted in Liddell’s arrest when she discovered that food prices were $300,000 above budget despite the fact that there were still months remaining in the academic year.
