Illinois woman who stole $1.5M worth of chicken wings sentenced to 9 years in prison

CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) — A woman who worked as a Chicago-area school official has been sentenced to 9 years in prison for stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings.

According to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Vera Liddell, 68, pleaded guilty on Friday to stealing more than 11,000 cases of chicken wings from the Harvey School District during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Liddell, who worked as food services director, stole the wings from July 2020 to February 2022. The wings were meant as take-home meals for students who were on remote learning, according to WGN .

Authorities said Liddell ordered hundreds of unauthorized food items through the school’s main supplier, Gordon Food Services.

The school was billed for the items, court documents said.

The crime was uncovered during an audit after the food service department exceeded its annual operating budget by $300,000 midway through the school year.

“Upon closer review, [the district’s business manager] discovered individual invoices signed by Liddell for massive quantities of chicken wings, an item that was never served to students because they contain bones,” the court document said.

Liddell’s attorney said she expressed “a great deal of remorse” for the crime, The New York Times reported.

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