An Illinois school food worker will spend the next nine years in prison after she was found guilty of a fowl heist — stealing over 11,000 cases of chicken wings from her school district during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cases, valued at over $1.5 million collectively, were stealthily ordered through the district's food provider over the course of 19 months, from July 2020 to February 2022.
Vera Liddell, 68, who worked as the food service director at Harvey School District 152 near Chicago , would order cases of chicken wings, then keep them for herself. She reportedly picked up the orders in a district cargo van.
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The wings were reportedly meant for student consumption but were instead stolen by Liddell, who pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to nine years in prison last Friday, according to WGN-TV , which spoke with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.
The plot was finally uncovered by the district's business manager, who discovered a massive amount of spending — well over the budget — in the food services allotment. The district was reportedly already over $300,000 over its annual budget for food services, with around half the school year left.
That led to an investigation, which eventually unearthed the "massive fraud" Liddell was committing. She had been working at the district for over 10 years and had reportedly taken advantage of the pandemic to steal food — though what she ended up doing with all the chicken wings, obtained from Gordon Food Services, wasn't clear.
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During the period in which Liddell committed the thefts, students were learning remotely, but many families were still picking up food from the school. She would order the chicken wings and bill them to the district, then keep them for herself, it was reported.
A proffer presented at Liddell's bond hearing read, "The massive fraud began at the height of COVID during a time when students were not allowed to be physically present in school. Even though the children were learning remotely, the school district continued to provide meals for the students that their families could pick up."
What also struck the business manager as strange when he uncovered the plot were the invoices for chicken wings — since they have bones in them, the district typically doesn't serve them to students, making the purchases stand out even more.
So, Liddell was charged with theft and operating a criminal enterprise back in January 2023 after the plot was uncovered and an investigation ensued. She eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced.
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