A school employee has been sentenced to 9 years in prison for orchestrating a heist in which multiple van-loads of chicken wings were stolen. This operation began in July of 2020.
Vera Liddell, a resident of Illinois, was accused of theft and running a criminal organization for her role in the theft of approximately $1.5 million worth of chicken wings from the school where she was employed.
On Friday, August 9, 2024, the ex-director of the Harvey School District pleaded guilty to the offense and received a nine-year prison sentence.
Despite her age of 68, Liddell served as the food service director for the Chicago school district. According to CBS, she had a history of multiple bankruptcies.
Vera Liddell stole over $1.5 million of chicken wings.
Prosecutors claimed that Vera secretly ordered chicken wings from the primary food distributors for the district and would then sneak cratefuls of wings back to her home undetected.
According to prosecutors, surveillance footage obtained by the Attorney’s Office revealed that Liddell would arrive at Gordon Food Service, pick up the orders, and then leave in a district cargo van. However, the food was never delivered to the school or the students.
During a period of two years, beginning in July 2020, she executed this illegal operation and was eventually discovered when her higher-ups conducted an investigation into the excessive spending on food, which had exceeded the budget by $300,000 by the middle of the year.
According to court records obtained by CBS, the ex-employee was charged with stealing over 11,000 cases of chicken wings.
According to WGN, the food was intended for students who were studying from home during the pandemic.
Liddell was jailed for nine years.
According to a prosecutor speaking at a bond hearing, the extensive fraud scheme started during the peak of the COVID pandemic when students were unable to attend school in person, as reported by WGN-TV.
Despite the children learning remotely, the school district made sure to continue providing meals for the students, which their families could still collect.
According to WGN, Liddell had been employed by the school district for over ten years.
The scheme was uncovered in February 2022 and Lidell was indicted in January 2023. The chicken thief admitted guilt and was given a 9-year prison sentence on Friday, August 9, 2024.
There are other bizarre food stories as well. In fact, attempting to bring this particular item from Trader Joe’s through the airport could result in your arrest.
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