Former School Employee Sentenced to 9 Years for Stealing $1.5M Worth Of Chicken Wings

A former food service director has been sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings from an Illinois school district. Vera Liddell, 68, carried out the elaborate scheme over 19 months, from July 2020 to February 2022, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Liddell, who hails from Harvey, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, exploited her position as the food service director for Harvey School District 152. While students were learning remotely, the district continued to provide meals for parents to pick up. Liddell took advantage of this setup by placing unauthorized orders for more than 11,000 cases of chicken wings using district funds. She personally retrieved the orders with a district cargo van, but the wings never made it to the students.

The scheme unraveled during a mid-year audit in January 2023, when the district’s business manager noticed a $300,000 overage in the annual food service budget—despite being only halfway through the school year. Suspicion grew when it was discovered that chicken wings, which aren’t typically served to students due to the presence of bones, were being ordered in massive quantities.

Liddell’s actions drained vital resources intended to support student meals, leaving the district to absorb the financial fallout. Her arrest in January 2023 ended the long-running scheme, but one question remains unanswered: what happened to the staggering amount of chicken wings she stole?

This case serves as a stark reminder of the importance of oversight and accountability in managing public funds, especially during times of crisis.