School audit finds $1.5 million in food stolen, mostly chicken wings

Harvey, Illinois (AP) — A Chicago-area school district employee has been charged with stealing $1.5 million worth of food, primarily chicken wings.

Vera Liddell, 66, was being held in Cook County Jail on $150,000 bail, WGN-TV reported Monday.

Liddell worked as the Food Service Director for Harvey School District 152.

More than 11,000 cases of chicken wings were ordered from district food suppliers and picked up in district freight vans, according to court documents viewed by the television station.

The food was ordered during the coronavirus pandemic when students were receiving distance learning and were not allowed to attend classes on campus. continued to serve meals.

Prosecutors say district funds were used to pay for food, but it was never brought into the district or provided to students. A routine interim audit found that the school district exceeded its annual foodservice budget by $300,000, even though we were halfway through the school year.

A district business manager found signed bills for “items that were never served to students because they contained large amounts of chicken wings, bones.”

The Associated Press was unable to determine on Monday afternoon whether Liddell had an attorney.

More than 80% of the 1,600 students in the district’s five schools qualify as low-income, according to the television station.

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