Vera Liddell—director of food services at Harvey School District 152 just outside Chicago—is accused of embezzling $1.5 million worth of chicken wings from the district. According to the Cook County State's Attorney's office, the scam dates back to the height of COVID-19 when schools were closed but still providing meals to children via curbside pick-up. Over 20 months, Liddell apparently placed unauthorized orders for 11,000 cases of chicken wings. The school doesn't even serve chicken wings due to a policy against serving meat with bones in it. From CBS News:
…In January 2022, the district business manager conducted a routine mid-year audit and discovered the food service department was more than $300,000 over its annual budget with the school year only about half over, prosecutors said.
A closer review uncovered individual invoices signed by Liddell for absurd quantities of chicken wings, prosecutors said.
Surveillance video showed that Liddell showed up at Gordon Food Service to pick up the food orders and would leave with them in a district cargo van. But the food was never brought to the school or the students, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said it wasn't clear what she did with the chicken wings.
I'd imagine she dipped them in bleu cheese!
