A former Illinois public school food service director has been sentenced to nine years in prison for orchestrating a massive scheme to steal over $1.5 million worth of chicken wings meant for students. Vera Liddell, 66, worked for Harvey School District 152 for over a decade before her scheme was uncovered in January 2023.
According to court records, Liddell placed orders for over 11,000 cases of chicken wings from the school district’s food provider, Gordon Food Service, and picked them up in a district van. However, the wings were never delivered to the students, who were remote-learning at the time.
The scheme went undetected until the school district’s business manager discovered that they had exceeded their annual food service budget by $300,000 halfway through the school year. Upon further investigation, the business manager found individual invoices signed by Liddell for massive quantities of chicken wings, which were never served to students due to containing bones.
Gordon Food Service reportedly had a familiar relationship with Liddell due to her frequent large-scale purchases of chicken wings. The scheme began during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when students were not allowed to physically attend school, but the district continued to provide meals for students to pick up.
The Harvey School District 152 serves approximately 1,600 students, with over 80% qualifying as low-income. Liddell pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to nine years in prison on Friday, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney.
