An Illinois judge had a bone to pick last week with a former food service director for South Chicago schools who stole 11,000 cases of chicken wings valued at $1.5 million and gambled away the proceeds.
Vera Liddell placed hundreds of unauthorized orders for chicken wings which were paid by the district but never reached the mouths of students. Instead, Liddell resold them to unspecified parties and gambled with the proceeds.
Judge Michele Pitman of the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Sixth Municipal District sentenced Vera Liddell, 68, to nine years in prison for felony theft after her guilty plea last Friday.
Liddell embarked on her fraud spree in July 2020 at the height of the pandemic when students were learning remotely and were not permitted to be physically present in school.
During this time, the school district continued to provide meals for underprivileged students, which could be picked up by their families.
From July 2020 through February 2022, Liddell placed hundreds of unauthorized orders for chicken wings with Gordon Food Service, the school district’s supplier, according to court documents. Believing these were legitimate orders, Gordon Foods billed the district, which paid the invoices.
But the scam came to light in 2022 when an audit revealed that the food service department had already maxed out its budget for the entire year by $300,000, and it was only January.
The district’s business manager then uncovered numerous invoices signed by Liddell for vast quantities of chicken wings, something that would never be served to students because they contain small bones and present a choking risk.
Investigators analyzed security video, which showed that Liddell used the school district’s cargo vans to pick up the produce. It’s unclear where it went after that.
Liddell’s lawyer, Patrick O’Byrne, told People last week that his client was a churchgoing woman with no previous criminal record.
“She’s just a little sweetheart that’s got a gambling problem,” O’Byrne said. “She feels beyond terrible about this. This is totally uncharacteristic of her. It was the disease taking over.”
Things took an unexpected turn when NFL star Chris Jones appeared to offer to repay the $1.5 million if it would get Liddell out of prison.
“I’ll pay for the wings that she stole to get her free,” he tweeted on the X platform.
O’Byrne told People that Jones’ people had been in contact, adding that he hoped “everything works out so that we can get her out.”
However, it’s unclear how much impact the Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle’s offer, if serious, could have on Liddell’s predicament, since she has already been sentenced.
