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Illinois school employee sentenced to nine years in prison for piano theft

Vera Liddell, 68, a former school employee, was sentenced to nine years in prison on August 9 for stealing chicken wings worth $1.5 million, US media reported.

Liddell was hired as a consultant in July 2020 after serving as the county's food service director. She was responsible for order placement and used that authority to order unauthorized food, most notably over 11,000 cases of chicken wings from Gordon Food Service, the county's supplier.

These orders were placed separately from the district's regular orders, and the supplier invoiced the district, believing that they were legitimate purchases.

The fraud was uncovered during a mid-year audit in January 2022, when the district's operations manager discovered that the food department had exceeded its annual budget by $300,000. Further investigation revealed that Liddell had signed invoices for large quantities of chicken wings, a dish that was never served to students due to its bone content.

Surveillance footage showed Liddell using district vans to pick up the wings, but they were never delivered to the school.

A Cook County Sheriff's police car patrols outside the Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois, January 12, 2016. (Source: JIM YOUNG/REUTERS)

Liddell's guilty plea was part of a deal with prosecutors and she expressed remorse for her actions. Her lawyers mentioned that she had a gambling problem and was unable to pay the restitution.

She is serving her sentence in the Cook County Jail in Illinois.

Help from a boss

In a surprising twist, Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones offered to pay $1.5 million to cover the cost of the stolen wings and secure Liddell's release. However, neither Jones nor his representatives have made formal contact with Liddell's legal team or the school district.



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