Former Harvey School District 152 food service director Vera Liddell pleads guilty to stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings

HARVEY, Ill. (WLS) – The former food service director of a south suburban school district pleaded guilty to stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings over a 19-month period, according to court documents.

Vera Liddell, 66, who worked for Harvey School District 152 for more than a decade, was sentenced to nine years in prison.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

As ABC7 learned in January 2023, Liddell was charged with theft and operating a criminal organization.

Prosecutors say Liddell was responsible for the order from Gordon Food Services, a major supplier to the county. She ordered the chicken wings from July 2020 to February 2022, billed the county for them, but kept the food, prosecutors said.

An audit last year found that the district’s food department had exceeded its annual budget by $300,000 even though the school year was only half over, prosecutors said. The district’s business manager discovered the receipts for the chicken wings, according to court documents.

This is a dish that would not normally be served to students because it contains bones, the documents say.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.