HARVEY, Illinois (WLS) — The former food service director for a south suburban school district pleaded guilty to stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings over a 19-month period, court records show.

Vera Liddell, 66, who worked for Harvey School District 152 for more than 10 years, has been sentenced to nine years in prison.

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

Liddell was responsible for placing orders with Gordon Food Services, a main supplier for the district, according to prosecutors. She ordered the chicken wings from July 2020 to February 2022, billed the district but kept the food, prosecutors said.

An audit last year found the district’s food service department had exceeded its annual budget by $300,000, with the school year only halfway over, prosecutors said. The business manager for the district disclosed the invoices for the chicken wings, according to court records.

It is an item that would not normally be served to students because it contains bones, documents state.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.