In a bizarre turn of events, an Illinois school worker, Vera Lidell, found herself at the center of a $1.5 million food theft scandal, and now Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Chris Jones is offering to help pay the hefty price tag to free her.
Lidell, who served as the Director of Food Services for the Harvey School District in Dolton, Illinois, was recently caught up in an elaborate scheme that allegedly involved stealing a staggering amount of food—primarily chicken wings—from the district. Over the span of two years, from July 2020 to February 2022, Lidell is said to have orchestrated the theft of approximately 11,000 cases of wings.
But how did she pull off such a daring food heist? According to prosecutors, Lidell took advantage of the fact that students were learning remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although students were not physically present at school, the district continued to provide meals for families to pick up. Lidell, it seems, saw an opportunity in this arrangement.
As the Director of Food Services, Lidell was responsible for ordering food for the school district. However, she allegedly placed separate orders for the extra items—mostly chicken wings—and never delivered them to the schools. Instead, Lidell reportedly used the district’s cargo vans to transport the stolen food to other locations, where she sold it for profit.
The scheme went unnoticed until an audit revealed that the district’s food budget was alarmingly overextended—by hundreds of thousands of dollars, and only halfway through the school year. The discrepancy led to an investigation that eventually uncovered Lidell’s activities.
Once the evidence was in, Lidell was arrested and charged with forgery, felony theft, and continuing a financial crime enterprise. The severity of these charges resulted in a nine-year prison sentence for the 68-year-old.
The unusual nature of the crime quickly caught the attention of the internet, with headlines like “How do you steal $1.5 million in chicken wings?” making the rounds. The story of a school worker swindling such a vast amount of food, and particularly chicken wings, was too wild for many to ignore.
Enter Chris Jones, the star defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs, who made waves with his recent $158 million contract extension. Jones, known for his bold moves both on and off the field, decided to lend a helping hand in this strange saga. In a surprising announcement, Jones offered to pay the $1.5 million that Lidell allegedly stole in order to get her out of prison.
“I’ll pay for the wings that she stole to get her free,” Jones declared, adding another layer of intrigue to an already sensational story.
While it’s unlikely that simply paying back the stolen amount will negate Lidell’s legal consequences, Jones’ offer has certainly turned heads. The idea of a high-profile NFL player stepping in to cover the cost of stolen chicken wings is as unexpected as it is newsworthy.
The story of Vera Lidell and her chicken wing heist may have started with a series of bad decisions, but with Jones’ intervention, it could take a very different turn. Whether or not his offer has any legal standing remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: this is a story that people won’t forget anytime soon.
Source: Whiskey Riff
