Lunch Ladies Accused of Stealing Nearly Half a Million Dollars from school cafeteria: Police

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A pair of sisters who worked as lunch ladies in Connecticut schools were arrested over the weekend after officials say they embezzled nearly half a million dollars. The funds were taken over a five-year span, though detectives say the actual number could be much higher, NBC Connecticut reports. Authorities arrested 61-year-old Joanne Pascarelli, of Wilton, and 67-year-old Marie Wilson, of Stratford, on charges of first-degree larceny by defrauding a community.

Detectives said fellow cafeteria workers from the schools told them they didn't count the money in their own registers before or after their shifts, alleging that the sisters were instead collecting the drawers and counting the cash in their own offices. Without revealing how much she was taking, employees said Pascarelli would visit the cafeteria and take large bills out of their registers between lunch periods, the woman's arrest warrant states.

When one employee questioned Pascarelli about how she was handling the money, she was reportedly forced to wash dishes for months as retaliation, according to arrest warrants. Another worker, who told authorities she was astonished that the school didn't discover the thefts sooner, said she also raised concerns about the handling of cash and was subsequently transferred from the high school to the middle school by Wilson.

Additionally, cashiers told police the duo had them signing blank bank deposit slips. Wilson and Pascarelli stand accused of stealing a total of $478,588 from 2012 to 2017, though detectives say that figure could be much higher as the thefts may have been going on for up to 15 years.

http://www.crimeonline.com/2018/08/14/lunch-lady-sisters-steal-nearly-500k-from-school-cafeterias-figure-could-be-much-higher-police/

[ProfessorGAC]

1. A Half Million From School Cafeterias?

There's enough money changing hands in a cafeteria that nobody missed a half million for 5 years?

[Flaleftist]

7. Apparently, and poor kids with no money go hungry. nt

[lpbk2713]

2. There is definitely something wrong in that school system.

If it took that long for anyone to notice that much money missing
the whole organization needs a thorough house cleaning. Not only
that but someone needs to go to jail for a long time. Even the local
7-11 store would notice $50 missing from the till within just a few
days. But no one noticing a half million bucks missing over maybe
fifteen years is amazing. Someone built a career with a comfortable
retirement plan on those lunches.

[SoCalDem]

4. Our grocery store wrote up checkers for a $6 shortage

I can still remember tearing checkstands apart..looking under mats ..anything to find a quarter..a dollar..anything to help them out..
3 write ups in a year and you were suspended..one more and you were fired.
I saved many when they were $6-$7 short..

Lucky for them, our "cleaners" worked fast but not always thoroughly

[unblock]

3. $478,588 in 5 years, 180 school days per year, that's 900 days total; $531.76 per day.

that's a staggering sum for a school cafeteria.

the only way i see that as possible is if they were paying off some people to look the other way.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Had To Big A Big School, No?

$530 a day skim? The cafeteria had to be dragging in 4 or 5 grand a day!
That's a lot of dough at a school caf!

[ProudLib72]

6. Did these two also work for Rump?

Now that I would believe.