Sister lunch ladies arrested for stealing about $500K in children's lunch money, police say

[EuTuCroquet?]

Lunch Lady Sisters Accused Of Stealing Nearly $500,000 In Connecticut

Two cafeteria workers in Connecticut are accused of stealing school lunch money.

Police say 61-year-old Joanne Pascarelli, of Stratford, and her sister, 67-year-old Marie Wilson, of Wilton, turned themselves in to New Canaan police this weekend after warrants were issued for their arrest.​

Sister lunch ladies arrested for stealing about $500K in children's lunch money, police say

The two sisters turned themselves in to New Canaan police over the weekend after arrest warrants were issued. They were both released after paying a $50,000 bond.

School officials started to become suspicious over the years after a new software that tracks cash intake was implement in 2016 at Saxe Middle School where Pascarelli worked, according to local paper the New Canaan News.

From the 2013 to 2016 fiscal years Saxe Middle School had an average daily deposit ranging from $18 to $33. Once the new software was installed in 2016, the daily deposits started averaging $93 a day in 2017 and $183 a day in 2018, the New Canaan News reported.

Pascarelli told police she would “never take money” while Wilson, who said she gave $100 a day to her boss in the New Canaan High School cafeteria, also said she "never took a dollar."

Wilson worked as an assistant food director for New Canaan High School, which lost $350,000 from 2012 to 2017. Police said under Wilson's direction, cashiers didn't count money at the end of the day but rather left that job for Wilson.
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[SaguaroSpirit]

Lower than whale poop...

 

[Jennifer17]

Surely, they did not need software to track that? If you are spending a lot of money on food supplies and not getting the return on it, it is obvious.

 

[Sherwood Park]

Surely, they did not need software to track that? If you are spending a lot of money on food supplies and not getting the return on it, it is obvious.

No, it's not obvious. Thieves like this know how to cover their tracks. She also would have been in charge for ordering food and supplies. The red flag should have been not having cashiers count money. I was a cashier for many years when I was younger. Every job I had required that we count money and record it.

 

[silverjug]

Lunch Lady Sisters Accused Of Stealing Nearly $500,000 In Connecticut

Two cafeteria workers in Connecticut are accused of stealing school lunch money.

Police say 61-year-old Joanne Pascarelli, of Stratford, and her sister, 67-year-old Marie Wilson, of Wilton, turned themselves in to New Canaan police this weekend after warrants were issued for their arrest.​

Sister lunch ladies arrested for stealing about $500K in children's lunch money, police say

The two sisters turned themselves in to New Canaan police over the weekend after arrest warrants were issued. They were both released after paying a $50,000 bond.

School officials started to become suspicious over the years after a new software that tracks cash intake was implement in 2016 at Saxe Middle School where Pascarelli worked, according to local paper the New Canaan News.

From the 2013 to 2016 fiscal years Saxe Middle School had an average daily deposit ranging from $18 to $33. Once the new software was installed in 2016, the daily deposits started averaging $93 a day in 2017 and $183 a day in 2018, the New Canaan News reported.

Pascarelli told police she would “never take money” while Wilson, who said she gave $100 a day to her boss in the New Canaan High School cafeteria, also said she "never took a dollar."

Wilson worked as an assistant food director for New Canaan High School, which lost $350,000 from 2012 to 2017. Police said under Wilson's direction, cashiers didn't count money at the end of the day but rather left that job for Wilson.
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Let me gues - smack on the wrist, don't do it again?

 

[1&2&3]

Where were their supervisors? $18 to $33 a day turned in for lunch money collection should have raised a red flag by the end of the first month!

Unbelievable that they turned in so little. And even worse, IMO, is they got away with it so long. Makes one wonder if someone else was in on it and not paying attention to low monthly totals.

 

[Hatfield]

Where were their supervisors? $18 to $33 a day turned in for lunch money collection should have raised a red flag by the end of the first month!

Unbelievable that they turned in so little. And even worse, IMO, is they got away with it so long. Makes one wonder if someone else was in on it and not paying attention to low monthly totals.

A simple observation at the lunch line should have seen how many students paid for their lunch and about how many students were there each day. It would not even take but one day and not even a calculator to know that the money should have been much higher.

I hope full prosecution occurs for whoever is responsible.

The harm to the school and the students is very harmful. Thinking about all the things the school could have bought for the kids or helped poor students with free lunches more and things like that.

This is very upsetting and glad they are finally caught.

 

[evelezrn]

Lunch Lady Sisters Accused Of Stealing Nearly $500,000 In Connecticut

Two cafeteria workers in Connecticut are accused of stealing school lunch money.

Police say 61-year-old Joanne Pascarelli, of Stratford, and her sister, 67-year-old Marie Wilson, of Wilton, turned themselves in to New Canaan police this weekend after warrants were issued for their arrest.​

Sister lunch ladies arrested for stealing about $500K in children's lunch money, police say

The two sisters turned themselves in to New Canaan police over the weekend after arrest warrants were issued. They were both released after paying a $50,000 bond.

School officials started to become suspicious over the years after a new software that tracks cash intake was implement in 2016 at Saxe Middle School where Pascarelli worked, according to local paper the New Canaan News.

From the 2013 to 2016 fiscal years Saxe Middle School had an average daily deposit ranging from $18 to $33. Once the new software was installed in 2016, the daily deposits started averaging $93 a day in 2017 and $183 a day in 2018, the New Canaan News reported.

Pascarelli told police she would “never take money” while Wilson, who said she gave $100 a day to her boss in the New Canaan High School cafeteria, also said she "never took a dollar."

Wilson worked as an assistant food director for New Canaan High School, which lost $350,000 from 2012 to 2017. Police said under Wilson's direction, cashiers didn't count money at the end of the day but rather left that job for Wilson.
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Chris Farley is rolling over in his grave.

 

[Woodland]

I think there is a lot more to know of this story and much, much more regarding the investigation that went into it.

It's easy for someone within their organization to blame them for missing money - but if $500K has in fact gone missing, LE has to be able to find it. It's not possible for it to stay missing imo.

Were the 2 women living a lifestyle above their pay-grade? Have they been hiding and saving it for their retirement?

How did their manager not know there should have been more money daily/weekly/monthly? Was it the managers responsibility to deposit the money in the bank? Or did the manager then pass the money on to someone else to deposit? How many people looked the other way where this money money is concerned over this amount of time?

Based on what has been reported so far, it seems quite fishy to me - as in when something goes missing from a home, it's always the maid that took it rather than a family member that had full access to the home.

Looking forward to more on the investigation - not the accusation. Jmo.

 

[Sherwood Park]

I think there is a lot more to know of this story and much, much more regarding the investigation that went into it.

It's easy for someone within their organization to blame them for missing money - but if $500K has in fact gone missing, LE has to be able to find it. It's not possible for it to stay missing imo.

Were the 2 women living a lifestyle above their pay-grade? Have they been hiding and saving it for their retirement?

How did their manager not know there should have been more money daily/weekly/monthly? Was it the managers responsibility to deposit the money in the bank? Or did the manager then pass the money on to someone else to deposit? How many people looked the other way where this money money is concerned over this amount of time?

Based on what has been reported so far, it seems quite fishy to me - as in when something goes missing from a home, it's always the maid that took it rather than a family member that had full access to the home.

Looking forward to more on the investigation - not the accusation. Jmo.

This article from People Magazine online has some additional information.
Lunch Ladies in Wealthy Conn. Town Allegedly Stole Nearly $500,000 from Cafeterias
Lunch Ladies in Wealthy Conn. Town Allegedly Stole Nearly $500,000 from Cafeterias

"Detectives spent months monitoring cafeteria operations and interviewing cafeteria workers. One person who worked under Pascarelli alleged she “realized something wasn’t right” but said “she was told not to talk or she would be punished,” the warrant states."

"Cashiers told detectives that “they were made to sign blank deposit slips” after Pascarelli collected “unknown” amounts of money from their registers, the warrant alleges."

The cashiers also reported that she would punish them if they didn't follow her rules.

 

[Woodland]

Thank-you Sherwood Park, I see now the sisters were not the cashiers, rather they acted as a manager of sorts to oversee the cashiers.

That would put them in a better position to steal the cash by understanding the paper flow and being able to manipulate the paper trail.

That much money must be somewhere - hoping LE can find it.