NEW CANAAN, Conn. (WAND) – Police say former lunch ladies stole nearly $500,000 from two Connecticut schools.
NBC News reports the New Canaan Police Department started investigating after school leaders noticed inconsistencies in the handling of money at Saxe Middle School and New Canaan High School. After months of examining operations, police arrested Joanne Pascarelli, 61, and Marie Wilson, 67. The two women are sisters.
Police say they stole $478,588 between 2012 and 2017.
Officers interviewed cafeteria workers, looked closely at financial records and watched cafeteria operations at both schools during the investigation, the network reports. The search for answers led them to start a point-of-sale system, which monitors when each sale happened, the type of bill involved and the amount of money in every transaction.
NBC News says the New Canaan Board of Education saw cash deposits spike after Pascarelli and Wilson left.
District superintendent Bryan D. Luizzi says leaders are “deeply upset by this alleged violation of our trust”, adding that schools are pledging “full cooperation” with police as the investigation continues.
Police say it’s possible the thefts happened before 2012, but can’t look at records from that time because of a statute of limitations.
