In the grand pantheon of cafeteria misdeeds, few are more dastardly than the crime of stealing lunch money. And popular culture offers up no end of usual suspects, from vindictive older siblings to schoolyard bully.
But in New Canaan, Conn., the whodunit has taken a new twist. Police say two unusual culprits are to blame after two public schools mysteriously lost nearly $500,000 of lunch money in a five-year span — the cafeteria workers behind the register.
Sisters Joanne Pascarelli, 61, and Marie Wilson, 67, surrendered to law enforcement last weekend after warrants were issued for their arrest. Each woman has been charged with one count of first-degree larceny for allegedly carrying out a scheme that from 2012 to 2017 robbed the cafeterias at Saxe Middle School and New Canaan High School of about $478,588 in cash.
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