Former Vernon Food Services Chief Charged With Taking Lunch Money

VERNON, CT — The former food services director for the Vernon public school system has been charged with stealing lunch money via a cafeteria deposit bag, police said.

Paul Olson, 54, of 857 Farmington Drive, Cheshire, surrendered to Vernon police on Thursday after learning of a warrant for his arrest. Olson was previously employed as the director of food and nutrition for the Vernon Board of Education.

The case dates back to May 2018, when Vernon police were notified by school system and municipal officials about "a possible embezzlement from the food service funds," police said. A Vernon detective then conducted an investigation over several months that culminated in Olson’s arrest.

It is alleged that Olson, while in his role as the food services director, stole a cash deposit bag containing school cafeteria revenue totaling $648, police said.

According to a warrant, Olson was designated to receive cash deposits from each of the seven school cafeterias in a locked bag. He would then process the cash and checks and prepare them for a bank deposit, according to a warrant. A courier transported the money from the schools to Olson and then to the bank for deposit, police said.

According to a warrant, during one of the transactions, the courier noticed that a single deposit bag was missing. Olson allegedly told the courier that he had directly deposited the funds from that bag to the bank, a warrant states.

That violated internal financial controls and internal policies, police said.

The courier immediately alerted a municipal staff member, who then reported the irregularity to administrators, a warrant states. It was then determined that the discrepancy was likely a theft, according to a warrant.

Vernon detectives conducted a joint investigation with school administrators and the finance department and it appeared Olson forged the signature of the courier on a log documenting the deposit bag in question, according to a warrant.

Olson also allegedly gave a false statement about the $648 to detectives investigating the theft, according to the warrant. He at first denied having any involvement in taking the money, according to as warrant. The signature on the log entry was "drastically different" than the others for that day — May 22, according to a warrant.

The money breakdown, according to a warrant, was:

• $178 in one-dollar bills
• $120 in five-dollar bills
• $50 in 10-follar bills
• $300 in 20-dollar bills

Olson was charged with:

• Second-degree larceny
• Giving a false statement
• Criminal impersonation
• Third-degree identity theft
• Second-degree forgery

Olsen has a history of "previous bankruptcies, civil lawsuits ands federal tax liens," with the most recent action being in 2012, according to a warrant. They date back to a civil suit brought against him by Macy's in 1990, according to a warrant.

Olsen refused to take a polygraph test and, in one instance, scheduled a test but canceled the appointment with police at the last minute, according to a warrant.

He posted a $10,000 surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court on Dec. 11 to answer the charges, police said.

Police spokesman Lt. William Meier said that a series of internmal control "worked" in the case and added, "If you steal from the town, there's zero tolerance and you're going to be arrested."

"The Vernon Public Schools has high standards of professionalism for all staff members. The Board of Education and Town of Vernon Finance Offices have multiple levels of checks and balances when dealing with monetary transactions," Superintendent of Schools Joseph Macary said. "The matter was immediately reviewed and referred to the Vernon Police Department for investigation."

Olsen has not worked for the Vernon school system since August, he said.

"The Vernon Public Schools is committed to high expectations of accountability for all staff members," Macary said.

Photo Credit: Vernon police

To sign up for Vernon breaking news alerts and more, click here.