Nearly $500K disappeared from school cafeterias. Officials say the lunch ladies did it

For four years, nearly half-a-million dollars quietly vanished from cafeteria registers at two schools in Connecticut.

No one noticed the money was missing from the schools in New Canaan until 2017, when the school district installed an enhanced accounting system, authorities said.

Now two sisters are accused of allegedly pocketing $478,000 in cash from New Canaan Public Schools — a scam that authorities say dates to 2013.

Joanne Pascarelli, 61, and Marie Wilson, 67, both worked at cafeterias at Saxe Middle School and New Canaan High School during that time. They were arrested this week and charged with larceny and defrauding a public community, the school district said.

“We are deeply upset by this alleged violation of our trust and the trust of the entire community, and are committed to continuing our full cooperation with the New Canaan Police Department regarding these allegations,” the school district said in a statement.

Both women resigned in December, around the time the board of education started looking into the discrepancies.