DA: Plymouth schools' food director stole goods, resold them at Barnstable snack shack
The longtime food services director for Plymouth Public Schools is facing charges that he stole thousands of dollars' worth of food, paper goods and equipment from the district, then used and resold the items at his privately run snack shack on Cape Cod, according to the Plymouth County district attorney's office.
Patrick Van Cott, 62, of Sandwich, was arraigned Friday, June 6, in Plymouth District Court on charges of larceny over $1,200 by a single scheme and larceny from a building. He pleaded not guilty and was held on $50,000 cash bail. A judge ordered him to stay away from all Plymouth school buildings and storage facilities, the DA's office said.
According to investigators, Van Cott used his position to order items – including lobster meat, Angus burgers and kitchen appliances – that were never served in school cafeterias. Instead, police say they ended up at the Sandy Neck Snack Shack in Barnstable, which Van Cott runs during the summer.
A list of items that were purchased by Van Cott but are not currently in the Plymouth Public Schools storage facility was compiled totaling over $8,300 in goods, police said.
Van Cott has worked for the district for nearly 22 years and was earning $114,000 annually as of 2024, according to his LinkedIn profile and town finance records.
The investigation began after an anonymous tip was sent to school officials on May 30. Surveillance footage from April showed Van Cott removing commercial refrigerators from a school on a Saturday and taking them across the Sagamore Bridge, police said.
A June 4 police search of the Snack Shack turned up government-purchased food, kitchen appliances and other district property, police said. Van Cott was arrested at the scene.
His arraignment followed a statement from School Superintendent Christopher Campbell the previous day noting that a then-unnamed staff member had been removed from duty due to 'serious allegations' of misusing school property.
More: Plymouth school employee accused of 'inappropriate use' of district property. What we know
Van Cott is scheduled to return to court July 21.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Plymouth cops: School official stole food, supplies to resell on Cape
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
DA: Plymouth schools' food director stole goods, resold them at Barnstable snack shack
The longtime food services director for Plymouth Public Schools is facing charges that he stole thousands of dollars' worth of food, paper goods and equipment from the district, then used and resold the items at his privately run snack shack on Cape Cod, according to the Plymouth County district attorney's office. Patrick Van Cott, 62, of Sandwich, was arraigned Friday, June 6, in Plymouth District Court on charges of larceny over $1,200 by a single scheme and larceny from a building. He pleaded not guilty and was held on $50,000 cash bail. A judge ordered him to stay away from all Plymouth school buildings and storage facilities, the DA's office said. According to investigators, Van Cott used his position to order items – including lobster meat, Angus burgers and kitchen appliances – that were never served in school cafeterias. Instead, police say they ended up at the Sandy Neck Snack Shack in Barnstable, which Van Cott runs during the summer. A list of items that were purchased by Van Cott but are not currently in the Plymouth Public Schools storage facility was compiled totaling over $8,300 in goods, police said. Van Cott has worked for the district for nearly 22 years and was earning $114,000 annually as of 2024, according to his LinkedIn profile and town finance records. The investigation began after an anonymous tip was sent to school officials on May 30. Surveillance footage from April showed Van Cott removing commercial refrigerators from a school on a Saturday and taking them across the Sagamore Bridge, police said. A June 4 police search of the Snack Shack turned up government-purchased food, kitchen appliances and other district property, police said. Van Cott was arrested at the scene. His arraignment followed a statement from School Superintendent Christopher Campbell the previous day noting that a then-unnamed staff member had been removed from duty due to 'serious allegations' of misusing school property. More: Plymouth school employee accused of 'inappropriate use' of district property. What we know Van Cott is scheduled to return to court July 21. This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Plymouth cops: School official stole food, supplies to resell on Cape
Boston Globe
14 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Plymouth cafeteria director charged with ordering lobster, stealing kitchen equipment equipment, for use at his Cape Cod snack shack
His bail was set at $50,000. If he posts it, VanCott must stay away from all Plymouth schools and storage facilities if released, the statement said. He is due back in court July 21. VanCott has been employed as the food services director for Plymouth Public Schools since 2003, according to his Advertisement He was first flagged by authorities on May 30 after they received an anonymous tip that someone was stealing food and equipment from Plymouth Community Intermediate School. Since VanCott was the only person authorized to place cafeteria orders, he was quickly identified as the suspect, the statement said. A review of purchase records revealed premium Angus burgers, hot dogs, lobster, and other items that were never served students or staff, according to the statement—and all of which appear on the Snack Shack's Advertisement Investigators also spoke with cafeteria employees, who said that for years, once a week between Memorial Day and Labor Day, VanCott had them pack bags of deli turkey and ham marked with his initials, for no apparent school use. They also said that he routinely took condiments, snacks, paper goods, coffee and other supplies from the kitchen, according to the statement. Additionally, VanCott allegedly purchased more than $8,300 worth of kitchen equipment which was not found in the cafeteria or school storage, the statement said. This includes under-counter refrigerators and freezers, a refrigerated sandwich table, convection oven, microwave, bagel warmer, coffee maker and two fry pans. Surveillance footage from a Saturday allegedly shows him loading one of those under-counter refrigerators onto a town-owned truck and later returning in his personal pickup to transport a second unit. Additional video from the State Police Fusion Center then shows his pickup crossing the Sagamore Bridge with the stolen refrigerator secured in its bed, bound for Cape Cod, the statement said. The investigation is ongoing. Rita Chandler can be reached at
CBS News
21 hours ago
- CBS News
Cafeteria worker accused of ordering lobster on Plymouth school account for his restaurant
The director of the Plymouth Public Schools cafeterias in Massachusetts is under arrest after he allegedly ordered expensive food, including lobster, and restaurant equipment through the school for his own restaurant on Cape Cod. According to prosecutors, an anonymous letter from a school employee was sent to the superintendent's office, saying 62-year-old Patrick VanCott was stealing school food and kitchen equipment for his business, the Snack Shack at Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable. VanCott was in charge of the cafeteria system for the entire district. Allegedly ordered lobster on school account Investigators said they spoke to cafeteria employees, who said they noticed irregular ordering of kitchen equipment and food that would not normally go to the school district. The food included lobster meat, premium Angus hamburgers and hot dogs, none of which are served to students. One cafeteria worker allegedly told police she had worked for the school for 16 years and had seen VanCott taking deli meats, premium food products and condiments ordered with the Plymouth School Department account from the building. Items allegedly found at his Cape Cod business Security video also allegedly caught VanCott taking a refrigerator unit from the school to Cape Cod. Prosecutors said items purchased by VanCott missing from the district include a freezer, oven, microwave and pans. Items linked to the school district were allegedly found at his business. The Snack Shack at Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable, Massachusetts. CBS Boston VanCott was arraigned on Friday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges including larceny from a building and larceny over $1,200. "These charges are significant and he has just effectively destroyed the trust of the town and the taxpayers in the town of Plymouth who rely on the money that is earmarked for children in need of school breakfast and lunch to go towards that," said Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth O'Connell. "He has taken that and he has used it for his own personal gain." VanCott's attorney didn't argue the facts of the case in court but questioned the prosecutors' value of the items and a request for high cash bail. The judge ordered VanCott to be held on $50,000 cash bail, give up his passport and not go near Plymouth schools.
