As Plymouth schools’ food services manager sits at home, tethered to an electronic monitor while awaiting his next court appearance, people all over town are asking one key question: How was Patrick Van Cott allegedly able to steal food, equipment, and other goods for decades without getting caught?
Van Cott, 62, who pleaded not guilty to larceny charges, was released on Friday after a relative posted $10,000 cash bail. A district court judge had originally set bail at $50,000, but a superior court judge lowered the amount. (Prosecutors had requested $250,000 bail, according to court records.)
Van Cott earned $114,000 in 2024 and held his position for more than 21 years. He was placed on GPS monitoring and ordered to remain in his Sandwich home, leaving only for medical or legal appointments. He was also told to surrender his passport and stay away from Plymouth schools.
He is due back in court on July 21.
His arrest came last week after Plymouth police, acting on a tip, discovered he was allegedly pilfering school equipment and food to use at the Snack Shack, a side business he operated on Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable. He was immediately placed on administrative leave from his Plymouth job.
The concession stand is apparently closed, according to a Plymouth official and online comments. Barnstable officials wouldn’t confirm its status.
According to prosecutors, Van Cott used the school system’s account to order “premium meats, even lobster” for “resale” at the Snack Shack. His orders included Angus hamburgers, hot dogs, lobster meat, and other food products, they said. He also allegedly stole cafeteria and classroom equipment as well as paper goods.
Surveillance video from April 5 allegedly showed Van Cott loading a $2,268.99 refrigerator into his pickup truck at Plymouth Community Intermediate School. Video footage from the Sagamore Bridge showed him traveling east with the refrigerator in the bed of his truck, police said. And other school video footage allegedly showed Van Cott at PCIS loading dock on May 22, putting boxes of food into his personal vehicle.
Plymouth school officials on Monday would not offer a theory on how Van Cott was able to avoid detection for so many years — saying only that they, too, are looking for answers.
“We absolutely understand and share the concerns being raised,” said Superintendent Chris Campbell in an email.
“Once the School Department became aware of concerns and discrepancies that could not be reasonably explained, we immediately initiated our own internal review and subsequently turned the matter over to the local police department for a formal investigation.
“We are committed to taking appropriate corrective actions based on the findings of this investigation. We remain focused on supporting the investigation while preparing for changes that will strengthen accountability and public trust,” Campbell wrote.
The school system – which operates separately from town government – has its own “Internal Control Policies and Laws” requiring “accurate and auditable” records of all financial transactions. They also prohibit conflicts of interest or the transfer of school “income or assets” unless approved by the school committee.
But it’s unclear if anyone ever reviewed Van Cott’s records to see if they complied with the control policies.
School employees told Plymouth police they had seen Van Cott stealing for years. His assistant had worked in the same department for 40 years, according to payroll records. Apparently, no one came forward to turn him in until now.
Former Advisory and Finance Committee member Daniel Green, who is a certified public accountant, wrote in a letter to the Independent that the alleged “multi-year theft…highlights significant gaps in internal controls that are deeply concerning.”
“The town is a multi-hundred-million-dollar enterprise and the alleged blatant theft that took place would have been caught by the internal controls in place at your local ice cream stand. In no scenario is this lack of oversight acceptable,” Green said.
Some town officials including Steve Nearman, the Advisory and Finance committee chair, declined to comment on Van Cott’s alleged crimes. Others expressed confidence that the schools will fix what appears to be a flawed system.
But Select Board member David Golden did not temper his anger. He called Van Cott’s alleged actions “despicable.”
“Not only did he betray the trust placed in him as a steward of taxpayer dollars, but he quite literally stole food from the mouths of Plymouth’s children,” Golden said. “I hope he faces the maximum penalty allowed under the law.”
Select Board member Richard Quintal had a unique perspective on the case.
His family business, Quintal Brothers Wholesale, held the contract to provide food to Plymouth public schools for 30 years before Van Cott took the job and summarily canceled it.
“He didn’t even ask to speak with me,” said Quintal. “He told the bookkeeper.”
“I was a little taken aback,” he said. “I got over it and moved on, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.”
Quintal said figuring out how much food might have been stolen should be relatively easy – Just look for anything purchased that never appeared on a school lunch menu, he said.
For example, Quintal said, premium burgers are never served in school cafeterias. And items like cans of mayonnaise come from the federal government, he said, not through outside vendors.
Van Cott’s lawyer, Evan Paul, did not return a call seeking comment.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.