November 04, 2023
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Giovanni Impellizzari, 25, the custodian at Elizabeth Moore School, was arrested for allegedly contaminating food items with hazardous substances, prompting concerns of potential health risks for students and staff.
An elementary school custodian in Upper Deerfield Township was arrested this week for allegedly contaminating food items, Cumberland County Prosecutors Office said.
Giovanni Impellizzari, a 25-year-old resident of Vineland, N.J., was arrested on Oct. 31 following anonymous tips that he tampered with food items and utensils in the Elizabeth Moore School cafeteria using hazardous substances like bleach and personal bodily fluids.
Authorities also discovered explicit photos of the man on the school's property that were posted on social media.
Impellizzari, who worked as a custodian at the Elizabeth Moore School in Upper Deerfield Township since September 2019, faces charges including aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a Child, and attempted endangering the welfare of a child.
"Kids are getting sick, having diarrhea, vomiting, and we're blaming it on a belly bug when in reality it could be hepatitis, it could be food poisoning," one parent, Cristencia Jenkins, told 6ABC. "Like, who knows what else he's putting in there?"
The Upper Deerfield Township School District is working with authorities and working with the Cumberland County Department of Health to ensure the cleanliness of food preparation areas, utensils, and surfaces. Any potentially affected food items have been thrown away.
Impellizzari, who is on administrative leave, is being held at the Cumberland County Jail, awaiting a detention hearing, according to the prosecutor's office.
The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with relevant information can contact New Jersey State Police Detective Alex Angerman at 856-451-0101. Anonymous tips can also be submitted online.
