Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Wife of crooked Illinois cop who faked own murder indicted

Illinois corruption isn't just a Chicago or Metro East vice. It's a problem in far-northwest suburban Lake County too.

A few days before Labor Day a popular Fox Lake cop, Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, staged his own murder--but in fact he killed himself just as authorities were zooming in on his longtime embezzling.

Today his wife, Melodie, surrendered herself to county officials after she was indicted by a grand jury.

From ABC Chicago:
Lake County authorities say as they investigated Lt. Gliniewicz's death, they learned money laundering had occurred involving the finances of the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post. The officer and his wife both helped run the group.

Detectives determined some of the personal expenses paid from the police explorer account included a trip to Hawaii, payments to businesses such as Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Fox Lake Theatre, and over 400 restaurant charges.

Melodie Gliniewicz was indicted on four counts of disbursing charitable funds without authority and for personal benefit and two counts of money laundering.

Even though Joe Gliniewicz made $96,000 a year as a Fox Lake police lieutenant, authorities believe he and his wife lived a much more lavish lifestyle financed by the Police Youth Explorers Post. His social media pages were chock full of travel photos, including dozens from the trip to Hawaii in August of 2014. There are even photos of some of the outings alleged to have been paid for with embezzled funds on the memorial page for her husband.

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