Fox Lake, Ill., Cop’s Wife, Son Under Investigation In Scheme

FOX LAKE, Ill., Nov. 5 (UPI) — The wife and son of a Fox Lake, Ill., police officer who staged his suicide to look like a suspect chase gone wrong are under investigation in connection to a scheme to embezzle thousands of dollars.

Several media outlets, citing unnamed sources, said Melodie and D.J. Gliniewicz played a role in the elaborate ruse to steal some $50,000 from the explorers unit, a youth training program in the Fox Lake Police Department. Text messages between Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, and his wife and son showed them plotting ways out of the embezzlement investigation.

“With those partners, our investigation strongly indicates criminal activity on the part of at least two other individuals,” Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko said.

Investigators said Joe Gliniewicz, a veteran police officer, had allegedly been stealing and laundering thousands of dollars over a period of seven years from the explorers. Gliniewicz spent the money on adult websites, vacations, a gym membership and mortgage payments, among other things.

Gliniewicz, 52, was found dead on Sept. 1 after he radioed he was pursuing three suspicious men on foot. Investigators found Gliniewicz staged his death to look like a murder, leaving equipment around the scene. GPS data from the night he died showed he was on foot near the crime scene for about 20 minutes before calling in suspicious activity.

In one text exchange, Gliniewicz’s son said he hoped Anne Marrin, the new village administrator in Fox Lake, who was reviewing the police explorer’s finances, gets a DUI.

“One [text] in particular was bothersome about possibly hiring somebody to take care of the problem,” Filenko said.

In another text exchange, Joe Gliniewicz warned his son, “You are borrowing money from that ‘other’ account, when you get back you’ll have to start dumping money into that account or you will be visiting me in JAIL!!”

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