Prosecutions tied to Gliniewicz are being reviewed

Prosecutors in Lake County are contacting attorneys whose clients pleaded guilty or were convicted in cases involving a police officer who authorities say killed himself after years of embezzling from a police-sponsored youth program.

The notifications from Lake County State’s Attorney Mark Nerheim’s office present defense attorneys with the opportunity to file motions or pursue other action after Fox Lake Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz’s suicide and thefts were revealed, The (Waukegan) News Sun reported.

Nerheim said he received a report Tuesday listing all of the cases in which Gliniewicz was mentioned in police reports. There were 13 prosecutions involving Gliniewicz since 2008 and seven cases resulting in dismissed charges since 2006, the prosecutor said.

Nerheim said he wants to be sure all defense attorneys involved have been notified before revealing details of the cases.

Gliniewicz’s Sept. 1 shooting death set off a massive manhunt for three men suspected in his killing. But last week Fox Lake officials announced that Gliniewicz staged his suicide to look like he’d been killed in the line of duty. He killed himself, they say, because he believed his years of stealing money from a youth program were about to be exposed.

Authorities also are investigating Gliniewicz’s wife, Melodie, and son D.J., an official who was briefed on the investigation told the AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.