Investigators added a new wrinkle Wednesday to the bizarre case of disgraced Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, who looted a youth police group he led and used the money to pay for porn, a luxury trip to Hawaii and restaurant meals, before killing himself.
Turns out his partner in life was his partner in crime, authorities alleged Wednesday.
Gliniewicz’s widow, Melodie, 51, was charged Wednesday with multiple counts related to the theft of thousands of dollars from the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post — a group meant to teach teens about law enforcement that officer Gliniewicz had led for decades.
Melodie Gliniewicz — the tearful widow who once appeared on television to complain that President Obama had not called her to express his condolences over her husband’s death — was indicted on four counts of disbursing charitable funds without authority and for personal benefit, and two counts of money laundering.
She turned herself in Wednesday afternoon as her attorneys argued that she, too, had been duped by her husband.
“Melodie is a victim of her husband’s secret actions and looks forward to her day in court to show the world her innocence,” according to the statement from the Kelleher & Buckley law firm.
“Considering Melodie’s cooperation with law enforcement, she is devastated by the decision to bring charges against her,” according to the statement.
Investigators have said that Charles Gliniewicz stole thousands of dollars from the fund and staged his suicide on Sept. 1 last year to look like a murder because he was worried his thefts would be uncovered.
As police investigated his death, detectives found inconsistencies in financial documents and 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, the Fox Lake Theatre, and more than 400 restaurant charges.
The charges against Melodie Gliniewicz did not come as a shock Wednesday since prosecutors had moved last year to freeze her checking account as they investigated whether she profited from money taken from the explorers account.
An affidavit filed as part of that investigation detailed suspicious transactions for the explorer accounts from 2008 to 2014, including a $15,000 payout to the U.S. Department of Education for student loans, a $7,000 withdrawal that was apparently used to fund a trip to Hawaii, and hundreds of smaller payments at restaurants, coffee chains, hair salons, health clubs, and for “hormonal supplements” and pornographic websites.
Dubbed “G.I. Joe,” Gliniewicz’s death sparked a massive manhunt, national media coverage and a hero’s funeral for the veteran officer. Thousands of dollars were donated in his honor to his family before authorities detailed his deceptions.
Prior to that announcement, Melodie Gliniewicz had maintained that her husband would never have killed himself and had a lot to live for — including vacations.
“We were planning vacations. He lived for these things.” she told the television show Crime Watch Daily.