Crime & Safety
Further Delays Likely In Gliniewicz Pension Fight Pending Trial
Melodie Gliniewicz is hoping to get her late husband's police pension, but she is under indictment for embezzlement.
LAKE COUNTY, IL — Accused embezzler Melodie Gliniewicz could see further delays in obtaining her late husband, Joe Gliniewicz’s, pension after a Lake County judge extended a legal gag order that forbids anyone from releasing sensitive videos or information regarding her criminal case, the Daily Herald is reporting. Lake County Judge James Booras ruled Tuesday that the information could not be shared during any non-trial hearings until the criminal matter had been settled.
Melodie Gliniewicz is set to head to trial in July on allegations she assisted her husband in stealing thousands from the Fox Lake Explorer group prior to the cop’s highly-publicized death. Gliniewicz is hoping to get her late husband’s police pension, which amounts to $50,000 to $70,000 per year, according to the article, but Fox Lake officials have not agreed upon how much she should get.
Melodie Gliniewicz was indicted by a grand jury earlier this year following an investigation into an embezzlement scheme that ended up robbing the Fox Lake Explorers program of thousands of dollars. Police said Lt. Gliniewicz staged his own murder after embezzling funds from the Explorer program for years. He was found shot dead in Fox Lake on Sept. 1. Authorities later determined he took his own life.
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Melodie Gliniewicz played a "fiduciary role as an adult adviser with the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post," which was run by her late husband, Lake County Sheriff's Office Detective Christopher Covelli said in a news release following her indictment.
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, Covelli said.
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Officials said Gliniewicz could face anywhere from probation to seven years in prison if convicted on the charges, the Lake County News-Sun reports.
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