Melodie Gliniewicz Free on Bail Following Grand Jury Indictment on Money Laundering Charges

A Lake County grand jury on Wednesday indicted the wife of disgraced Fox Lake Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz on money laundering charges.

Melodie Gliniewicz, 51, was indicted on three counts of disbursing charitable funds without authority and for personal benefit, a Class 2 felony; one count of disbursing charitable funds without authority and for personal benefit, a Class 3 felony; one count of money laundering, a class 2 felony; and one count of money laundering, a class 3 felony, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Detective Christopher Covelli said in a press release. A Lake County judge issued a $50,000 arrest warrant on Wednesday. Gliniewicz was released Wednesday from custody after posting bail, according to media reports. 

Melodie Gliniewicz held a “fiduciary role as an adult advisor with the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post,” which was run by her late husband, according to the news release. 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.

Police, in recent months, have focused their investigation on Melodie’s role in the embezzlement scheme. Through the course of the investigation, sheriff’s detectives analyzed over 10,000 pages of document, requested additional bank/business records via subpoena, requested several additional items/documents from the Village of Fox Lake, and conducted several interviews, Covelli said.

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.

“The investigation revealed money was withdrawn from the police explorer account over the course of several years,” Lake County Undersheriff Ray Rose said. “Detectives determined this money was used to finance a number of personal expenses and personal finances.”