Melodie Gliniewicz Enters Not Guilty Pleas to New Charges

FOX LAKE, IL - The widow of disgraced Fox Lake Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz entered not guilty pleas Wednesday after being arraigned on new charges in her court case, the Daily Herald reports.

Melodie Gliniewicz, 51, of Antioch, now faces charges of conspiracy and personal use of charitable funds. Gliniewicz has already pleaded not guilty to three counts of misuse of charitable funds and two counts of money laundering and a trial date has been set for June 27.

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.

Melodie Gliniewicz played a “fiduciary role as an adult advisor 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 Melodie Glineiwicz’s 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.

Officials said Gliniewicz could face anywhere from probation to seven years in prison if convicted on the charges, the Lake County News-Sun reports.

More via the Daily Herald and the Lake County News-Sun