Wife Of Disgraced Late Fox Lake Cop Seeking Pension Again

FOX LAKE, IL — The wife of a late Fox Lake police officer, who made his September 2015 suicide look like a death in the line of duty, is again seeking to collect his police pension. Initially, the decision was tabled pending an investigation into her own alleged criminal activities, but her attorneys are now requesting a hearing with the Fox Lake Police Pension Board.

Melodie Gliniewicz's late husband, Fox Lake police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, was alleged to have been siphoning money from the Fox Lake Police Explorer program to pay for personal expenses before his 2015 suicide, which was called "carefully staged."

An internal audit by Village Manager Anne Marrin, Lt. Gliniewicz feared, would have revealed his theft from the Explorer program, according to reports. On Sept. 1, 2015, while on duty, he made a call to dispatch saying he was about to approach two white guys and a black man he found suspicious.

He was shot twice. The first one hit his protective vest, hitting him with "the force of a sledgehammer," said Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko, ABC reported. The second round hit him in the chest, killing him.

Believing he was killed by the three suspects, police swarmed the area in search. Confusion arose as to how he died, then it was revealed that the fatal wounds came from his own gun, and then that it was a suicide.

Gliniewicz was so worried about Marrin finding out about his shady ways, police said, that he considered putting out a hit on her. He took steps to try contacting the leader of a motorcycle gang so he could put a hit on her, police said text messages showed.

Melodie Gliniewicz was also charged for her husband's crimes, accused of assisting Joe in siphoning the funds. She's been facing two counts of unlawful use of charitable funds.

She made a similar request to have her case heard last year, but the village filed a motion to intervene, asking that no decision on the pension be made until her criminal case is closed. The board approved the village's request.

This time, though, she's got her foot in the door. The Lake County News-Sun reported that she now has a meeting to discuss her request, scheduled for Dec. 21. If her request is approved, she'll go to Village Hall for a hearing on whether she will receive pension payments and, if so, what amount it will be.

If approved, the News-Sun reported, she can receive up to about $72,000 annually if her late husband's death is determined to have been in the line of duty, though Lake County authorities, including the coroner's office, agree it was a suicide.

Article image Melodie Gliniewicz via Lake County Sheriff's Office