Lake County State's Attorney Reviews Gliniewicz Cases

Defense attorneys whose clients were convicted in cases involving Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz will be given the chance to review those cases and file motions or pursue other actions in light of recent misconduct allegations involving the veteran officer who killed himself, the Lake County News-Sun reports.

Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim received a report Tuesday that listed all cases in which Gliniewicz was mentioned in the police report in any capacity, according to the article. This search turned up 13 prosecutions that resulted in convictions since 2008 and seven since 2006 where charges were dismissed.

Nerheim said his office is in the process of contacting defense attorneys who handled any Gliniewicz-related cases. Defense attorney Jed Stone said he’s never had a client in his 40 year of practice whose case involved Gliniewicz but added if he did, he would “carefully review the situation,” the newspaper reports.

“If I had a client convicted during a trial in which Lt. Gliniewicz had testified or played a major role, and his testimony had any credibility issues, I would without question use the information we now know to question whether he was reliable with regard to the conviction,” Stone told the Lake County News-Sun.

Gliniewicz was found shot dead in Fox Lake in Sept. 1 after radioing dispatch to say he was investigating three suspicious men. The death sparked a massive manhunt for the alleged suspects and lead to G.I. Joe being hailed as a hero. Thousands lined streets of Lake County during his funeral procession.

In recent weeks. police announced Gliniewicz had in fact committed suicide after he stolen thousands of dollars from the Explorers for seven years. Cocaine was also found in his desk at work, police said.

Gliniewicz, whose salary in 2015 was $96,345.60, spent the stolen money on such things as travel expenses, mortgage payments, a gym membership, adult websites and loans to his friends. The veteran cop also tried to “put a hit” on the Fox Lake Village Manager Anne Marrin over fears she was going to uncover his embezzlement scheme.

Police have also since confirmed Gliniewicz’s wife, Melodie, and son, D.J., are being investigated, according to Fox 32 News.

Read the full article on the Lake County News-Sun.