Melodie Gliniewicz Gets Probation, 'Second Chance' Program

LAKE COUNTY, IL — The wife of disgraced Fox Lake police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, who took his own life in 2015 and made it look like a homicide, has received probation and could have a felony charge wiped from her record if she successfully completes the terms of Lake County's Second Chance program.

On Tuesday, Lake County Judge James Booras sentenced Melodie Gliniewicz, the widow of Joseph Gliniewicz, to 24 months of probation and told the 57-year-old woman, who has no past criminal record, she could enter the Second Chance program, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Under the Second Chance program, she would need to successfully complete all terms of her probation; if that is done, the felony charge of deceptive practices, which Gliniewicz pleaded guilty to in February, would no longer appear on her record.

Booras also ordered Gliniewicz to serve 150 hours of community service and said a 90-day jail sentence would be imposed if she did not complete all conditions of her probation, according to the Daily Herald.

The sentence brings some closure to six years of drama that followed the Sept. 1, 2015, death of Gliniewicz. On that day, Gliniewicz took his own life and made it look as if he was gunned down in the line of duty.

He was at first hailed as a hero — but soon, as the truth emerged, he was dubbed a thief who stole from the Fox Lake Police Explorer program for years.

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In first announcing the death as a suicide, not a homicide, Major Crime Force Task Cmdr. George Filenko told the public Gliniewicz laundered money through the Explorer post he helped run, stealing cash to help pay for his mortgage, adult websites, travel, loans to friends, gym memberships and more.

He "committed the ultimate betrayal to the citizens he served and the law enforcement community," Filenko said at a news conference in November 2015. He said Gliniewicz had "intimate knowledge of crime scenes" and elaborately staged his own to mislead investigators.

Melodie Gliniewicz was linked to the crimes and charged months later.

During Tuesday's hearing, a video of Melodie's interrogation was played in which she told officers Joe had not been embezzling the funds since she insisted they paid back what he took from the youth program, according to ABC 7 Chicago.

"Every time he borrowed money he'd let me know, and I'd write it down," she said.

A forensic accountant also took the stand Tuesday and talked about the tens of thousands taken from the Explorer account, but added there was no link showing Melodie Gliniewicz was responsible for any of the transactions, according to ABC 7.

Gliniewicz became emotional while speaking at her sentencing hearing. She told the court that vandals have defaced her late husband's grave, according to Fox 32 News. She also said hasn't been able to get a job "because of her name."

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