Police: Illinois Cop Staged Death After Stealing Thousands From Department Youth Program
The Illinois police officer whose mysterious death triggered a days-long manhunt and was later ruled a suicide killed himself because he feared that state auditors were about to uncover his years-long scheme to embezzle thousands of dollars from a youth charity, according to police.
Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko announced at a press conference this morning that Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was being investigated for stealing thousands of dollars from his department’s Police Explorer program and that the investigation likely led to Gliniewicz’s suicide.
“We have determined this staged suicide was the end result of extensive criminal acts that Gliniewicz had been committing in fact he was under increasing levels of personal stress from scrutiny of his management of the Fox Lake Police Explorer program,” Filenko said. “Gliniewicz committed the ultimate betrayal.”
“This is the first time as a law enforcement officer... that I’ve felt ashamed by the acts of another police officer,” he added.
Officials also released texts from Gliniewicz, including one in which he apparently considered harming Fox Lake’s village manager, Anna Marrin. From Fox 32:
In one of the texts, Gliniewicz and “Individual (hash)2” discuss trying to get Marrin out of office, perhaps by arresting her for drunk driving, or worse. “Trust me ive thougit through MANY SCENARIOS from planting things to the volo bog,” he wrote, referring to a local waterway that would be difficult to search.
...
“If she gets ahold of the old checking account, im pretty well f(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)ed,” another message read.
“This village administrator hates me and explorer program,” he said in another text. “This situation right here would give her the means to CRUCIFY ME (if) it were discovered.”
The Tribune has a breakdown of how police believe Gliniewicz attempted to fake his murder:
Gliniewicz staged his death by leaving a trail of his equipment around the scene to try to mislead investigators, Filenko said. He fired a shot into his protective vest and aimed a second, fatal bullet beneath his vest in his upper torso, Filenko said. With the help of FBI behavioral experts, authorities concluded he’d shot himself, in part because he was not dragged after being shot and there were no physical signs he’d fought for his life.
Gliniewicz, a 30-year police veteran, died on September 1, shortly after telling his dispatcher that he was following three suspicious men near a swamp in the Fox Lake area. Responding officers found his body near his squad car. Because Gliniewicz had been shot twice—once in his chest and once in his bullet proof vest—and there were reportedly signs of a struggle, police spent days searching hundreds of nearby homes and cabins, even using K9 units and a helicopter with heat-sensing scanners.
Several weeks later, police announced Gliniewicz’s wounds were from his own gun, and last night, his death was formally ruled a suicide.
