Cops Now Investigating the Family of Embezzling Officer Who Staged His Own Suicide
According to reports, cops are now investigating the wife and son of an Illinois police officer who allegedly staged his own suicide to hide the fact he’d been embezzling money from a youth program.
Lt. Joe Gliniewicz was found dead on Sept. 1 after telling a dispatcher he was on foot following three suspicious men near a swamp. He had been shot once in his bulletproof vest and once in his upper torso—a crime scene FBI investigators eventually came to believe he staged himself.
The discovery of his body launched a large-scale manhunt that lasted several days.
His motive, authorities say, was to cover up the fact that he’d embezzled thousands of dollars from a Police Explorers youth group. He allegedly used the money to pay for personal expenses like porn, vacations, and the mortgage on his house.
Gliniewicz may have died alone, but cops now say he certainly wasn’t acting alone. And according to reports, both his wife Melodie and his son D.J. are now reportedly under criminal investigation.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, text message transcripts provided by the police appear to implicate the pair, who are referred to only as “Individual 1” and “Individual 2.”
In one text exchange, Gliniewicz’s son said he hopes that Marrin, the village administrator gets a DUI, according to the transcript.
...
Gliniewicz also warns his son on June 25: “You are borrowing money from that ‘other’ account, when you get back you’ll have to start dumping money into that account or you will be visiting me in JAIL!!”
On April 14, around the time investigators say Gliniewicz began to stress out about the impending audit, his wife, apparently concerned about losing control of the Explorer bank account, said: “Maybe, seeing as we are on 503C [a reference to tax a designation assigned to charities] she can’t touch the money.”
In a statement issued Wednesday, the pair asked for their privacy, saying “Today has been another day of deep sorrow for the Gliniewicz Family. The family has cooperated with the Task Force’s investigation and will not comment at this time.”
