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FOX LAKE OFFICER SHOOTING
‘Cleverly staged’ suicide Police Lt. Gliniewicz killed himself after embezzling money, investigators say By KEVIN P. CRAVER and KATIE DAHLSTROM editorial@nwherald.com
Photos by H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com
Flanked by Lake County Coroner Dr. Thomas Rudd (left) and Lake County Sheriff’s Detective Chris Covelli (right), Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Cmdr. George Filenko discusses the death investigation of Fox Lake Police Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz on Wednesday at the Round Lake Beach Civic Center. The task force concluded Gliniewicz’s death was a “cleverly staged” suicide.
“[Lt. Joe] Gliniewicz committed the ultimate betrayal to the citizens he served and the law enforcement community.” — LAKE COUNTY MAJOR CRIMES TASK FORCE CMDR. GEORGE FILENKO
Lake County Sheriff’s Detective Chris Covelli (from left), Fox Lake Village Administrator Anne Marrin, Lake County Coroner Dr. Thomas Rudd and Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Cmdr. George Filenko leave the news conference after discussing the investigation into the death of Fox Lake Police Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz.
Fox Lake reacts to revelations about Gliniewicz’s death, life By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com FOX LAKE – Blue banners and signs declaring Fox Lake Police Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz a hero still clung to street signs and buildings around Fox Lake on Wednesday, but around town a new sense of sadness and betrayal began to spread. Residents were reeling from the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force investigators’ announcement that Gliniewicz had staged his suicide Sept. 1 after embezzling money from the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post 300 he led for years. “I did have a lot of sympathy for the man,” Fox Lake resident Mark Dakis said while taking a break from riding his motorcycle. “But everyone’s got their alternative ego, and his alternative ego came out today. The truth always comes out.”
DipStick Oil Change owner Mike Drews thought about the three men that Gliniewicz had identified in one of his final radio calls. The morning of Sept. 1, police swarmed the area around Drews’ shop – less than a half-mile from the crime scene at 128 Honing Road – looking for two white men and one black man police believed could have been involved in the shooting. Major Crimes Task Force Cmdr. George Filenko said Wednesday it’s possible Gliniewicz drove by the three men on his way to the place where he committed suicide. Filenko said after seeing the men on nearby video, they questioned them before learning the men had alibis. “To take those guys on a ride to make them look like they were involved,” Drews said behind the counter
See REACTIONS, page A3
More inside TIMELINE of the Fox Lake police shooting, manhunt and investigation PAGE A3
More on NWHerald.com DOCUMENTS released to the media Wednesday regarding the investigation into the death of Police Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz PHOTOS AND VIDEO from Wednesday’s news conference with Fox Lake police, village and Lake County officials
“The community is the real victim here, so let’s always bear that in mind when we go forward.” — FOX LAKE VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR ANNE MARRIN
“In the past 30 years, he has been a part of our village and helped many of our youth. So while he had some flaws, he also did a lot of good.” — FOX LAKE MAYOR DONNY SCHMIT
FOX LAKE – Fox Lake Police Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz was not killed in the line of duty but committed a “cleverly staged” suicide out of fear of getting caught stealing from the police youth group he led, investigators revealed Wednesday. In a shocking twist, investigators said Gliniewicz, a 30-year veteran of the force, had been stealing from the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post 300 program for at least seven years, using the money for personal expenses such as personal loans, gym memberships, travel and visits to adult websites, Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Cmdr. George Filenko said. Gliniewicz, whose Sept. 1 death sparked a fierce manhunt for the killers and a national outpouring of grief, shot himself twice with his own .40-caliber service weapon after radioing in a call for backup while investigating three suspicious men. “Gliniewicz committed the ultimate betrayal to the citizens he served and the law enforcement community,” Filenko said. Filenko said Gliniewicz, 52, used his experience staging mock crime scenes for children learning about police work to make the scene look like he died in an ongoing struggle. He was found near a former concrete plant, which was an area known for graffiti, drugs and squatting. Gliniewicz left a trail spanning nearly 300 feet of his pepper spray, baton and glasses behind him, investigators said. “This was an attempt to mislead first responders and individuals into believing this was a homicide scene,” Filenko said. The theft investigation also has revealed involvement of two other people, whom Filenko did not name because the case is still open. Investigators would not comment on questions about the involvement of Gliniewicz’s wife in the laundering scheme. Lake County Sheriff’s Detective Chris Covelli, the task force spokesman, said the two people – who Gliniewicz had been communicating with via text message – have been spoken with, but he wouldn’t discuss who was under investigation. Investigators also said Gliniewicz improperly obtained federal surplus equipment available to police officers, such as cots and helmets. He was the sole signator on the explorer’s account, investigators said. Covelli said the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Justice will handle the ongoing investigation. Filenko said an analysis of more than 6,500 pages of text messages from Gliniewicz, as well as bank statements obtained during the shooting investigation, indicated Gliniewicz began realizing about six months before his death that his misdeeds most likely would be discovered. Filenko said the amount of money involved is in the “five-figure range.” The texts included “extremely incriminating statements” indicating Gliniewicz realized an ongoing audit of Fox Lake’s finances and assets by a new administration eventually would lead to him, investigators said. In one text to an unidentified individual borrowing from an account, Gliniewicz wrote “when you get back youll [sic] have to start dumping money into that account or you will be visiting me in JAIL!!” Gliniewicz’s death was a national
See GLINIEWICZ, page A3
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