Fox Lake officer committed 'ultimate betrayal'

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20151104/news/151109564/

updated: 11/4/2015 10:31 AM
Investigators: Fox Lake officer committed 'ultimate betrayal'

Lake County officials who eulogized Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz as a hero in the days after he died from a fatal gunshot wound, said Wednesday evidence now shows he staged his death as an apparent homicide to cover years of financial exploitation of the police Explorers post he oversaw.

George Filenko, commander of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, called Gliniewicz's actions the "ultimate betrayal" that included intentionally leaving a staged trail of police equipment at the crime scene in an attempt to mislead police to believe his death was a homicide.

Filenko made the comments during an exclusive Daily Herald interview before a news conference to announce the investigation's findings that Gliniewicz took a large sum of money from Fox Lake Explorer Post 300. Thousands of dollars was used by Gliniewicz for personal purchases, including travel expenses, mortgage payments, gym memberships, adult websites, facilitating personal loans and unaccounted cash withdrawals, Filenko said.

"There are no winners here," Filenko said. "Gliniewicz committed the ultimate betrayal to the citizens he served and the entire law enforcement community. The facts of his actions prove he behaved for years in a manner completely contrary to the image he portrayed.

Filenko said Gliniewicz was using the Explorer fund "as his personal bank account." He added that $250,000 flowed through the account over seven years, and investigators estimated Gliniewicz took about "five figures."

Electronic messages deleted from Gliniewicz's personal and work cellphones helped investigators crack the case, Filenko said.

Filenko said Gliniewicz elaborately staged a conflict with three unknown offenders because he wanted to go out "a hero." Gliniewicz took his .40-caliber weapon, pointed it at his chest and pulled the trigger in a swampy area at the east end of Honing Road in Fox Lake.

He said the investigation was the most comprehensive by law enforcement in the history in Lake County.

Gliniewicz, a 30-year Fox Lake police veteran, was found by officers fatally wounded shortly after 8 a.m. Sept. 1, authorities said. Gliniewicz had called in a report to emergency dispatchers that he was in a foot chase with three suspicious suspects described only as two white males and one black male.

About 14 minutes later, Gliniewicz was killed by the second of two gunshots -- the first shot was to the left side of his stomach and was stopped by his vest -- that struck him in the chest over his bullet proof vest.

The discovery touched off a massive manhunt that involved scores of heavily armed police, who used helicopters and dogs to search for the three suspected gunmen.

There was an extensive emergency response across the village. Village hall, schools, and the Fox Lake Public Library were locked down and closed during the search, and several roads were blocked off by police while the suspects were hunted. Metra commuter train service on the Milwaukee District North Line was suspended, but resumed that day.

More than 100 officers from local, county, state and federal agencies were involved in the manhunt, authorities said. Police were on foot and in helicopters and used canine units brought in from various jurisdictions, including McHenry County.

There was no immediate indication of suicide at the scene, Filenko said. He added that the investigation was treated as a homicide, but that nothing was off the table.

Authorities were mostly mum on the investigation in the days and weeks that followed and released snippets of information at a time. The lack of information about the investigation led to speculation that Gliniewicz had killed himself.