Attorneys for the widow of disgraced Fox Lake police lieutenant Joseph Gliniewicz and the Lake County State's Attorney's office have agreed to release thousands of dollars from the family's frozen accounts as the investigation into Gliniewicz's death continues.
The two sides agreed Monday that $33,496.71 would be released to Melodie Gliniewicz immediately, while a separate account in Joe Gliniewicz's name would remain frozen for another 30 days. Sixteen other accounts initially frozen on Nov. 6 will remain under a temporary restraining order until Jan. 4, according to the agreement.
The family’s finances were frozen as investigators attempt to untangle the scandal which led Gliniewicz to take his own life three months ago. In an affidavit seeking the freeze on the family’s accounts, prosecutors accused Joseph Gliniewicz of looting an Explorer Scout account of thousands of dollars, to pay for, among other things, a trip to Hawaii, hormone supplements, and fees on adult websites.
And their motion carried strong suggestions, that Gliniewicz’s wife was a party to the malfeasance.
In court last month, attorneys alluded to the fact that what was technically a civil matter, was intermingled with an ongoing criminal investigation. But in their own motion, challenging the freeze, Melodie Gliniewicz’s lawyers insisted any funds withdrawn by Gliniewicz had been his to begin with. And that the freeze was causing undue hardship for his widow.
“The State does not allege that Melodie Gliniewicz has threatened to close the account and flee the jurisdiction, or that the funds are in jeopardy,” they wrote. “The grossly insufficient affidavits of the State have left Melodie Gliniewicz without the assets to put food on her table or pay her mortgage.”
