Personnel records show years of complaints against officer

Months before an Illinois police officer staged his suicide to make it seem like he died in the line of duty, subjecting his community to an expensive and fruitless manhunt, he apparently sought a hit man to kill a village administrator he feared would expose him as a thief, a detective told reporters Thursday.

A letter in the file dated February 1, 2009, addressed to then-Mayor Cynthia Irwin and signed only by “Anonymous Members of the Fox Lake Police Department” outlined complaints about Gliniewicz that included: allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate officer and the sexual harassment of a dispatcher, complaints from bouncers at local bars for being drunk and belligerent, and allegations that he allowed members of the youth program unsupervised access to the Police Department and the opportunity to wear clothing labeled “police”, misidentifying themselves as officers.

Investigators say Fox Lake police lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz wanted to put a hit on village administrator Anne Marrin. Investigators also said small packages of cocaine were found inside the officer’s desk, but the drugs were not related to the alleged plot to have Marrin killed.

Marrin said she never had anything but cordial and polite dealings with Gliniewicz, and never had any sense he was angry with her. She said she learned about the threat against her after Gliniewicz’s death.

“We completely believed from day one that this was a homicide”, Filenko said.

Gliniewicz, 52, shot himself in a “carefully staged suicide” as it became clear his “extensive criminal acts”, including seven years of theft from the village’s Explorer youth police training program, could be exposed during a review of village finances and practices, Lake County Major Crime Task Force commander George Filenko announced Wednesday.

“My concern is my family”, she said.

Filenko said investigators recovered a deleted text message from April in which Gliniewicz asked about arranging a meeting with a high-ranking gang member to hire a hitman. How could his widow and a son be part of the investigation?

The letter indicates the detective arrived at the scene after officers who responded could not rouse Gliniewicz.

Jim Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest police union, said Gliniewicz’s actions will not diminish the sacrifices of honorable officers who have lost their lives on the job. They also declined to identify the woman Gliniewicz texted about the gang-hit in April, other than to say she is not in law enforcement.

“They didn’t have a budget”, Marrin said.

In 2003, a dispatcher complained Gliniewicz tried to intimidate her by bringing guns into the radio room after the two had a disagreement during which Gliniewicz allegedly told her he could put three bullets in her chest if she didn’t stop acting foolishly.

One source said Gliniewicz referred to his wife and son in incriminating text messages released by the task force investigating money laundering activities.

“Most of our interactions were very pleasant”, Marrin said.

“His email said, ‘I will have that information for you by noon or 1 o’clock at the latest, ‘ ” she said. To me that was a red flag.

A few signs in Fox Lake calling Lt. Charles Gliniewicz “GI Joe”… Another letter-writer said he thought he “wouldn’t have made it” if Gliniewicz hadn’t stopped to help him after he got a flat tire on a cold winter night.

Village Administrator Anne Marrin read a brief statement Wednesday thanking authorities for their work, and noting that the officer threatened her personally after she began asking tough questions.

Melodie and D.J. Gliniewicz are being investigated over the embezzlement of funds from the Explorer program that Gliniewicz ran, the Fox TV affiliate in Chicago reported.

The veteran officer was found fatally shot on September 1.

Investigators this week said Gliniewicz committed suicide, staging his death to make it appear he had died in struggle with his fictional assailants.