Gliniewicz, 52, shot himself to death in a "carefully staged suicide" as the result of "extensive criminal acts." Gliniewicz for years ran the village’s Explorers program, which gave aspiring officers policing experience, and he had been stealing and laundering money for years, Filenko said. He stole thousands of dollars that he used for personal purposes, including mortgage payments, travel and adult websites, Filenko said....He forged signatures on requisitions for federal equipment, authorities said.
Before he killed himself, Gliniewicz knew the village was conducting an audit that might have turned up his thefts, Filenko said. After these acts, Gliniewicz staged his death to look like a murder, leaving a trail of his equipment around the scene to try to mislead investigators, Filenko said. He fired a shot into his protective vest and aimed a second, fatal bullet beneath his vest in his upper torso, Filenko said....The investigation indicates criminal acts by at least two other people....
Gliniewicz, a trim and heavily tattooed Army veteran known widely in Fox Lake, was memorialized with a hero’s funeral. He was laid to rest with full military honors at Antioch Community High School, and mourners waited in line for hours to pay their respects. Authorities said officers from more than 1,000 police forces attended, and helicopters swooped in formation over the cemetery....
