Chicago area police officer believed to have been
killed on duty in September and hailed as a hero actually died as a result of a
well-planned suicide linked to personal reports have revealed.
Charles Gliniewicz killed himself on September 1 after
embezzling funds from police in the village of Fox Lake, Illinois, for seven
years, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The 52-year-old officer, nicknamed GI Joe, was initially
hailed as a hero, but police say he committed the 'ultimate betrayal' by
stealing cash set aside for teenagers who aspired to one day join law
enforcement.
The married father-of-four took a 'five-figure' sum -
which was supposed to be used by the Explorers youth program - and spent it on
vacations, personal items, mortgage payments and adult websites.
 |
| Mel Gliniewicz (above), the wife of the slain officer, has refused to accept the possibility of suicide |
Detectives looked at more than 6,500 pages of text
messages, 40,000 emails and over 1,000 bank documents following his death and
found he was at the center of illicit activity.
Police said that before Gliniewicz shot himself two
months ago, he laid out his baton, pepper spray and personal glasses to mislead
officers and make it look like there was a struggle.
He then 'strategically aimed' two gunshots so that it hit
his cell phone and bulletproof vest.
Police have suggested he used his experience staging
crime scenes in the Explorers program to set up his own in a bid to convince
officers it was a homicide.
It is believed he knew village officials were conducting
an audit on him before he died.
No comments:
Post a Comment