AP source: Wife, son of dead Illinois cop also investigated

(AP) — Authorities are investigating the wife and son of an Illinois police officer who they say killed himself after embezzling money for years from a department youth program he oversaw, an official said Thursday.

Melodie Gliniewicz helped her husband run the explorer program, in which he put young people interested in law enforcement careers through sophisticated training exercises.

Public works employees were pulling down the blue ribbons that residents had tied to trees and poles as a tribute to their slain hero.

Investigators said they believed the 30-year police veteran — whose death prompted a weeks-long manhunt and whose funeral drew thousands of mourners — killed himself because his criminal activity was about to be exposed.

Recovered text messages and other records now show Gliniewicz embezzled from the village's Police Explorer program for seven years, spending the money on mortgage payments, travel expenses, gym memberships, adult websites and loans to friends, Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko said.