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Melodie Gliniewicz, the widow of disgraced Illinois officer Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, was arrested this week after being charged with money laundering in connection to her husband’s crimes.

Gliniewicz’s death was widely reported after the Illinois officer committed suicide as officials were looking into his misuse of thousands of dollars allocated for the Fox Lake Law Enforcement Youth Explorer program. The cop was initially called a hero, disguising his suicide to appear he was killed in the line of duty while pursuing three suspects, CNN reports.

Following an investigation into his death, 10,000 financial documents were recovered showing over 400 fraudulent purchases to restaurants, plane tickets, and other non-business expenses.

On Wednesday, Gliniewicz’s widow was indicted and charged by a Lake County grand jury on four counts of disbursing charitable funds without authority for personal benefit or use, and two counts of money laundering, the Daily Herald writes. She posted 10 percent of her $50,000 bail and was released. The 51-year-old was a fiduciary to the explorer program.

During the investigation, officials discovered $7,000 was deposited into Melodie Gliniewicz’s account. Her lawyers claim she is the victim of her husband’s crimes.

Via the Daily Herald:

“Based on the matching amounts and close timing of this cash withdrawal and subsequent deposit, it appears that the $7,000 was transferred from the Explorer … account to the Melodie Gliniewicz account,” the documents said. “The transferring of funds via cash may be indicative of an effort to conceal the activity.”

Attorneys for Melodie Gliniewicz previously denied any wrongdoing or “money laundering.”

Lawyers for Melodie Gliniewicz said in a statement Wednesday afternoon: “Melodie has suffered greatly over the past few months and continues to move her family forward after the emotionally traumatizing events of September 1, 2015. Considering Melodie’s cooperation with law enforcement, she is devastated by the decision to bring charges against her. Melodie is a victim of her husband’s secret actions and looks forward to her day in court to show the world her innocence.”

The Lake County state’s attorney’s office has since released about $40,000 in previously frozen funds – including individual personal donations and her husband’s last paycheck – back to Melodie, according to the report.

She is due back in court for a status hearing regarding her other frozen bank accounts on Feb. 2.

SOURCE: Daily HeraldCNN | VIDEO CREDIT: Inform | PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter

SEE ALSO:

Police Officer Slaying Sparks Manhunt In Illinois, Area Search Has Ended

The Full List Of Crimes Falsely Blamed On The Black Lives Matter Movement

Widow Of Cop Who Embezzled Money From Police Program Indicted On Laundering Charges  was originally published on newsone.com