Officials say about $33,500 in donations and other funds have been released to the widow of a northern Illinois police officer who authorities say killed himself after embezzling from a youth program.
The money released to MelodieGliniewicz includes a paycheck and donation received after Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz died Sept. 1. Authorities claim late Gliniewicz staged his suicide to look like a homicide because he feared discovery of the embezzlement.
The Lake County state's attorney's office froze several of his wife's personal bank accounts during a criminal investigation.
Melodie Gliniewicz's attorneys argue prosecutors wrongly froze the accounts and asked for them to be released. They have said she needs the money to pay bills and her mortgage.
