Why did former Fox Lake administrator resign? Gliniewicz lawyers to hold hearing Monday to find out

Ahead of Melodie Gliniewicz’s criminal trial, her lawyers claim the village of Fox Lake intentionally withheld information about the termination of former Village Administrator Anne Marrin, who was credited with investigating disgraced Fox Lake police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz’s financial misdeeds.

Melodie Gliniewicz is accused of helping her late husband embezzle money from a youth program. Her trial is set to begin Feb. 22.

At a pretrial hearing Monday, seven people will be called on to testify about Marrin’s alleged misconduct and subsequent employment termination. Among those expected to speak are an investigator hired by the village to conduct the investigation, several village employees, and attorneys hired by the village and Fox Lake Mayor Donny Schmit.

A village official could not be reached for comment Friday.

Donald Morrison, one of Melodie Gliniewicz’s lawyers, said Friday that Marrin herself has not yet been served a subpoena, but the defense is trying to serve her.

According to village documents obtained by Gliniewicz’s legal team, Marrin was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into her conduct Jan. 26, 2021. Marrin resigned from the village March 5.

“We’re anxious to find out one way or another what the conduct was that warranted this investigation and what led to the termination of Marrin’s employment,” Morrison said.

Authorities allege that Joe and Melodie Gliniewicz stole thousands of dollars from the Fox Lake Police Department’s Explorer Post 300 to pay for personal expenses, including a trip to Hawaii, movie tickets, pornography websites and more than 400 meals at restaurants.

The accusations surfaced after Joe Gliniewicz was found shot to death in a secluded area of Fox Lake on Sept. 1, 2015. Investigators initially believed he had been shot in the line of duty but later determined he had killed himself in a bid to prevent the exposure of his crimes and made it appear as if he’d been gunned down.

Melodie Gliniewicz is charged with unlawful use of charitable funds, conspiracy and money laundering. She has pleaded not guilty and is free on bail while awaiting trial.

Marrin has been lauded for her role in uncovering Joe Gliniewicz’s misuse of funds. In 2016, Marrin received an award from the Illinois Association of Municipal Management Assistants stemming from her internal financial investigation into Joe Gliniewicz.

Marrin has said she’d been on the job a little more than a year when she started to raise questions about the operations of the Fox Lake police Explorer Post 300 program led by Joe Gliniewicz.

Police said an investigation showed Joe Gliniewicz may have tried to “put a hit” on Marrin because of her probe of the program. The last text message released by authorities, believed to have been sent by Joe Gliniewicz shortly before he died, showed him clearly worried about Marrin’s request to inventory the program’s headquarters.

An in-person hearing is scheduled at 10 a.m. Monday.

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20220121/why-did-former-fox-lake-administrator-resign-gliniewicz-lawyers-to-hold-hearing-monday-to-find-out