A Sept. 9 photo showing a makeshift memorial near the apron to honing Road, a wooded lane where the body of Lt. Charles Gliniewicz was found. (Photo by Gregory Harutunian/for Chronicle Media)

The Fox Lake Police Pension Board is awaiting word from the Village of Fox Lake, before scheduling another hearing that will place the municipality’s testimony into the record regarding the disbursement of the late Lt. Charles Gliniewicz’s benefits to his widow, Melodie Gliniewicz.

Complicating the matter is her criminal trial, with the next court date slated for Aug. 16.

Fox Lake officials had previously petitioned to appear before the pension board, in order to present their evidence and testimony that would oppose the Gliniewicz pension benefits being released. Although Fox Lake would ultimately fund the benefits through collected taxes, the municipality and pension board are two distinct and separate entities, prompting the petition.

An early June meeting was convened, and then continued, at the village’s request for more time in consolidating their argument.

“The village was successful in having our petition granted to present our side, and we have nothing to report, and we haven’t heard anything,” said Fox Lake Village Administrator Anne Marrin. “We’re waiting to hear from the board, as to when they want us to turn some more information in, but we’re hoping it will not happen anytime soon, before the trial.”

Melodie Gliniewicz, 51, was indicted in late January, by the Lake County Grand Jury, with additional charges in April, all stemming from approximately $10,000 in money spent for personal or business use, from the bank accounts of the disbanded Fox Lake Explorer Post 300 accounts. Both Charles, and Melodie, Gliniewicz had acted in a fiduciary capacity with the accounts.

“It’s an odd case, kind of a ‘Catch-22’ situation with this,” said Fred Loffredo, the Fox Lake Police Pension Board’s president. “Technically, he was not charged with anything, and the ruling will decide how much the widow will receive. The village petitioned to attend the hearings, and show reasons why she shouldn’t get the benefits. We’re two separate agencies.

“They asked for a longer time-window, and when they do contact us, we can proceed,” he said. “My feeling is that they would rather wait until the criminal trial is concluded but I can’t say.”

Loffredo said the pension benefits application was sent to Melodie Gliniewicz on Sept. 2, and was filed with the board last April, for consideration. Her benefits would be calculated in a 50-75 percent range, due to the circumstances of death, and would amount to approximately $45,000 annually, at the minimum.

At a June 14 court hearing, her defense attorneys were denied a motion to dismiss four of the charges against her, by Lake County Circuit Court Judge Victoria Rosetti. The decision came with a declaration from the bench that she was “legally accountable” for the funds allegedly used by the couple, from September 2008 until September 2015. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Defense attorneys have maintained Gliniewicz’s widow is being punished for her husband’s wrongdoing. The bulk of the indictments surround three counts of disbursing charitable funds without authority and for personal benefit (Class 2 felonies), one count of disbursing charitable funds without authority and for personal benefit (Class 3 felony), one count of money laundering (Class 2 felony), and one count of money laundering (Class 3 felony).

The matter came to light, when Charles Gliniewicz was found shot last Sept. 1, in a “carefully staged suicide, masked as a homicide,” according to George Filenko, the former commander of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force. The information was made public at a Nov. 1 press conference, where highlighted messages from nearly 6,500 recovered emails and texts showed the financial malfeasance.

It was further speculated by the task force, the intent for his terminal action provided a “smokescreen” in covering up the “embezzlement and money laundering.” The former officer also was never charged with any crimes, prior to his death, leaving his legal status as innocent.

Cynthia Vargas, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office communications manager, had said that one felony count was dismissed by the prosecution Feb. 3, and the four charges added in April, were two felonies and two misdemeanors: one count of conspiracy (Class 3 felony), one count of misuse of charitable funds for personal or business use (Class 2 felony), and two Class A misdemeanors.