COSTELLO: A startling twist in the investigation into a cop who staged his own suicide last year. Melodie Gliniewicz, the widow of that disgraced Illinois police officer has been indicted, charged with aiding her husband as he stole funds from a charity for children that is sponsored by the Fox Lake Police. Pamela Brown is following the story from Atlanta. Good morning.</s>PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol. What a remarkable turn of events in this story. Melodie Gliniewicz, who many remember as the grieving widow of Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, who investigators believe staged his own death, has been indicted by a grand jury in Chicago for stealing charitable funds and using them for her own personal benefit. She faces six felony counts. Authorities allege she schemed with her now-deceased husband to scheme from the youth group they ran, the Explorers, a group of teens they were training to become law enforcement officers. And Melodie allegedly used that donated money to pay for a personal trip to Hawaiii, payments to businesses such as Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, the movie theater, and more than 400 restaurant charges, investigators say. This was all discovered during the course of her husband's death investigation, where investigators revealed -- recovered these texts between the couple discussing using the Explorer Post (ph) money for themselves. Investigators believe Lieutenant Gliniewicz committed decide to hide the embezzlement scheme. Melodie's attorneys deny all of these allegations. They said in a statement released yesterday that Melodie has suffered greatly over the past few months. Considering Melodie's cooperation with law enforcement, she is devastated by the decision to bring charges against her. Bond was set at $50,000, and, Carol, a CNN special about her husband's staged suicide will air Friday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.</s>COSTELLO: Pamela Brown reporting live for usthis morning. Thank you. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the #oscarssowhite fallout rises to a presidential level. Now President Obama is weighing in.
Widow of Crooked Cop Who Staged Suicide Indicted