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FOX LAKE, Ill. — A northern Illinois police officer whose fatal shooting triggered a large manhunt carefully staged his death to make it look like he was killed in the line of duty and had been stealing for years from a youth program he oversaw, authorities said Wednesday.

Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko, who led the two-month investigation into the Sept. 1 death of Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, said the popular officer embezzled thousands of dollars from the Fox Lake Police Explorer program for seven years. He said Gliniewicz spent the money on things like mortgage payments, travel expenses, gym memberships and adult websites.

"We have determined this staged suicide was the end result of extensive criminal acts that Gliniewicz had been committing in fact he was under increasing levels of personal stress from scrutiny of his management of the Fox Lake Police Explorer program," Filenko said at a news conference announcing the investigation's findings.

"Gliniewicz committed the ultimate betrayal," he added.

On the day he died, Gliniewicz radioed in that he was chasing three suspicious men in a swampy area near Fox Lake, which is north of Chicago. Backup officers later found the Army veteran's body about 50 yards from his squad car.

Gliniewicz's death set off a large manhunt, with hundreds of officers searching houses, cabins and even boats on area lakes. Helicopters with heat-sensing scanners and K-9 units scoured the area for days. Around 50 suburban Chicago police departments and sheriff's offices assisted, racking up more than $300,000 in overtime and other costs, according to an analysis that the Daily Herald newspaper published in early October.

Authorities said in October that Gliniewicz, 52, was shot with his own weapon. Authorities released only the vague description of three suspects that Gliniewicz had radioed in. They tracked down three men captured on a home security video system, but all were cleared and no one was ever arrested.

Gliniewicz took elaborate steps to try to make it look like he died in a struggle, including shooting himself twice in the torso.

He was struck by two rounds, one that hit his ballistic vest with the force of a "sledgehammer" and another that pierced his upper chest, Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko said earlier in the investigation.

The officer's death also became part of the national discussion about excessive force by police and he was held up as a hero who died doing his job in a dangerous environment.

An outpouring of grief swept Fox Lake, a community of 10,000 residents located about 50 miles north of Chicago. Signs with the officer's picture hung in storefront windows and flags flew at half-staff in honor of the 30-year police veteran.

The tattooed officer with a shaved head was described by those who knew him as tough when needed, but also as sweet and a role model to youngsters aspiring to go into law enforcement.

More than 100 investigators stayed on the case for weeks, though questions arose in mid-September, and investigators began to concede that they could not rule out suicide or an accident.

One hint came when Lake County Coroner Dr. Thomas Rudd announced that Gliniewicz was killed by a "single devastating" shot to his chest. That prompted an angry response from Filenko, who said the release of such details put "the entire case at risk."

Gliniewicz's family dismissed the suggestion of suicide. His son D.J. Gliniewicz said his father "never once" thought of taking his own life, and described how his dad spoke excitedly about what he planned to do after retiring.

Gliniewicz had four children.

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A former FedEx driver plans to sue the city for $10 million after he was allegedly beaten to a pulp by cops furious over the fact that he unwittingly gave directions to the gunman who assassinated two cops last year, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Karim Baker, 26, of Corona, Queens, says he was stopped for minor traffic infractions about 20 times by cops who wrongly blamed him for his accidental role in the execution-style slayings of Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu last year, said his lawyer, Eric Subin.

When Baker finally objected to being questioned outside his car during yet another stop Oct. 20, two undercover cops slammed him to the ground, the lawyer said. They then allegedly delivered a “savage beating” before slapping him with trumped-up charges of resisting arrest, obstruction and parking too close to a fire hydrant.

“It is a particularly bizarre set of facts,” Subin said.

“I cannot really fathom a circumstance where a guy is pulled over 20 times in the span of nine months, never been given a ticket, and then on the heels of that, they beat the hell out of him and put him in the hospital.”

Baker had just finished delivering a package in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn on Dec. 20, 2014, when cop-hater Ismaaiyl Brinsley approached him and asked how to get to the Marcy Houses project, Subin said.

A short time later, Brinsley snuck up on Ramos and Liu as they sat in a marked NYPD cruiser and opened fire without warning, killing them both.

Brinsley then ran to a nearby subway station, where he shot himself to death as cops closed in.

During the NYPD’s investigation of the double cop killing, detectives uncovered surveillance footage that showed Baker and Brinsley’s brief interaction, Subin said.

Cops spent several weeks staking out Baker and barraging him, his relatives, his co-workers and boss with “question after question” about his contact with Brinsley, Subin said.

Then, early this year, Baker started getting pulled over, but never charged, “for the lowest traffic violations imaginable,” such as changing lanes without signaling or not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, Subin said.

In addition to the physical injuries, Subin said Baker — whom he called a “remarkably upstanding citizen” with no criminal record — was emotionally traumatized by his beating.

“The guy can barely get through a sentence without breaking down in tears,” Subin said.

An NYPD spokesman said Baker’s claims were “under review, “ adding: “We dispute the allegations and have no information to corroborate these allegations.”

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In a veiled threat, the largest police union in the country says it has a "surprise" in store for Quentin Tarantino.

Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, would not go into any detail about what is being cooked up for the Hollywood director, but he did tell THR: "We'll be opportunistic."

"Tarantino has made a good living out of violence and surprise," says Pasco. "Our offices make a living trying to stop violence, but surprise is not out of the question."

The FOP, based in Washington, D.C., consists of more than 330,000 full-time, sworn officers. According to Pasco, the surprise in question is already "in the works," and will be in addition to the standing boycott of Tarantino's films, including his upcoming movie The Hateful Eight.

"Something is in the works, but the element of surprise is the most important element," says Pasco. "Something could happen anytime between now and [the premiere]. And a lot of it is going to be driven by Tarantino, who is nothing if not predictable.

"The right time and place will come up and we'll try to hurt him in the only way that seems to matter to him, and that's economically," says Pasco.

When asked if this was a threat, Pasco said no, at least not a physical threat. "Police officers protect people," he says. "They don't go out to hurt people."

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"The right time and place will come up and we'll try to hurt him in the only way that seems to matter to him, and that's economically," says Pasco.

When asked if this was a threat, Pasco said no, at least not a physical threat.

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