Authorities: Theft arrest led to Glendale Hts. murder plot
A Glendale Heights man charged with soliciting the murders of three relatives after he was accused of stealing from them told an undercover cop “this is what happens to people who cross me,” prosecutors said Friday.
DuPage County Judge Elizabeth Sexton set bail at $1 million for 23-year-old Matthew Olszewski, who faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
Court records show Olszewski was arrested July 10 on charges he stole hundreds of dollars in jewelry, tools and electronics from his home on the 1500 block of Glen Ellyn Road, where he lived with his aunt, uncle and grandfather.
Afterward, he asked a fellow jail inmate about hiring a hitman to murder the three family members, Assistant State’s Attorney Bethany Jackson told Sexton in bond court.
According to Jackson, the inmate went to authorities and agreed to wear a recording device during a follow-up discussion in which Olszewski “reiterated desires to have his family killed.”
Jackson said Olszewski later spoke to an undercover officer who posed as a hitman, saying he wanted his relatives dead “because they had crossed him and ‘this is what happens to people who cross me.’” She said Olszewski gave “specific details” about how he wanted the slayings carried out, then acted upset when police continued the ruse and told him the job was completed.
Olszewski was charged Thursday with three counts each of solicitation of murder and solicitation of murder for hire. The sheriff’s office, which led the investigation, said he planned to pay for the killings with burglary proceeds.
Olszewski, who identified himself as a landscaper, is due in court Monday for arraignment on a felony theft charge, Assistant Public Defender Mike Mara said. In that case, Olszewski also is charged with possessing “brass knuckles” and a marijuana pipe.
To be released from jail, Olszewski would have to post $100,000. He indicated in court Friday he was unlikely to come up with the money.