Phillip Paske
Phillip Paske | |
|---|---|
 1976 mugshot | |
| Born | Phillip Ronald Paske June 11, 1953 |
| Died | November 9, 1998 (aged 45) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Details | |
Span of crimes | c. 1976 – 1979 (with Norman) |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Illinois |
Phillip Ronald Paske[a] (June 11, 1953 – November 9, 1998)[1] was an American criminal, murderer, and child pornographer from Chicago, Illinois. He was the closest associate and personal friend of sex trafficker John David Norman[2][3] and was briefly an employee of John Wayne Gacy's construction business.[4][5]
Biography[edit]
There is scarce information about Paske's life. It was reported that his father was a city worker and that Paske had a "bad complexion," a violent temper, and frequently cross-dressed.[3][6][7] Paske had a lengthy record beginning at age 18 in 1971, with convictions for crimes such as drug dealing, theft, battery, and murder.[8]
In a 1992 prison interview with John Wayne Gacy, whom Paske was once employed by, he described Paske as dangerous and stated that he "pimped girls, boys, for sex or movies."[4][5] Gacy also denied ever discussing sex with Paske.[7]
1973 robbery-murder[edit]
In November 1973, Paske, along with Al Bone and Richard Angel, planned to rob a coin collector named Louis McKerley. The robbery took place at 7 p.m. in a second-floor apartment at 6052 ½ W Irving Park Road in Chicago. Bone was armed with a knife, and Angel had accompanied him with a handgun. Paske's role was to act as a lookout for any oncoming witnesses. When McKerley opened the door, Bone and Angel forced their way into the apartment. A struggle ensued, and Bone stabbed McKerley in the chest. All three then fled the scene. McKerley would later succumb to his stab wounds.[9] The three were arrested and charged with murder and attempted armed robbery.[8][9]
Through a plea agreement, Paske and Angel pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery, with the murder charge being dropped and some prison time served as well as probation. Bone would subsequently plead guilty and receive a sentence of 14 to 20 years imprisonment.[9]
Child pornography ring[edit]
John David Norman (1927–2011) was a sex offender who ran multiple child pornography and prostitution rings in the 1970s and 1980s. As of 1973, he allegedly had between 50,000 and 100,000 clients in 35 U.S. states.[10] He also had potential links to serial killers Dean Corll and John Wayne Gacy. According to Gacy, Norman produced snuff films of young boys.[5] No such films have been found to exist. In 1973, the Commander of the Police Youth Division in Houston, Bennie M. Newman, stated that there was no known connection between Norman's operations and Corll's murders.[10]
Paske was manager of the mail order house for Norman's child pornography business, M-C Publications, which began in the mid-1970s,[11] and took charge of the operation during Norman's stints in prison.[12] Paske was fired from his job as children's supervisor at a fire department swimming pool in August 1977 after he was publicly linked to Norman's child prostitution ring.[13]
[edit]
Paske was initially wanted for questioning in the January 19, 1977 murder of Kenneth Hellstrom, 17, of Homewood. He was stabbed six times while walking home from work and died several hours later. Hellstrom had implicated Norman on child molestation charges in 1973, which resulted in Norman being sent to prison for four years. Norman was still in prison at the time of the murder.[6] In June 2012, a man named Fred Rogers was convicted of Hellstrom's murder and sentenced to 22 years in prison. Rogers, who was 16 at the time, had gotten into an argument with Hellstrom earlier in the day that he was stabbed.[14]
On February 25, 1979, Michael Salcido, 17, Arthur Salcido, 19, and Frank Mussa, 16, were found dead in a car at 3 a.m. in Chicago. Their throats were slashed in what police described as an "almost ritualistic" fashion. It was suspected that their bodies were placed in the car after their deaths. Michael was a ward of the state who was set to testify in Norman's upcoming trial.[6] It was later revealed that Latin Kings members, of no relation to Norman, were responsible for the murders.[15]
Later life and death[edit]
Norman relocated his operation to Pennsylvania in 1983 after his release from prison. Besides a few arrests for minor crimes in the 1980s, Paske's activities after this point are unclear. He died on November 9, 1998, in Chicago.[1][16][17]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Sometimes spelled as Philip
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Phillip R Paske". MyHeritage. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "Chicago is center of national child porno ring". archive.today: Chicago Tribune. May 16, 1977. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ a b "CRIME HUNTER: How 'pedophile's pedophile' linked two serial killers". Toronto Sun. March 12, 2022. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ^ a b "John Wayne Gacy: Inside Peacock's New True-Crime Docuseries". Rolling Stone. April 7, 2021. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Was Notorious Child Sex Ring Leader John Norman Connected To John Wayne Gacy?". Oxygen. April 22, 2021. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Police seek '77 killing link to slain youths". Chicago Tribune. February 28, 1979. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "GACY SEX TRAFFICKING CONNECTION". YouTube. WGN-TV. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
- ^ a b "PHILLIP PASKE". FBI. November 5, 1973. pp. 51–52. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ a b c Dorsch, William (October 1, 2023). Omnipotent: Don't Ask, Don't Tell. William Dorsch. p. 231. ISBN 9798988972914.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ a b "Alleged Homosexual Ring Found In a Raid on Apartment in Dallas". The New York Times. archive.today. August 16, 1973. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "Parolee held in child porn raid". Chicago Tribune. June 17, 1978. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Vice Web Prostitutes Boys". The Macon Telegraph. May 19, 1977. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Porno-ring suspect fired by city". Chicago Tribune. August 16, 1977. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Man Sentenced in 35-Year-Old Murder Case". WMAQ-TV. June 15, 2012. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
- ^ "JURY TOLD OF 1979 TRIPLE GANG SLAYING". Chicago Tribune. February 7, 1992. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
- ^ "Man Held on child molesting charge". www.newspapers.com. archive.today: The Gettysburg Times. October 31, 1984. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "Chicago Police Department arrests of Phillip Paske - Google Drive". drive.google.com.
