Phillip Ronald Paske, sometimes spelled as Philip (June 11, 1953 – November 9, 1998),[1] was an American criminal, murderer, possible serial killer and child pornographer from Chicago, Illinois. He was closest associate and personal friend of sex trafficker John David Norman[2][3] and briefly an employee of John Wayne Gacy's construction business.[4][5]
Phillip Paske | |
|---|---|
 Mugshot | |
| Born | Phillip Ronald Paske June 11, 1953 |
| Died | November 9, 1998 (aged 45) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Details | |
| Victims | 2+ |
Span of crimes | c. 1976 – 1979 (with Norman) |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Illinois |
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 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 denied ever discussing sex with Paske.[7]
Paske was arrested on January 16, 1974[8] for his role as a getaway driver in the robbery-killing of a stamp collector. He was initially charged with murder, but later pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery in a plea bargain with prosecutors.[9] He was arrested for another robbery-murder on January 7, 1976, and was sentenced to five years probation.[8]
Child pornography ring edit
John David Norman (1927–2011) was a pedophile who ran multiple child pornography and prostitution rings throughout the second half of the 20th century. As of 1973, he 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 lead 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.[9]
Paske was 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.[13]
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.[14]
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][15][16]
See also edit
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 c "PHILLIP PASKE". FBI. November 5, 1973. pp. 51–52. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ a b "Porno-ring suspect fired by city". Chicago Tribune. August 16, 1977. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ 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.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Vice Web Prostitutes Boys". The Macon Telegraph. May 19, 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.
