Phillip Ronald Paske [a] (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]
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 of probation. [8]
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 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. [9]
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. [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]
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]
Phillip Ronald Paske [a] (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]
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 of probation. [8]
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 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. [9]
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. [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]
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]