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10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/John Wayne Gacy.md
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---
category: "Other"
tags:
- Person
- Serial_Killer
- Criminal
- Illinois
- 1970s
- Child_Murderer
- Political_Connections
- Construction_Company
- Delta_Project_Connection
summary: "John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) murdered at least 33 young men and boys in the Chicago, Illinois, area during the 1970s."
---
John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) murdered at least 33 young men and boys in the [[Chicago, Illinois]], area during the 1970s. Gacy operated under the cover of a construction business and political involvement. Gacy owned [[Painting Decorating Maintenance]] (PDM) in [[Chicago, Illinois]].[^1]
John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) murdered at least 33 young men and boys in the [[Chicago]], area during the 1970s. Gacy operated under the cover of a construction business and political involvement. Gacy owned [[Painting Decorating Maintenance]] (PDM) in [[Chicago]].[^1]
Gacy established [[Painting Decorating Maintenance]] (PDM) as a legitimate business that employed young men. Gacy served as Democratic precinct captain of Norwood Park Township in 1975, appointed by [[Robert Martwick]]. Gacy acted as secretary and treasurer of the township's Lighting Commission with [[Sam Amirante]], who represented Gacy at trial. Gacy photographed with First Lady [[Rosalynn Carter]] in May 1978, wearing a [[Secret Service]] clearance button. Gacy hired [[Marty Zielinski]] to capture images with politicians like Mayor [[Michael Bilandic]] and [[Rosalynn Carter]]. Zielinski reported Gacy asked him to film illegal pornography for profit. Gacy's home at 8213 West Summerdale Avenue in Norwood Park served as residence and PDM office. Gacy claimed involvement with a crime syndicate that set up killings. Gacy was interviewed in the early 1990s about the murder of [[Kenneth Hellstrom]], a witness against [[John David Norman]].[^1]
@ -24,7 +19,7 @@ Gacy lured victims with job offers through PDM. Gacy used a handcuff trick to in
The investigation started after [[Robert Piest]]'s disappearance on December 11, 1978. Pharmacy owner [[Phil Torf]] and coworker [[Kim Byers]] identified Gacy as the contractor Piest met. Des Plaines Police Captain [[Joseph Kozenczak]] pulled Gacy's 1968 assault record and executed a search warrant on December 13 at Gacy's home, seizing incriminating items including [[John Szyc]]'s ring. Cram reported on December 16 Gacy's syndicate claims, dead persons' driver's licenses in the garage, and Gacy entering the crawlspace post-search. Rossi confirmed on December 17 receiving Szyc's car from Gacy and the licenses. Kozenczak spoke with ex-wife [[Carole Hoff]] on December 17 about Butkovich, making Gacy prime suspect in three disappearances. A second search warrant on December 21, based on a photo processing receipt from Piest's pocket found in Gacy's trash and Detective [[Robert Schultz]] smelling decomposition on December 19 surveillance, revealed a flooded crawlspace; once drained, it yielded the first of 29 bodies. Gacy was arrested on December 21 at a gas station and stated upon arrival "Who else do we have in the police station. There are others involved." During interrogation, Gacy named Cram and Rossi and confessed to some murders. The trial began in February 1980, resulting in conviction in March 1980 for 33 murders and a death sentence. Prosecutor [[Terry Sullivan]] published "The Killer Clown" in 1983. In 1979, police investigated three potential accomplices including Rossi for involvement or knowledge of assaults and murders. Court files listed [[Phillip Paske]] as a possible witness for prosecution and defense. A 1987 [[Chicago Tribune]] article noted the [[Chicago Ripper Crew]] leader, suspected of killing 17 women in 1981-1982, did construction work for Gacy and criticized his body disposal.[^1]
### Connections to Networks
Gacy connected to [[John David Norman]] through [[Phillip Paske]], Norman's accomplice in the [[Delta Project]] and [[Odyssey Network]]. Gacy claimed in 1992 interviews that Paske and Norman made snuff films with young boys, pimping and selling them, though Gacy was evasive about meeting Norman and suggested learning of him via news on Paske's jail newsletter. Paske, paroled in January 1976 after assisting Norman from Cook County Jail, lived with Norman in a Chicago, Illinois, basement apartment on W. Wrightwood Avenue in May 1977, twenty minutes from Gacy's home, where they produced pornography until a June 1978 raid, after which Paske joined PDM in September 1978. Gacy's 1994 pre-execution recording stated twelve keys were distributed to his house, with Rossi, Cram, Paske, and Norman involved, and archives confirmed Paske's employment and Gacy's absences aligning with victim disappearances during Norman's free periods in [[Chicago, Illinois]]. Similarities to [[Dean Corll]]'s crimes include handcuff tricks and torture boards, 28 to 33 male youth victims aged 13 to 21, burying most under properties, teenage accomplices claiming syndicate ties, and connections to Norman's network—Corll via investigation suspicions, Gacy via confirmed Paske employment.[^1]
Gacy connected to [[John David Norman]] through [[Phillip Paske]], Norman's accomplice in the [[Delta Project]] and [[Odyssey Network]]. Gacy claimed in 1992 interviews that Paske and Norman made snuff films with young boys, pimping and selling them, though Gacy was evasive about meeting Norman and suggested learning of him via news on Paske's jail newsletter. Paske, paroled in January 1976 after assisting Norman from Cook County Jail, lived with Norman in a Chicago, Illinois, basement apartment on W. Wrightwood Avenue in May 1977, twenty minutes from Gacy's home, where they produced pornography until a June 1978 raid, after which Paske joined PDM in September 1978. Gacy's 1994 pre-execution recording stated twelve keys were distributed to his house, with Rossi, Cram, Paske, and Norman involved, and archives confirmed Paske's employment and Gacy's absences aligning with victim disappearances during Norman's free periods in [[Chicago]]. Similarities to [[Dean Corll]]'s crimes include handcuff tricks and torture boards, 28 to 33 male youth victims aged 13 to 21, burying most under properties, teenage accomplices claiming syndicate ties, and connections to Norman's network—Corll via investigation suspicions, Gacy via confirmed Paske employment.[^1]
### Execution
Gacy exhausted appeals up to the Supreme Court by 1992. Gacy claimed accomplices Cram, Rossi, Paske, and Norman in TV interviews to seek reexamination and delay execution, stating Paske procured boys and all had house keys during his travels. In April 1994, a $1.99-per-minute reverse-charge phone line played Gacy's recording proclaiming innocence and implicating employees with keys, including Rossi, Cram, Paske, and Norman. Gacy was executed by lethal injection on May 10, 1994.[^1]