In February 1979 a boy named Michael Salcido is found with his throat slashed in a car. He was due to testify against the notorious pedophile John David Norman, who had been arrested months earlier based on a report Michael Salcido had made to police. Norman's associate, Phillip Paske, was suspected of the murder, just as he had been two years earlier in the murder of another boy due to testify against Norman.(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99117190/john-norman/) As some may know, Phillip Paske had also worked for John Wayne Gacy during this period, a fact confirmed by pay stubs from Gacy's construction company dated September 1978.(https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/ ... wayne-gacy)
This second murder victim Michael Salcido was a ward of the state sent by the Illinois department of children and family services to the maryville academy. The largest foster home for delinquent youths in Chicago run by Father John Smyth. (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1021330 ... e-academy/)
The Maryville Academy had an affiliate program during the 1970s which would intermingle with surrounding high schools. This meant that students of the Maryville academy would attend these high schools, and students of these high school would attend programs at the maryville academy. There were only three local high school involved in this program - Maine West, Sacred Heart, and Notre Dame. (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1101650 ... onnection/)
Two of the bodies exhumed from Gacy's crawl space belonged to boys who had attended Maine West high school:
1. John Szyc, who graduated in 1975 prior to his disappearance. His Maine West graduation ring had in fact been found in Gacy's house. (https://mainewestalumni.org/Deceased%20 ... ead75.html)
2. Robert Piest, who had attended Maine West at the time of his disappearance.
After his son's death, the father of Robert Piest started a scholarship in his sons name at the Maryville academy. (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1101580 ... ert-piest/)
The lead Detective in the John Wayne Gacy case, and the one who had been first to finger Gacy as a suspect, was Lt. Joseph Kozenczak. His son had also attended Maine West high school and had been in the same year level as victim Robert Piest.(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1021854 ... n-went-to/) Lt. Joseph Kozenczak and his wife, Karen Kozenczak, were also well acquainted with Father John Smyth and the Maryville Academy. Joseph Kozenczak's funeral would be held at the Maryville academy(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1101580 ... kozenczak/), and here's a photo of his wife Karen with John Smyth in 2010.(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1101736 ... ren-smyth/)
The funeral of a third John Wayne Gacy victim, John Butkovich, was conducted by a close friend of the family, father John Tilford from the Maryville Academy.(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1021331 ... e-academy/)
In 1980 a local democrat candidate for a district in Illinois posted a campaign ad with an interesting resume. 12 years at the Maryville academy followed by the U.S.A.F school of psychological warfare. (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1021333 ... la-flamme/)
In 1986 a Maryville academy employee named Roebrt Friese was charged for having sex with a boy there.(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1021338 ... e-academy/)
In 1987 Joseph Kozenczak, who had since become chief of police in Des Moines, put a call into Father John Smyth concerning a Father Mayer at the Maryville Academy who had been accused of molesting boys. Appears it was 'handled' internally.(https://www.bishop-accountability.org/d ... it_008.pdf)
In 2003 the maryville academy is shutdown by the Illinois governor, citing it as 'unsafe' for children(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1101738 ... -shutdown/). John Smyth steps aside and is replaced by Father David Ryan and it's reopened.(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1101568 ... ohn-smyth/)
In 2019 Father John Smyth is accused of sex abuse by former maryville students.(https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/mi ... p-forward/)
In 2020 Father David Ryan is accused of sex abuse by former maryville students. (https://www.hurley-law.com/chicago-inju ... s-plaines/)
Gacy supposedly had blackmail on VIPs, including sports figures (https://www.unlimitedbliss.net/post/gac ... publicized). The Maryville Academy is the home of a sport hall of fame and father John Smyth had been an NBA draftee with lots of connections in the sporting world who were involved with the Maryville academy.(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1101573 ... s-figures/)
And I haven't even looked for a link between Gacy and Illinois catholic associations yet. I'm sure it's there.
Anyhow, right before his execution Gacy ends up stating John Norman and Phillip Paske were producing snuff films and burying the bodies in the crawl space with others he had killed. But that's another story.
