Michael Rossi was an employee of [[John Wayne Gacy]] who lived with him at his [[Norwood Park]] home and was named by Gacy as an accomplice in the rape, torture, and murder of young men during the 1970s. Rossi worked for Gacy's construction company [[Painting Decorating Maintenance|PDM]] and was in possession of [[John Szyc]]'s car at the time Szyc disappeared in January 1977, telling detectives Gacy had given it to him. Rossi had lived with Gacy on and off at the Norwood Park house along with another employee named [[David Cram]].[^1] During Gacy's interrogation following his arrest in December 1978, he named Rossi and [[David Cram]] as accomplices who had buried bodies in the crawlspace beneath his home. Gacy claimed to have multiple personalities and confessed in the third person to the murders of [[Robert Piest]], [[John Butkovich]], and John Szyc, stating that Rossi and Cram were involved and had dug graves in the crawlspace. Both Cram and Rossi would later admit to digging trenches during Gacy's trial but denied knowing their purpose. Rossi and Cram testified that Gacy claimed to work for a crime syndicate involved in "setting people up," with Cram stating Gacy told him victims' identification cards were "from some kind of deceased people" and "had something to do with setting people up for the crime syndicate."[^1] One of the victims, nineteen-year-old [[John Mowery]], had moved into an apartment with Rossi just days before his disappearance. Two of Mowery's friends visited the apartment looking for him and spoke with Rossi, who told them Mowery was away for a few days but then asked if they would take his dog. The friends claimed Rossi also mentioned a place where dead bodies were buried during that same conversation, describing how "he knew of a location where there were a bunch of dead bodies that nobody knew about, not even the police" while saying it with what one witness described as "such a terrible smirk on his face."[^1] ### Connections to the Odyssey Network Gacy named a third accomplice beyond Rossi and Cram: [[Phillip Paske]], and through him a fourth, [[John David Norman]]. Gacy said he was introduced to Paske through David Cram, describing Paske as a dangerous child pimp who procured boys for sex and movies. Gacy stated that Cram, Rossi, and Paske all had keys to his house and frequently used it during periods he was out of town. In a recorded conversation later played publicly, Gacy stated: "Aside from the twelve keys, we already know that Rossi, Cram, Paske, and Norman were involved in the case. And you know something, what's funny, these sons of bitches know it too." Rossi reportedly hired former state attorney Ed Hanrahan to represent him during the investigation. A victim named [[Jeff Rignall]], who was chloroformed and raped by Gacy at the Norwood Park home in early 1978, stated at least one other person was present during the assault. Police were reported in 1979 to be looking at Rossi and two others as possible accomplices.[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar.