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He has money to burn Gacy's works

Art auctioned: Bidder acts on burning desire to turn executed killer's works to ash

By Chris Julka
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

Aurora -- John Wayne Gacy's remains have been turned to ash, and soon so, too, will some of his paintings and memorabilia. At an auction here Saturday, Joe Roth of Naperville made the highest bids for 18 separate items created or possessed by the mass murderer, including 13 paintings, a hardcover autobiography, letters, two Easter cards and two clown figurines. His tab totaled $6,300.

Roth, owner of Roth Truck Parts in Naperville, plans to publicly burn all of the stuff 30 days from now.

"We want to get him off the face of the earth," Roth said. "It can't happen again -- not 33 times."

Gacy was executed Tuesday at Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill for murdering 33 young men two decades ago. Scores of people showed up at the auction at the James Quick Auctioneers Ltd. building at 10 S. 305 Schoger Drive, just west of the White Eagle subdivision.

The auction was covered by the British Broadcasting Corp. and carried by wire across the United States, said auctioneer Jim Quick. One bid was made by telephone from Pennsylvania, he said.

At one time, it was believed that the serial killer's works would command prices from $1,000 to $75,000, Quick said. But an auction by a different company last Monday in Chicago failed to sell a single Gacy item. "Everybody in the United States knew the artwork was available, but the response wasn't as strong as reported earlier," Quick said. "Or maybe the mood has changed."

The crowd applauded when Quick announced Roth's intention to burn Gacy's works.

"If he can afford to do that, then that's a noble thing," said one of those in attendance, Tom Palmer of Lombard. Roth managed to buy slightly more than half of the 34 items that were put on the block.

Up in smoke will go paintings of "Bashful the Clown," "Woeful the Clown," "Willie and the Butterfly," "Mickey and Minnie (Mouse)," "Flabby the Clown," "Free as a Bird," "Mickey Magic," "Indian Skull," "Topo the Clown," "Skull Clown No. 113," "Death Wish No. 17," "Elmer and Judd" and "Christ." The latter has a Gacy poem on the back, titled One Solitary Life.