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Authors: Tom Philbin
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in Cicero, Illinois, a town about five miles from Chicago and the one-time gangland headquarters of Al Capone. Robinson’s mother was said to be a strict disciplinarian, and his father was not on the scene.
Rather than giving any hint of problems, Robinson seemed to be an all-American boy. He was an Eagle Scout and a musician who had performed before Queen Elizabeth II at a concert in London. He enrolled as a high-school freshman at Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago where he was preparing to become a priest. (One detective said of him later: “I wouldn’t want to go to confession if he was a priest. You’d never get out of the confessional alive.”)
But as he grew up, John Robinson’s troubles started to rear their head. In his freshman year at Quigley, he was a poor student and became a discipline problem. So much so, in fact, that school authorities did not allow him back for his sophomore year, ending his dreams of becoming a priest.
A Growing Problem
Many people who have an inferior sense of self—and serial killers all do—invent grandiose images of themselves that are figments of their own imaginations. Robinson had dreams of glory, dreams that he would one day be someone very important, and he seemingly tried to prove that to himself, regardless of the fact that his “achievements” were propped up by a pastiche of self-delusion and lies. In other words, he seems to have had the ability to convince himself that he was important. In 1977, for example, he was named “Man of the Year” by a Kansas City charity, an award that he orchestrated himself and which was a complete scam.
This proved to be a problem because he had conned the
Kansas City Star
into running a story on it. When people who supposedly had supported Robinson in his quest for the award started denying that they had, the
Star
ran an exposé on Robinson that showed him to be a fraud and thoroughly embarrassed him and his family. (He had married at twenty-one and immediately had a child.)
As Robinson matured, he got worse. He became a thief through and through. He felt no guilt when he ripped someone off, and he didn’t care who he conned. His scams as the years went by included conning an old friend out of $25,000, which was quite a bit of money at the time.
Later, he took a job as a radiologist in Kansas City while knowing nothing about the profession. That, of course, was extremely dangerous for the patients. Eventually, his incompetence was discovered and he was fired.
After that, he started working as a radiologist for Wallace Graham, MD, President Harry Truman’s long-time friend and former personal physician. Robinson began stealing from Graham and taking shocking sexual liberties in the office. He convinced one of the patients to have sex by telling her that his wife had terminal cancer and couldn’t have sex with him.
Robinson depleted the doctor’s finances to the point that he wasn’t able to give his employees a bonus for Christmas. Finally in 1969, the laid-back, low-key, and trusting doctor had his practice audited and discovered that Robinson had bilked him out of $33,000. Ever the consummate actor, Robinson got probation during which he perpetrated other offenses.
Opportunities in Cyber-Crime
All of that stealing no doubt honed his skills as a con man, and when the Internet came into bloom in 1995, Robinson came into his own as a criminal. He became a poster child for the kind of person that no one should contact on the Internet, although he did not present himself as something that he was not, at least sexually. He was looking for a certain kind of woman. Billing himself as the Slavemaster, he started to connect with women who were into S and M, and willing to become his slaves.
John Robinson, slavemaster and serial killer.
The difference between Robinson and other sadists was that he delivered real pain to the women who met with him, not just what could be called play pain. I believe that ultimately, anyone
Rather than giving any hint of problems, Robinson seemed to be an all-American boy. He was an Eagle Scout and a musician who had performed before Queen Elizabeth II at a concert in London. He enrolled as a high-school freshman at Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago where he was preparing to become a priest. (One detective said of him later: “I wouldn’t want to go to confession if he was a priest. You’d never get out of the confessional alive.”)
But as he grew up, John Robinson’s troubles started to rear their head. In his freshman year at Quigley, he was a poor student and became a discipline problem. So much so, in fact, that school authorities did not allow him back for his sophomore year, ending his dreams of becoming a priest.
A Growing Problem
Many people who have an inferior sense of self—and serial killers all do—invent grandiose images of themselves that are figments of their own imaginations. Robinson had dreams of glory, dreams that he would one day be someone very important, and he seemingly tried to prove that to himself, regardless of the fact that his “achievements” were propped up by a pastiche of self-delusion and lies. In other words, he seems to have had the ability to convince himself that he was important. In 1977, for example, he was named “Man of the Year” by a Kansas City charity, an award that he orchestrated himself and which was a complete scam.
This proved to be a problem because he had conned the
Kansas City Star
into running a story on it. When people who supposedly had supported Robinson in his quest for the award started denying that they had, the
Star
ran an exposé on Robinson that showed him to be a fraud and thoroughly embarrassed him and his family. (He had married at twenty-one and immediately had a child.)
As Robinson matured, he got worse. He became a thief through and through. He felt no guilt when he ripped someone off, and he didn’t care who he conned. His scams as the years went by included conning an old friend out of $25,000, which was quite a bit of money at the time.
Later, he took a job as a radiologist in Kansas City while knowing nothing about the profession. That, of course, was extremely dangerous for the patients. Eventually, his incompetence was discovered and he was fired.
After that, he started working as a radiologist for Wallace Graham, MD, President Harry Truman’s long-time friend and former personal physician. Robinson began stealing from Graham and taking shocking sexual liberties in the office. He convinced one of the patients to have sex by telling her that his wife had terminal cancer and couldn’t have sex with him.
Robinson depleted the doctor’s finances to the point that he wasn’t able to give his employees a bonus for Christmas. Finally in 1969, the laid-back, low-key, and trusting doctor had his practice audited and discovered that Robinson had bilked him out of $33,000. Ever the consummate actor, Robinson got probation during which he perpetrated other offenses.
Opportunities in Cyber-Crime
All of that stealing no doubt honed his skills as a con man, and when the Internet came into bloom in 1995, Robinson came into his own as a criminal. He became a poster child for the kind of person that no one should contact on the Internet, although he did not present himself as something that he was not, at least sexually. He was looking for a certain kind of woman. Billing himself as the Slavemaster, he started to connect with women who were into S and M, and willing to become his slaves.
John Robinson, slavemaster and serial killer.
The difference between Robinson and other sadists was that he delivered real pain to the women who met with him, not just what could be called play pain. I believe that ultimately, anyone
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