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Post by Admin Horan on May 1, 2015 11:35:34 GMT -6
In his later books and interviews, Robert Smith, Jr, who changed his name to Robert Graysmith, has gradually confessed to an interesting secret: his real job at the San Francisco Chronicle, and how he got it. In ZODIAC and for many years after its publication, Graysmith created the impression that he was no more than a cartoonist at the Chronicle. But the truth—and why he kept it a secret—is far more interesting.
Robert Smith, Sr was a career officer in the U.S. Army Air Force. Robert Jr grew up, for the most part, at Tachikawa Air Force Base in Japan. In 1954, at the age of 12, he landed his first job at the Tachikawa Marauder, a part of the Stars & Stripes syndicate. With a supply officer for a father, young Robert Jr needed someone else to teach him the skills he needed—and give him the kind of recommendation—to land a job at a busy newspaper. Another secret Robert Jr kept for his entire adult life was his memebership in the Boy Scouts. Where he learned photography, and the other skills, he needed to go to work at the amazing age of 12 as an illustrator and darkroom assistant.
By by the time Robert Jr arrived in Oakland, California to attend college, he had acquired enough skills and experience to work at the Oakland Tirbune in the Production Department. At the Tribune, Rober Jr illustrated sports stories and created maps to illustrate news stories. He also worked in the darkroom, using a "static" camera with a special non-distorting lens to photograph camera-ready copy, like advertisements and comic strips, using special "lithographic" film. He would then assemble these film strips and strips of text into pages to be etched onto printing plates for printing the actual newspaper. On his nights off, Robert Jr would hang around the Oakland Police Department, honing his skills as a "stringer," an uncredited reporter (in a union shop like the Tribune or the Chronicle, Robert Jr would not have been permitted to do two jobs, not officially.) At the Oakland PD, Rboert Jr became acquainted with the Chronicle's star police reporter, Bob Popp.
While he lived and studied in Oakland, Robert Jr, with his military dependent's ID, enjoyed access to all the libraries on the many military bases in the area—including the ones where the books he later claimed were used to create the "Zodiac" ciphers were reportedly stolen during that time. In the spring of 1969, with the recommendation of Bob Popp, Robert Jr landed a job in the Production Department of the Chronicle. Where he performed the same duties—official and unofficial—that he'd been performing at the Tribune. A few weeks later, the Chronicle received the first of many "Zodiac Killer" letters.
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Post by Captain Obvious on Feb 12, 2016 19:30:54 GMT -6
Spellcheck is a great tool... You should try it sometime.
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YOU MAKE THE CALL ...
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Post by YOU MAKE THE CALL ... on Feb 16, 2016 23:11:02 GMT -6
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Ask Morf About Sasquatch! ;-O
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Post by Ask Morf About Sasquatch! ;-O on Mar 5, 2016 1:18:04 GMT -6
WOWSA! The illustrious Zodiac Killer Site is teeming with Stanford psychiatric PhDs and profilers, I tell ya! In one 24 hr. period, witness the compelling sources used to diagnose a surviving family's long-deceased relative, and arraign the innocent man for serial murder...
morf13: "A lot of people think that Ross couldn't be z because due to his paranoid schizophrenia, he couldn't be alert enough to make codes or ciphers like z did. Then I watched a movie last night that I hadn't watched in a long time and had a 'ahh hah' moment. A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe. Who here has seen it? ..."
Paul_Averly: "I was also listening to the new gen-y podcast on BTK. ..."
Paul_Averly: "A gen-y podcast talked about how after a murder occurred in a house ..."
Paul_Averly: "Many professional profilers believed Z had schizophrenia long before we knew about Ross. We know a few things about Ross. He worked in a library and had to sit and work for periods of time. He was also very intelligent. Watch the film 'The Imitation Game.' ..."
FACT: A "library" is one place the esteemed Dr. “Paul_Averly” has never sat in for any length of time. Morford, himself, has two posts elsewhere on his site: one in which he confesses that he doesn't like reading books, and another admitting he’s not been to a library in a long while (even includes another wink smiley, just to prove his point).
Who can possibly take these imbeciles seriously, besides "Norse" and David Oranchak? And please assure me that the Vallejo PD (or any other) is not still wasting precious cold case time on these blunt tools!
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Post by Dragon 184 on Mar 8, 2016 4:50:14 GMT -6
Well, f*** me with the meatiest cantaloupe you can find! Why do people still pay attention or visit the great asylum for the insane? That parasitic, narcissistic, and toxic environment needs to be exterminated. Not even cockroaches, insects that I admire because of their cunning ability to survive nuclear attacks, will survive their barrage of nuclear mumbo jumbo.
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Post by Sasquatch Woz 'ere on Apr 17, 2016 21:59:39 GMT -6
Could someone tell me what Tom Voigt's **real** job is, while over the last 24 hrs.(and counting) Muslim-bashing transpires at his Zodiac killer forum? zodiackiller.fr.yuku.com/topic/7602/Re-Possible-serial-killer-loose-in-Manchester-England?page=-1#.VxRWNzHIgYoUnbelievable! A dozen moderators—in addition to Voigt—but they're perfectly okay serving up hard shots of speculation with bigotry chasers. Moderators: weeza, Seagull, sandy betts, SerialProfilingfan, davidmm, Tahoe27, Angie, drew, Tracers, judith, Nin, woodeniglooii
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Post by dobbson on May 10, 2017 3:39:04 GMT -6
Thank you for these revelations about Graysmith's real work at the Chronicle, and the deception of calling himself their political cartoonist.
Somewhere on this forum, (I can't find it now), someone was being sarcastic in asking you if Snook was a cartoonist "too". Well, the Bay area at that time was teaming with cartoonists - in comparison to other places in America - and many of them working at least part-time in some other field. It was "Mecca" for the underground cartoonists, for example, thanks in part to the encouragement, publishing, and promotional efforts of Gary Arlington. Arlington ran San Francisco's first comics store, and was just such a cartoonist himself. I'm surprised that none of the Zodiac theorists ever tried to develop a theory about him, actually, considering all the potential factors; his interest in & knowledge of comics, his physical stature, his characteristic lettering (would surely blow their minds), and having published "thrilling murder comics" in 1971. But my point is, lots of people in the area who may not have been known as cartoonists probably possessed some skill as one. After all, doesn't that describe Graysmith himself?
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Post by Admin Horan on May 11, 2017 20:23:53 GMT -6
Dobbson: Thanks for your comments! If you read Graysmith's "profile" of "Zodiac," it fits the real Robert Smith Jr to a perfect T. But I can't find enough hard evidence to publicly declare he participated in the original hoax. However, I would say he is the number one suspect for creating the cryptograms.
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Voigt is a FRAUD & OPPORTUNIST
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Post by Voigt is a FRAUD & OPPORTUNIST on Sept 11, 2017 22:30:12 GMT -6
Atop his website's main page, Tom VOIGT exclusively advertises Michael Sechrest's 2017 book, "Zodiac Code: Solved! Confession of the Zodiac Killer" and promotes the author and his work, including these statements from the book's FOREWORD by "Zodiac expert Tom Voigt":
"My name is Tom Voigt. I have studied the Zodiac case for more than 20 years. I've devoted almost half my life to learning the identity of the Zodiac killer.
During that time, I've seen hundreds of theories; some good, many bad, and most stretching the limits of credibility, logic and intelligence. Knowing Mr. Sechrest, I can attest that is not the case here.
I've been involved in many television documentaries and countless newspaper and online articles dedicated to finding the solution to the Zodiac's unsolved codes. Has Sechrest found the answer? Maybe. I hope so. Ultimately the true experts in Cryptography will decide.
In the meantime, enjoy his compelling presentation."
— Repeat: Tom VOIGT states that Michael Sechrest "Maybe" has found the answer; Tom VOIGT "hope so."
— According to Sechrest's theory in "Zodiac Code: Solved," who exactly confesses? . . .
SECHREST: "I am certain that the cipher solution identifies Arthur Leigh Allen as the Zodiac. I can prove that beyond a reasonable doubt." [Cha. 14]
What follows is but a sampling of more direct quotes from "Zodiac expert" Tom VOIGT:
VOIGT: "If you follow the evidence you will see it does not fit Allen . . . ." [Jan.17, 2008] VOIGT: "Allen was cleared every way a suspect can be cleared in this case . . . ." [Jun.22, 2009] VOIGT: "Who still considers Allen a suspect? He has been ruled out every possible way." [Jun.25, 2009] VOIGT: "Who still considers Allen a suspect? He has been ruled out every possible way." [Jul.20, 2009] VOIGT: "Needless to say, I was shocked and dismayed that he [Graysmith] chose to publish incorrect and misleading info to further his theory that Allen was the Zodiac." [Aug.10, 2012] VOIGT: "And they did bungle the Allen investigation, even if he wasn't the Zodiac." [Oct.4, 2012] VOIGT: "[W]hat I did online regarding Arthur Leigh Allen from 1998 through 2003 got him re-investigated by the police and eliminated in every possible way, right?" [Nov.5, 2013] VOIGT: "If it wasn't for people like us, Allen and several other suspects would still be on the radar wasting the time of investigators, both amateur and professional." [Aug. 25, 2015]
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I doubt any cognitive dissonance exists – in the psychological sense (that would be a healthy sign!) – since Tom Voigt and his dwindling members and proponents don't appear thus far to experience the slightest discomfort resulting from holding these simultaneously incongruous beliefs and attitudes. NOTE: this state of affairs can only make for the worst type of investigators and investigations.
[P.S. The spellchecker here red-lines "VOIGT" and offers one suggestion: "VOMIT" - Yeah, that's about right.]
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Voigt is a FRAUD & OPPORTUNIST
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Post by Voigt is a FRAUD & OPPORTUNIST on Sept 11, 2017 22:34:27 GMT -6
Atop his website's main page, Tom VOIGT exclusively advertises Michael Sechrest's 2017 book, "Zodiac Code: Solved! Confession of the Zodiac Killer" and promotes the author and his work, including these statements from the book's FOREWORD by "Zodiac expert Tom Voigt":
"My name is Tom Voigt. I have studied the Zodiac case for more than 20 years. I've devoted almost half my life to learning the identity of the Zodiac killer.
During that time, I've seen hundreds of theories; some good, many bad, and most stretching the limits of credibility, logic and intelligence. Knowing Mr. Sechrest, I can attest that is not the case here.
I've been involved in many television documentaries and countless newspaper and online articles dedicated to finding the solution to the Zodiac's unsolved codes. Has Sechrest found the answer? Maybe. I hope so. Ultimately the true experts in Cryptography will decide.
In the meantime, enjoy his compelling presentation."
— Repeat: Tom VOIGT states that Michael Sechrest "Maybe" has found the answer; Tom VOIGT "hopes so."
— According to Sechrest's theory in "Zodiac Code: Solved," who exactly confesses? . . .
SECHREST: "I am certain that the cipher solution identifies Arthur Leigh Allen as the Zodiac. I can prove that beyond a reasonable doubt." [Cha. 14]
What follows is but a sampling of more direct quotes from "Zodiac expert" Tom VOIGT:
VOIGT: "If you follow the evidence you will see it does not fit Allen . . . ." [Jan.17, 2008] VOIGT: "Allen was cleared every way a suspect can be cleared in this case . . . ." [Jun.22, 2009] VOIGT: "Who still considers Allen a suspect? He has been ruled out every possible way." [Jun.25, 2009] VOIGT: "Who still considers Allen a suspect? He has been ruled out every possible way." [Jul.20, 2009] VOIGT: "Needless to say, I was shocked and dismayed that he [Graysmith] chose to publish incorrect and misleading info to further his theory that Allen was the Zodiac." [Aug.10, 2012] VOIGT: "And they did bungle the Allen investigation, even if he wasn't the Zodiac." [Oct.4, 2012] VOIGT: "[W]hat I did online regarding Arthur Leigh Allen from 1998 through 2003 got him re-investigated by the police and eliminated in every possible way, right?" [Nov.5, 2013] VOIGT: "If it wasn't for people like us, Allen and several other suspects would still be on the radar wasting the time of investigators, both amateur and professional." [Aug. 25, 2015]
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I doubt any cognitive dissonance exists – in the psychological sense (that would be a healthy sign!) – since Tom Voigt and his dwindling members and proponents don't appear thus far to experience the slightest discomfort resulting from holding these simultaneously incongruous beliefs and attitudes. NOTE: this state of affairs can only make for the worst type of investigators and investigations.
[P.S. The spellchecker here red-lines "VOIGT" and offers one suggestion: "VOMIT" - Yeah, that's about right.]
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P.T. Barnum's Midget Voigt
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Post by P.T. Barnum's Midget Voigt on Nov 6, 2017 1:44:20 GMT -6
Lil' huckster Voigt and his retinue of dress lodgers & rent boys are still at it!
TOM VOIGT (Nov. 4, 2017): "If anyone has a website they'd like to drive a bunch of traffic to, let me know and we can work out an advertising deal; through December and beyond will be very busy for Zodiac on the Internet."
Of course, Tom Voigt's level of scruples and integrity in the case never has risen above the level of subjects in Don Henley's song, "Dirty Laundry":
"Can we film the operation? Is the head dead yet? You know, the boys in the newsroom got a running bet Get the widow on the set! We need dirty laundry"
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ekh
Junior Member
Orders accepted.
Posts: 90
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Post by ekh on Apr 27, 2018 22:59:39 GMT -6
Asking for a small favor
Would someone be willing to list all the things Robert Graysmith lists in his book that possibly implicates himself as a participator in the hoax ? For example: how to trace the hand printing, early access to comic strips, etc. etc.
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Post by nicnaq on Aug 29, 2020 22:30:30 GMT -6
I agree with all that you wrote. I was thinking the same thing. You broke his life and work down too. I think Graysmith is The Zodiac.
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Post by regisphillies on Jan 13, 2022 11:25:58 GMT -6
Just found this blog yesterday and it's blowing my mind. I always thought there was something off about the press and police element that became very obvious after the Stine murder. I'm ordering your book Mr. Horan and can't wait to read it.
One of my red flags early in the investigation was Avery dropping the Z case like a hot potato, but Graysmith played it up like Avery was damaged by it. Given Avery's unscrupulous nature and background as a journalist in Vietnam at the start of the war,my thinking was he had probably had much more credible threats on his life before Zodiac. Avery moved on to reporting on the Symbionese Liberation Army with another Chronicle reporter named Tim Findley. Avery and Findley would then write competing books on the SLA written with other co-authors.
I do have a question:
I read on some random, far-flung blog that Bobby G. may have been in trouble for plagiarism during his time at the Chronicle. Do you have any information on this?
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Post by Admin Horan on Jan 13, 2022 18:12:23 GMT -6
Yeah. I prove in my book that he plagiarized several "interviews" with witnesses, cops, etc.
Thanks!
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