George Metesky
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George Metesky (November 2, 1903 – May 23, 1994), notoriously known as "The Mad Bomber", planted around thirty bombs in New York City from 1940 to 1956.
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[edit] The Bombs
He placed his first bomb on November 16, 1940, at a Manhattan office building used by Consolidated Edison. The small, poorly made pipe bomb did not explode and was discovered with a note threatening Consolidated Edison stating "CON EDISON CROOKS -THIS IS FOR YOU." The authorities quickly disregarded this as a threat since if it was a real explosive, the note would be obliterated in the blast.
The second device, another dud, appeared a year later. Metesky then sent a note, composed of cut-out letters and signed "F.P." (later revealed to mean "fair play"). This bomb consisted of an unwound alarm clock fusing mechanism and was again quickly marked as an isolated incident. After the entry of the United States into World War II, Metesky announced the cessation of his bombing campaign due to "patriotic feelings" for "the duration of the war".
Metesky sent a series of threatening letters to various sources in the follow period up to his third bomb, which was discovered before it could explode on March 29, 1950, at Grand Central Station. This device was more sophisticated and developed than the previous devices as Metesky was devloping his skills for a duration of approximately ten years. His fourth device, planted in a telephone booth in the New York Public Library, was the first to explode. Metesky planted three more devices in 1950, all duds however over the next two years, four more bombs exploded around New York city.
Metesky targeted public places, notably movie theaters, where he inserted his devices in the underside of seats. It was not until 1953 that a Metesky bomb caused any injuries.
[edit] James Brussel
His erratic and irregular campaign left the city police at a complete loss. After the December 2, 1956, bombing at a movie theater in Brooklyn, which left six people injured, the police approached Dr. James Brussel, a psychiatrist with the New York State Commission for Mental Hygiene.
Brussel produced the following criminal profile of the bomber:
- "It's a bitch. Paranoiac. He's middle-aged, forty to fifty years old, introvert. Well proportioned in build. He's single. A loner, perhaps living with an older female relative. He is very neat, tidy and cleanshaven. Good education, but of foreign extraction. Skilled mechanic, neat with tools. Not interested in women. He's a Slav. Religious. Might flare up violently at work when criticized. Possible motive: discharge or reprimand. Feels superior to his critics. Resentment keeps growing. His letters are posted from Westchester, and he wouldn't be stupid enough to post them from where he lives. He probably mails the letters between his home and New York City. One of the biggest concentration of Poles is in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and to get from there to New York you have to pass through Westchester. He has had a bad disease - possibly heart trouble."
Brussel derived a number of insights from the evidence beyond those of the police — the bomber was male, unmarried, foreign (possibly a Slav), a Catholic, in his 50s, living in Connecticut, a genuine paranoiac, self-educated and suffering from an oedipal complex, was a neat freak, and had an inadequate sex life - deduced by the rounded "w's" in his handwriting - which represented breasts. Brussel additionally stated that when the bomber would be caught, he would be wearing a double breasted suit, buttoned. Brussel also convinced the police to heavily publicise the profile, predicting it would gain a response from the bomber. The publicity, from late December, created a large number of false confessions and poor quality leads.
[edit] Capture
Consolidated Edison had undertaken several searches of its records and while examining those of its subsidiary United Electric & Power Company, in knowledge of the profile, came across records relating to George Metesky. An employee from 1929 to 1931, Metesky was injured on September 5, 1931 and complained of headaches, but doctors could find no sign of injury. After a year of sick pay and medical benefits, Metesky had been fired and denied a disability pension. After filing a lawsuit and losing, he plotted his revenge. Several of his letters were on file one stating that "I will make the Con Edison sorry... I will bring them before the bear of justice - public opinion will condemn then - for beware I will place more bombs under theatre seats in the near future." This and others displayed close similarities in the phraseology used by F.P. and appeared to match the profile developed by Brussel. The connection was sealed when Metesky wrote a letter to the Journal American giving the date of the injuries he blamed on Consolidated Edison. Metesky was arrested in January, 1957; where he confessed to being the bomber, showed his garage where he created the bombs, and revealed the meaning of "F.P." to the police. Initially greeting the police in pajamas, when the police requested for him to be dressed for the trip, Metesky returned wearing a double-breasted suit, buttoned.
The New York Journal American Newspaper hired Bart James O'Rourke Sr. a leading New York Compensation attorney to work on Metesky's case. The premise was that the bombers behavior was due to a workers compensation injustice. After further investigation the case was closed. O'Rourke received letters from Metesky while he was in the state mental hospital insisting he was a victim of injustice. O'Rourke never pursued the case.
[edit] Conclusion
Metesky was found insane on April 18, 1957 and was committed to the Matteawan State Hospital. He was resistant to treatment but caused no trouble and was released in 1973. He then continued to live in his Waterbury home where he died at the age of 90.
[edit] Predictions
There are many deductions as to how Brussels predicted the profile of George Metesky so accurately.
- A male because very few women knew how to make explosives in those days
- 85% of known paranoids have a "stocky muscular build", thus Brussels added it to the profile
- Male paranoiacs have difficulty relating to other people, especially women, and usually lived with an older, matriarchal "mother" role. Metesky lived with his two older sisters
- His W's being representative of breasts also indicated his sexual inadequecy
- Brussel concluded that the suspect had to be between the ages of 40-50 as paranoia takes years to develop
- New Yorkers called the Consolidated Edison buildings "Con Ed." which hinted to Metesky residing in a location outside of New York as he termed it "Con Edison"
- Metesky's language and phrases identified him as middle European and there was a high concentration of middle European communities in the southern Connecticut area
- Paranoids insist that multiple forces conspire against them which would be the cause of a single traumatic event backed by a series of incidents
- Paranoids are compulsive when it comes to tidyness and neatness; as apparent in Metesky's letters and bombs. Therefore, Brussels believed that Metesky would wear nothing but the most impeccable outfit of that day - a double-breasted suit, buttoned
The single variation to the profile was that he lived not with one brother or sister, but two maiden sisters
