“designed to take a bomb”: Esposito and Gerstein, Bomb Squad, 277–278.
Removed to the relative safety: Joseph Carter, “Wanted: The Man without a Face,” 56.
In a typical situation: Ibid.
To make matters worse: Brussel, Casebook, 48–49. Also see John Douglas and Mark Olshaker, Unabomber: On the Trail of America’s Most-Wanted Serial Killer (Pocket Books, 1996), 6.
Within the company headquarters: See, e.g., Brussel, Casebook, 14–15.
“The episode was filed and forgotten”: Ibid., 15.
The ex-convicts and outlaws: Esposito and Gerstein, Bomb Squad, 273.
“Recognizing the inability of the present small force”: “A Secret Service Squad to Hunt the Black Hand,” New York Times, December 20, 1906, 16.
“master bomb-maker for the Black Handers”: Esposito and Gerstein, Bomb Squad, 274.
“The book is not mine”: “Get Leaders of Black Hand,” New York Times, July 7, 1908, 1.
With America’s entry into the war: Esposito and Gerstein, Bomb Squad, 275.
Anxiety over the German espionage campaign: See Chad Millman, The Detonators: The Secret Plot to Destroy America and an Epic Hunt for Justice (Little, Brown, 2006).
In April 1919 militant followers: Regin Schmidt, Red Scare: FBI and the Origins of Anticommunism in the United States (Museum Tusculanum Press, 2000), 148.
a few months later a similar coordinated attack: “Midnight Bombs for Officials in 8 Cities; Bombers Die at Attorney General’s House; Two Victims at Judge Nott’s House Here; Bombs in Boston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh,” New York Times, June 3, 1919, 1.
Anarchist literature and leaflets: Ibid.
“REMEMBER WE WILL NOT TOLERATE”: Beverly Gage, The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in Its First Age of Terror (Oxford University Press, 2009), 171.
“gigantic proportions”: “The Militants Who Play with Dynamite,” New York Times, October 25, 1970, SM20.
“[a] real boom town.”: Ibid.
Though some sources have concluded: See, e.g., Brussel, Casebook, 14.
“It wasn’t loaded”: James, “The Mad Bomber vs. Con Ed,” 47.
“It was a[n] empty bomb”: Transcript of Interrogation of George Metesky, January 22, 1957.
Knowing that the writing: See e.g., Brussel, Casebook, 14.
“That first unit was just a sample: James, “The Mad Bomber vs. Con Ed,” 47.
The ultimate target: Ibid.
“I was very careful”: “Riddle of the Mad Bomber’s Personality,” Bridgeport Sunday Post, January 27, 1957, section B.
With an air of narcissistic and intellectual superiority: See e.g., Brussel, Casebook, 16.
As police detectives duly noted: Ibid.
“with the compliments of the ‘mobsters’”: James, “The Mad Bomber vs. Con Ed,” 47.
“was just the kind of unexpected thing”: Nathan Miller, FDR: An Intimate History (Doubleday, 1983), 477.
“I WILL MAKE NO MORE BOMB UNITS”: Brussel, Casebook, 15–16.
CHAPTER II: HELL GATE
By the time of the Great Depression: “2 Huge Generators Put in Service Here,” New York Times, May 30, 1929, 24.
The plant’s interior: Ibid.
“What we are doing here”: Ibid.
“Cement dust was everywhere”: “Tells of Injuries at Power Plant,” New York Journal-American, January 24, 1957, 5.
According to the plant owners: Generating Stations, Hell Gate— Sherman Creek. Private publication of the United Electric Light and Power Company, 1926.
His position did not utilize: On his job application, Metesky listed “mechanical work, electrical work, machine shop practice” as the vocations in which he had experience. See “Application for Employment with the United Electric Light and Power Co.,” George Peter Metesky, applicant. December 12, 1929,” NYC Department of Records/Municipal Archives.
As menial as many of his assigned tasks were: “Report of Psychiatric Examination,” March 1, 1957.
“[He] looks like the usher”: “Sisters Shocked, Loyal to Brother,” New York Times, January 23, 1957, 20.
a “lone wolf”: “Riddle of the Mad Bomber’s Personality.”
“spinsterish air about him”: “Metesky Taken to N.Y. under a Heavy Guard,” Bridgeport Telegram, January 23, 1957, 1.
“schoolteacher”: “Riddle of the Mad Bomber’s Personality.”
“[e]fficient and well liked”: “Metesky’s First Bombing Attempt Turned Out a Dud,” New York Journal-American, March 23, 1957, 4.
“[A]nd George would go right after”: Ibid.
As a child, the younger George: “Mad Bomber Reveals How Resentment Grew to Hate,” New York Journal-American, March 21, 1957, 4.
“George would literally not step”: Ibid.
She converted “Milauskas” to “Metesky,”: Brussel, Casebook, 66–67.
At any given time the family: “Father Left Metesky Big Cash Bequest,” New York Journal-American, January 28, 1957, 1. See also “Mad Bomber Reveals Kindling of His Hatred,” New York Journal-American, March 21, 1957, 1.
“I just had no interest”: “Report of Psychiatric Examination,” March 1, 1957.
Upon leaving school: Ibid. See also “Application for Employment.”
“Well, he was a strange one”: “Mad Bomber Reveals How Resentment Grew to Hate,” 4.
In further pursuit of a technical vocation: “Application for Employment.”
Several months later: “Report of Psychiatric Examination,” March 1, 1957.
In an initial two-year tour: “Mad Bomber Reveals How Resentment Grew to Hate,” 4.
In April 1922 he was honorably discharged: Ibid.
His record indicated: Ibid.
During this period, PFC George Metesky: Transcript of Interrogation of George Metesky, January 22, 1957.
“a dreary, shabby area”: Brussel, Casebook, 66.
the appellation Brass City: Debbie Harmsen, ed., Fodor’s New England (Random House, 2008), 317.
“The house was not loved”: Brussel, Casebook, 66.
It wasn’t long, however: Ibid. See also “Held on 4 Counts, His Sanity Tested,” New York Herald Tribune, January 23, 1957, 1.
Content with this reclusive lifestyle: In “Report of Psychiatric Examination,” March 1, 1957, on the subject of women Metesky was quoted as saying, “Well, I didn’t go out much with them because I was always in a foreign country,” referring to his days in the service. The report stated that Metesky could only recall two sexual experiences in his life, both in San Domingo.
CHAPTER III: THE SEEDS OF MADNESS
“Apparently,” recalled Metesky: “Mad Bomber Reveals How Resentment Grew to Hate,” 4.
“There were over 12,000”: Letter of George Metesky to the New York Journal-American dated January 18, 1957. See “Letters Lead to Bomber’s Capture,” New York Journal-American, January 22, 1957, 2.
“active pulmonary tuberculosis”: “Report of Psychiatric Examination,” March 1, 1957.
“like a tourist cabin”: Transcript of Interrogation of George Metesky, January 22, 1957.
Not two months into his stay: “Tells of Injuries at Power Plant,” 10.
What remains undisputed, however: “‘Gush of Fumes’ Transformed Gentle Man Into ‘Mad Bomber,’” Sunday News and Tribune (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 27, 1957, 2.
Indeed, in his yearly physical examination: “Report of Medical Examiner, The United Electric and Power Company,” NYC Department of Records/Municipal Archives.
Though there remained no medical proof: Brussel, Casebook, 71.
For six months the company paid him: The Association of Employees of the United Electric Light and Power Company, Sick Benefit Payroll, Courtesy of NYC Department of Records/Municipal Archives.
By his own estimate: Transcript of Interrogation of George Metesky, January 22, 1957.
“I asked them to take care of me”: Ibid.
“the run around”: “Report of Psychiat
ric Examination,” March 1, 1957.
New York’s workmen’s compensation system: “A World of Hurt for Injured Workers, a Costly Legal Swamp,” New York Times, March 31, 2009.
The Lower Manhattan sweatshop: John M. Hoenig, “The Triangle Fire of 1911,” History Magazine (April/May 2005): 20.
Panic-stricken employees encountered: Ibid.
“the worst work-place fire”: Ibid.
The political strength of labor unions: Ibid.
In exchange for this prescribed benefit: See Linda Hammond-Darling and Thomas J. Kniesner, The Law and Economics of Worker’s Compensation (Institute for Civil Justice [U.S.] Rand Corporation, 1980), 8.
This policy compromise ensured: Jack B. Hood, Benjamin A. Hardy, and Harold S. Lewis, Workers Compensation and Employee Protection Laws in a Nutshell (Thomson/West, 2005), 29.
Con Ed again asserted section 28: See “Edison Clerk Finds Case in File,” 18; Transcript of Interrogation of George Metesky, January 22, 1957.
“It took a lot of letter writing”: Transcript of Interrogation of George Metesky, January 22, 1957.
“fair and honest.”: “Mad Bomber Reveals How Resentment Grew to Hate,” 4.
“He was a very nice man”: Transcript of Interrogation of George Metesky, January 22, 1957.
“The referee was going to make an award”: Ibid.
“I had written thousands of letters”: “Report of Psychiatric Examination,” March 1, 1957.
He estimated that he had written: “Bomber Heard on Con Ed TV Show,” New York Herald Tribune, January 23, 1957, 5.
“I never received so much as”: James, “The Mad Bomber vs. Con Ed,” 47.
YOU KNOW, I JUST REFUSE TO BE ROBBED: Ibid.
“It worked great too”: “Coddled Bomber, Sisters Admit,” New York Journal-American, March 22, 1957, 14.
Later, Metesky rigged a hand-pushed lawnmower: James, “The Mad Bomber vs. Con Ed,” 47.
he applied for and was ultimately granted: See United States Patent 2,257,059, “Solenoid Pump,” George P. Metesky, Waterbury, Conn., application July 19, 1938, serial no. 220,082, patented September 23, 1941.
“I had a mission to perform”: Testimony of Dr. Albert A. LaVerne, on March 27, 1957, during a Section 662a Hearing before Judge Samuel S. Leibowitz, Kings County Court, The People of New York vs. George Metesky, indictment no. 269/1957.
He was sure of it: “Report of Psychiatric Examination,” March 1, 1957.
In his mind’s eye: These images are based upon the Testimony of Dr. Albert A. LaVerne, March 27, 1957.
CHAPTER IV: “SELECTED BY DESTINY”
“We would deprive ourselves”: “Coddled Bomber, Sisters Admit,” 14.
“classic study in over-protection”: Ibid.
He would prepare an evening meal: “Metesky’s First Bombing Attempt Turned Out a Dud,” 4. Also see “Report of Psychiatric Examination,” March 1, 1957.
His reclusive lifestyle would later be described: “Metesky’s First Bombing Attempt Turned Out a Dud,” 4.
Several months later he attempted to enlist: “Tells of Injuries at Power Plant,” 10. Also see “Report of Psychiatric Examination,” March 1, 1957.
At the same time, he wrote: “Metesky’s First Bombing Attempt Turned Out a Dud,” 4. Also see Memorandum of Interview with Detective Michael Lynch, Badge #866, with Assistant District Attorney Howard Blank dated April 15, 1957, NYC Department of Records/Municipal Archives.
“He was a person who always was ready”: “Metesky’s First Bombing Attempt Turned Out a Dud,” 4.
“after much discussion and medical examinations”: “Tells of Injuries at Power Plant,” 10.
Despite this discord, Metesky eagerly worked: Ibid.
Finally, in December 1943: “Report of Psychiatric Examination,” March 1, 1957.
a state-run facility: See Special Acts of the State of Connecticut, House Bill No. 390, approved July 28, 1909.
“miserable and lonely”: “Tells of Injuries at Power Plant,” 10.
A few months later he was re-examined: “Report of Psychiatric Examination,” March 1, 1957.
By his own words: Transcript of Interrogation of George Metesky, January 22, 1957.
“unknown man battling for justice”: “Metesky’s First Bombing Attempt Turned Out a Dud,” 4.
He would later admit to planting: See “George Did It,” Time, February 4, 1957. Also see “Report of Psychiatric Examination,” March 1, 1957. There, Metesky is quoted as claiming that he planted fifty-seven bombs. Also see Transcript of Interrogation of George Metesky, January 22, 1957; and “Metesky’s First Bombing Attempt Turned Out a Dud,” 4.
“the world had done him wrong”: Brussel, Casebook, 30.
Alone against a vast conspiratorial network: See psychiatric notes contained in files of New York County Supreme Court, “The People of the State of New York against George P. Metesky, a/k/a George Milauskas, Indictment No. 321/1957,” NYC Department of Records/ Municipal Archives.
“[H]is fury of hatred so enveloped”: Testimony of Dr. Albert A. LaVerne, March 27, 1957.
he had become convinced: Ibid.
CHAPTER V: “A MAN WITH A HAMMER”
The terminal had been used: John Belle and Maxine R. Leighton, Grand Central: Gateway to a Million Lives (W. W. Norton and Company, 2000), 84.
At the arched entrance: Fremont Rider, Rider’s New York City: A Guide-Book for Travelers (Henry Holt and Company, 1916), 114.
Covering seventy-nine acres: Ibid.
the station, at various times: See www.grandcentralterminal.com/info/terminalopens.cfm accessed September 2, 2009.
“greatest railway terminal in the world”: Rider, Rider’s New York City, 114.
such famous long-distance trains: See www.grandcentralterminal.com/info/terminalopens.cfm accessed September 2, 2009.
With the advent of postwar suburban life: See www.grandcentralterminal.com/info/grandcentraldecline.cfm accessed September 2, 2009.
Among the many legends: Rider, Rider’s New York City, 115.
Created by the low ceramic structures: Belle and Leighton, Grand Central, 84.
“boys or pranksters”: “Bomb Blast in Terminal,” New York Times, March 30, 1951, 24.
It did not contain a pipe casing: “Series of ‘Pipe Bombs.’”
Metesky knew that the “throat disc”: Transcript of Interrogation of George Metesky, January 22, 1957.
A spoonful of water: “Metesky Tells How Lozenges Set Off Bombs,” New York Journal-American, January 27, 1957, 3.
Once the disc sufficiently dissolved: Ibid. See also Transcript of Interrogation of George Metesky, January 22, 1957. Also, telephone interview with William F. Schmitt, December 10, 2009.
“the rough stuff”: James, “The Mad Bomber vs. Con Ed,” 47.
“I’ve read,” Metesky would later say: Ibid.
Every so called unit: Testimony of James B. Leggett, Chief of Detectives, Police Department of the City of New York, on March 27, 1957, during a section 662a hearing before Judge Samuel S. Leibowitz, Kings County Court, The People of New York vs. George Metesky, Indictment No. 269/1957.
At 6:10 in the evening: “Series of ‘Pipe Bombs.’”
Bomb squad detectives immediately saw: “Bomb Goes Off in Library,” New York Times, April 25, 1951, 31.
The New York City police downplayed: “Bomb Laid to Prankster,” New York Times, September 13, 1951, 33.
“This is a well constructed mechanism”: “Police Files Tell Weird Details of Bomber’s History,” New York Journal-American, December 30, 1956, 6.
“It would ‘just build up’”: “Bomb Laid to Prankster,” 33.
“They got some stupid advice”: James, “The Mad Bomber vs. Con Ed,” 48.
The package, postmarked “White Plains, NY”: Transcript of Interrogation of George Metesky, January 22, 1957.
“The weirdie patently pulled”: “Bomber’s Erratic Timing Baffling,” New York Journal-American, March 24, 1957, 2.
On O
ctober 22, 1951, a longshoremen’s strike: “Rail Goods Embargoed; Dock Strike Closes Port,” New York Herald Tribune, October 23, 1951, 1; “Rail Embargo Set as Dock Strikers Tie Up Port Here,” New York Times, October 23, 1951, 1.
at the White House an announcement: “Reds Set Off Third Atom Blast, Indicating They Have Stockpile,” New York Herald Tribune, October 23, 1951, 1; “White House Announces Russian Detonation and Foresees New Ones,” New York Times, October 23, 1951, 1.
“BOMBS WILL CONTINUE”: “Police Find Bomb in Paramount Lounge; Note Spurs Search for One at Penn Station,” New York Times, October 23, 1951, 30.
As 3,600 unwitting patrons: Ibid.
Following the lead of a former New York City fire marshal: “16 Year Search for Madman,” New York Times, December 25, 1956, 31.
“one in whom flashes of lunacy”: Ibid.
“This defendant is a particular source”: “Sugar Bomb Suspect Is Sent to Bellevue,” New York Times, November 8, 1951, 19.
The suspect, who silently looked on: Ibid.
“He has been sending simulated bombs”: Ibid.
He was considered by police: “Laborer Says Bomb Solution Vindicates Him,” New York Journal-American, January 24, 1957, 2.
“This arrest is an outrage”: “Sugar Bomb Suspect Is Sent to Bellevue,” 19.
“They were the most harrowing days”: “Laborer Says Bomb Solution Vindicates Him,” 2.
“With horns silenced”: “Raid Test Silences City in 2 Minutes; Officials Pleased,” New York Times, November 29, 1951, 1.
“pattern for survival”: “Air-Raid Test Better Than City Expected,” New York Herald Tribune, November 29, 1951, 1.
“sounded like a stick of dynamite”: “Bomb Is Exploded in Union Sq. I.R.T.,” New York Herald Tribune, November 29, 1951, 1.
“TO HERALD TRIBUNE EDITOR”: Brussel, Casebook, 17.
On May 15, 1952: “‘Bomb’ Case Dismissed,” New York Times, May 16, 1952, 7.
Bomb squad detectives: Esposito and Gerstein, Bomb Squad, 279. Citing Cue Magazine, Esposito and Gerstein state that the move was required because the vibrations from the subway running beneath police headquarters on Centre Street—the original police lab location—upset the delicate instruments used by the technicians.
“He buys an admission ticket”: Joseph Carter, “Wanted: The Man without a Face,” 56.
The Mad Bomber of New York Page 27