On this day in 1957, George Metesky was arrested at his home in Waterbury, CT. Metesky was suspected of being the “Mad Bomber” that had terrorized New York during the 1940s and 50s. In all, he had planted thirty-three bombs. Twenty-two of the bombs exploded, injuring fifteen people. His motive: denial of a worker’s compensation claim against Consolidated Edison in 1931. Metesky’s arrest was the result of an early use of profiling techniques by police. He was found legally insane and committed to a mental institution in 1957. He was released in 1973, and died in 1994 at the age of 90.
Further reading:
NPR: A 16-Year Hunt For New York’s ‘Mad Bomber’
Wikipedia: George Metesky
Time: An article from 1957 titled “George Did It”
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Reblogged this on Brittius.
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Thanks.
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You’re welcome.
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John D.:
Granted, there were plenty of reasons to NOT like the old CON-ED, but setting off homemade bombs sure isn’t the answer to the problem.
I was a little too young to remember that, but after reading the story behind this, I had no idea he was at-large for THAT long.
Had a good enough reason to avoid the WW2 draft, too, thanks to his case of TB.
Although, I will grant you that some workers’ comp cases don’t always surface early enough to benefit the victim.
Guess even back then, it was not that hard to be bat-crap crazy and elude police for that length of time.
Very good call.
Roll safe out there.
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I guess in some ways, he was kind of a prototype for the Unabomber.
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