A Brief History
On January 22, 1957, long before the terrorist bombings of recent years, the “Mad Bomber” terrorizing New York City was finally arrested!
Digging Deeper
Digging deeper, we find a city menaced by George Metesky (born 1903) from 1940 until his arrest in 1957.
Placing at least 30 bombs around the city during his terror spree, Metesky was an angry and frustrated man who felt cheated by his former employer and the rest of society.
He had been injured in 1931 while working for Consolidated Edison (Con-Ed) and had been disabled from lung injuries.
Metesky thought he was never properly compensated for his lost health and lost a series of efforts to get workman’s compensation. He also later claimed to have tried to attract media publicity for his case but was ignored, just as he claimed his pleas to various government agencies were ignored.
Not surprisingly, the “Mad Bomber’s” first target was Con-Ed, where he left a pipe bomb on a window sill. That bomb did not kill anyone, nor did any of the dozens that followed in the next 16 years, but the bombs were potentially lethal and several injuries were inflicted.
Metesky left bombs in diverse places, from bathrooms to lockers, train stations and movie theaters. He made his pipe bombs using pipe he machined himself and gunpowder, something anyone can buy in sporting goods stores, as the explosive. A favorite method of his was to slice an upholstered seat in a movie theater and place the bomb inside the cushion where it was hidden.
Oddly enough, Metesky communicated with the police via notes and promised to not place any bombs for the duration of World War II, a promise he lived up to. Meanwhile, copy cats were sending mock ups of pipe bombs and notes purporting to be from the “Mad Bomber” which muddled the police investigation.
Ultimately, Metesky would leave enough clues in his communication with the police and the media for the detectives involved in the massive effort to find and arrest him to finally be able to identify their culprit. Searches of his property found the machine tools used to make the bombs as well as other bomb-making components.
Found to be insane by the New York court system, Metesky was sent off to an insane asylum. Although he was soon transferred to a second, non-criminal asylum, he behaved well and was held until 1973 when he was released. Doctors had deemed him to not be a threat to society, and it was believed he would die soon. Additionally, since his sentence would have been only 25 years if he had been convicted criminally, the 16 years he was hospitalized equaled about how long he would have been jailed if convicted.
The “Mad Bomber” lived another 20 years and died at age 90 in 1994. In spite of the publicity his case received and legal assistance in trying to reopen his workman’s compensation case, he was denied those benefits until the end.
Question for students (and subscribers): How would you have sentenced Metesky? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
The single best book on this topic is…
Greenburg, Michael M. The Mad Bomber of New York: The Extraordinary True Story of the Manhunt That Paralyzed a City. Union Square Press, 2011.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1051 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1051">46 Comments
I found this article very interesting. I feel that if this would have been done today he would have to were life in prison or in death Rowe or live the rest of his life in a insane asylum. I can’t believe he was let out and no one thought he would do nothing more because if it was today’s society no one would think that.
This was pretty interesting. I find it surprising that he did not have to go to a criminal asylum for the whole time, because it seems like he was pretty violent.
It strikes me as surprising how much times have changed since then. If he were around today doing those actions he would probably face worse consequences.
I am shocked that they ever let this man free. I don’t understand how he would no longer be considered a threat. It’s interesting to see how much times have changed.
I’m surprised that he was let free. He seemed like a very violent person, and should have been locked up the whole time. This just shows how much time has changed. The consequences now are much worse than they used to be.
I’m surprised that he was so civil during WWII. You would think that would be the best time to cause upset and bring attention to his case. I’m glad when he was caught that he was seen as mentally ill. We have no idea how is injury from his previous job actually affected him. I’m not sure though that I would have felt safe living in New York after he was released but I’m going to assume he had people monitoring him most of the time anyway.
If this occurred in today’s world, I don’t think he would have been released and set free. To me, he seemed like he was a violent person. I would want no one out on the town that has been known to place hidden bombs anywhere for this appears to be scary.
After reading this article, I was so shocked that someone could place 30 bombs into a building without others finding out or knowing about it. I just don’t believe someone could get away with something like that so easily.
Even if he felt he was wronged by his employers, what he did was a terrible thing and it still would not bring the things that happened to him to justice. It’s scary that they were unable to catch him for so long, but in today’s times we would have the technology to catch him right away. It’s also scary that he was able to send notes to police without getting caught!
I always found it interesting that people copy the crimes of others and pretend to be them. Why would they try to assume the identity of a bomber? If they wanted to bomb others, wouldn’t they do so for attention, retribution or something the Mad Bomber wanted. I cannot see any gain by making copy crimes other than the fact they would not be looked for due to the police looking for the original criminal.
I think this article is very interesting. Insane people who commit crimes are a very touchy subject in the American legal system, and I’ve studied them throughout high school. The fact that these people don’t realize what they’re doing is wrong, or do realize it but see it as just, makes the fact that they broke a law very hazy. It would be the same as a child committing a crime on accident. It is definitely a topic that still needs to be worked out by the higher courts in our country.
This was an interesting article not only because of him getting released from prison. But also how many bombs he placed, yet the Mad Bomber still isn’t a well known name. Which tends to be a motive for some criminals. Letting him out early was a definite risk and now in our times, I don’t believe they would have let him out.
I thought the most interesting part was the fact that he told authorities that he would not set off bombs during WWII. It shows he has at least some moral compass even though he obviously likes to terrorize people. I’m also wondering what his goal was since he never actually killed anyone, maybe he really did get ignored by everyone and wanted to have his voice heard.
I find it interesting that the Mad Bomber did not kill anyone with his bombs, instead he was only doing it to be noticed. It’s understandable that after being ignored for so long he would snap.
I found this interesting because of how many bombs he placed and the different places he put them. When going to see a movie, a bomb would be the last thing on my mind. Even if he did feel wronged, he should not have taken his anger out that way.
Even though the bombs that he made weren’t lethal its still a major issue because it laid the foreground of other bombers
It is surprising that none of the bombs he made killed anyone. It makes me curious if his intent was to harm or simply cause panic. Even if he did not intend to kill anyone I believe he should have served life in prison because of the dangerous nature and long duration of his crimes.
I find it interesting that he placed the bombs in random places intending harm, but stopped the bombs, at least on his end, during WW2. A bomber doesn’t really seem like the kind of person who would just bomb constantly then stop for crisis then pick back up during peace times.
This man was clearly troubled, and understandably so. He was frustrated about his injury which led to these bombings, however it was not a justified nor appropriate way to go about handling his anger. I am surprised that he communicated with the police and even kept his promise to hold off on the bombings during the war. I think it was smart for him to be placed in an asylum, especially since he was declared mentally ill. Since he didn’t continue the bombings upon release, I think it’s safe to assume the situation really stemmed from his deep anger and resentment towards his lung injury.
This “mad bomber” is a troubled man. Although it is surprising that he didn’t kill anyone by setting up those bombs all over the place, did he just set them up for fun or what?
This article seems to be a cry for help since he was unable to get the help that he needed due to his disability . Since he was unable to get help he took it out on other people by placing bombs everywhere. Seems as if he wanted to make them suffer so they could understand what its like to not receive help. I am also shocked that he was able to set bombs off everywhere and no one knew or even questioned what he was doing at certain times. But the bombs that he made did not kill anyone just injured them so was he really trying to hurt them or was he just trying to make them suffer like I said before???
I found this article interesting because the bombs seemed like they were only used to make the public aware of the Mad Bomber’s situation, not to harm anyone.
While he was definitely disturbed/mentally unhealthy, I thought he should’ve faced more punishment than he got, since he put so many lives in danger, and inspired many copycat bombers. I also found it really interesting that he wouldn’t set off any bombs during WWII.
I thought this article was particularly interesting. I thought it was interesting that the bombs did not kill anyone. That makes me believe that George Metesky’s intention was not to kill anyone more or less to damage things. Also, I have never heard of this particular criminal before. I am surprised he is not more well known.
I think all the Mad bomber wanted to do by setting off these bombs was to get his voice heard. the punishment handed down to him was sufficient. I found it interesting that he was able to get away from the police for so long before he was actually caught.
I found this article interesting because he did not kill anyone with his bombs and he did not set any off during World War II. Also, it is odd that he was sending the police notes and promises. By doing this, he must have known he would get caught eventually.
I thought a couple of things in this article was interesting. First, the bombs that he planted, where they used to kill? Or just to make threats?. If that were true then why make notes saying that you promise not produce them anymore. I don’t think he was insane I think he just wanted to “show” the Con-Ed that he meant business because he didn’t get worker’s compensation. I also am surprised he lived to be 90 with the health conditions he had, because you normally don’t live that long with lung problems.
If he would have received the compensation he felt he should have received, would he have continued to bomb these places? He seemed to be a very disgruntled employee and I feel it drove him over the edge. Fortunately, no one was killed but his anger toward society could have killed someone eventually. He definitely needed some type of mental help and he at least received it.
I believe he should have been better compensated. However, back then the laws governing safety in the work place and workers comp. were not as strict as they are today. He may have still gone on the bombing spree even if better compensated, who knows. Non the less his actions were thoughtless and reckless towards others making the actions inexcusable. Maybe had he used all of that aggression in a positive manner there could have been better or different outcomes.
Maybe someone listening to what he had to say would have stopped him from bombing but maybe not.
This man felt like he didn’t get what he deserved, since he was injured on the job and didn’t get the amount of workers compensation he thought he deserved. I feel like that this man had to have been mental disturbed, because yes, you would be angry, but not to the point you set bombs off in random places.
I never understood what made people think that it is ok to kill people there is no need to kill people in this way
The good news was not these bombs were not as lethal as they would be in today’s time. The bad news is that a psychopath or sociopath went around planting these bombs. Before reading it, I would have never thought that bombs would be planted inside of lockers or under the seat cushions of movie theaters. What if someone in today’s time gets that idea? Should we tighten security where there are movie theaters and places (such as schools or fitness facilities) with lockers? He also put them inside bathrooms and train stations, which I would guess he may have only put them in men’s bathrooms (but who knows). When I hear about how Metesky was mad about losing his job, I think about how men’s unexpressive behaviors correlates with violence. Perhaps men should learn to talk about their problems, and then we wouldn’t have these types of situations where someone has so much self-pity that they begin to desire revenge and dehumanize others. I really think that is the root of the problem, sure Metesky is guilty of the crime for attempted murder, but it may have to do with our culture telling men to suppress their emotions.
What a nutcase. I guess we should’ve given him more compensation…
That’s scary to think that some random guy was going around planting bombs because of bottled up anger.
This man was clearly off the wall placing pipe bombs all around the city just because he couldn’t get his compensation.
I think that this article shows that just talking to frustrated people can help them a great amount to not make them do rash things like this.
It’s amazing to me that it took the police a while to locate him. You would think that someone who leaves clues would get sloppy sooner than he did and get caught relatively quickly.
I would probably be angry if I did not get worker compensation too, but certainly not this angry. You never know what could set someone off, and this guy obviously had a hidden “skill set” people hadn’t counted on.
It is one thing to try and harm the people that have to drove you to such anger, but harming random people at movie theaters makes you deserving of 16 years in a hospital.
This was varry interesting. It was surprising that he did not get in more trouble
There is no need to act in such a way that he acted in. It is understandable to have anger as to what happened.. but there is no need to bomb random people that were innocent..
This is not a way he should have reacted at all! I mean he effected so many innocent peoples lives and I am sure he did not think about the repercussions that were going to come after his actions.
Only a men who was mentally ill would of acted the way he did. It is understandable that he was sent to an insane asylum.
This is a case that is a touchy subject because of the recent bombings that have happened here in the US. On Metesky’s perspective on life, he was in a tough situation. Unemployment and disability services were probably not as good in his time as they are now. This likely meant that Metesky had a hard time living day to day life without money and work. His method of retaliation was very dangerous and foolish. I personally believe he was not crazy. He wanted to be heard when no one would listen, but he still shouldn’t have done what he had done. Unfortunately for him, if his situation happened in our era he would have most likely never starting him bombing spree. In conclusion, Metesky should have pushed harder on a political-peaceful method in solving his crisis.
I think that this is a touchy subject but I do believe that people who things like this have to be a little crazy. But I think that him not being heard was a big reason behind his madness.