The Mad Bomber of New York City

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On November 18, 1940 a crude bomb, made from a piece of pipe was placed on a windowsill of a Consolidated Edison company building at 170 west sixty fourth street, New York City. The bomb, left in a wooden toolbox, came with a note, written in block lettering. It read: ”Con Edison Crooks, this is for you.” It was signed, simply, "F.P." While police did not seem to recognize the significance at the time, the bomb represented the beginning of a reign of terror over the Big Apple that would stymie police for sixteen years.
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This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
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All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.
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Script by THG
#history #thehistoryguy #Truecrime

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

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[@HELENGodLoves]

Did you do another show ... On TV?

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

@@HELENGodLoves I have occasionally appeared on shows on The History Channel.

[@justinblake7355]

Someone wronged by Edison? Nikola Tesla for sure.

[@tomhalla426]

That dispute was actually Westinghouse v Edison.

[@kirkstinson7316]

​@@tomhalla426 Tesla had worked for Edison and got jerked around by him

[@tomhalla426]

@@kirkstinson7316 Yeah, but the one who was commercializing Tesla’s patents was Westinghouse.

[@jayfrank1913]

A lot of people had grudges against Thomas Alva. He was known for stealing other folks' ideas. The list of suspected ghosts must have been long!

[@unclenogbad1509]

Yeah, first name that occurred to me, too. Worked for Edison (the man, pre the corp), got ripped off, went over to Westinghouse and THAT was when we got household electricity.

[@christopherellis2663]

Many a grievance has arisen from some penny-pinching box-ticker.

[@abubaca2683]

It is very dirty though, that the company knew they were guilty of harming that man. But because of the technicality they got away with not making good on it. I kind of feel. That's disgusting.

[@cht2162]

Legal advice was less available to the average American back then. Given the plethora of lawyers today, George could receive the legal help he needed.

[@Wiencourager]

Milwaukee had a mad bomber in the ‘30s. Police were stumped.. eventually he blew himself up making another bomb and destroyed half a block.

[@bumpedhishead636]

Getting the age range in the profile correct was probably helped by the fact that he wasn't drafted in WWII, so that meant he was probably over 38.

[@tiberiuslamar]

When you said he was “…determined to be a paranoid schizophrenic…” I thought you meant that was what he was hoping to become one

[@jliller]

"Mama always said I could go anywhere in the world I wanted to go, so I went craaaaaazy!"

[@neilreynolds3858]

Yeah, narrowing down the number of people who hated ConEd in the 1950s could be a problem. There were probably around 4 million of them.

[@twoheart7813]

I'm so poor that the last person who stole my identity sued me for mental anguish

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Lol

[@glennstubbs8232]

As a child, I would practice reading by reading stories in the New York Daily News out loud. I particularly liked reading the “Mad Bomber” stories, much to my Mom’s dismay.

[@unclenogbad1509]

'Disgruntled former employee'. Can't help thinking, if I'd been (literally) burned by an employer, and then denied compensation, I'd be pretty disgruntled too.

[@digitalis2977]

*...WHAT BOMBS AT MIDNIGHT!!!* ...Sorry. I couldn't help myself. *YEAH BABY YEAH!!!*

[@shampoovta]

Uh, we need The Tick back. That is all. 😂

[@Jbot123]

Spoon. I like the sound of that. Henceforth, it shall be my battlecry.

[@xaenon]

I was just waiting for someone to reference that.

[@-Stop-it]

Must be a generational thing.

[@zoltankaparthy9095]

I remember The Mad Bomber well when in lived in the NY area. Metetsky lived in Waterbury, CT, a strange town in itself. Abby Hoffman used his name when ordering pizzas when he lived in NYC. Folks would say the name sounded familiar but never figured out that Abby was not George. Abby did not want to be spotted as who he was. And folks had forgotten who George was by then but did remember the name.

[@657449]

The Unibomber was discovered when The NY Times published his manifesto and his brother recognized it was him.

[@user-zp7jp1vk2i]

his brother recognized the handwriting; the manifesto (I've briefly read it) is an interesting exam of what we're dealing with NOW! And if the "Ivory Tower" records of Profs. and academics were public (or law enforcement had access) the FBI profiler hit it on the head: Bay area, academic. actually met the 4th circuit Judge lady that worked on the file along with my HS friend, a D.A. in the Bay area!

[@McShave]

It was his brother's wife that first connected the manifesto to Kaczynski but that's just arguing semantics.

[@davidbarr8394]

As usual a great story deserving attention. We can't help feeling sorry for such an unfortunate man, though his method of rebuttal can hardly be condoned. Thanks, as usual, for more fascinating stuff.

[@bartsanders1553]

Police: It's just a prank, bro!

[@NLynchOEcake]

I love how there was just enough general hooligan-ism in the late 30's the police respond to multiple bombings with "boys will be boys"

[@jayfrank1913]

@@NLynchOEcake I remember "certain" teenagers who were obsessed with homemade explosives when I was a kid in the '70's (not me, definitely not me), to the point where if "they" did it in the present, would probably be arrested on federal arson and/or explosives charges.

[@-.Steven]

57 years ago today, and well worth watching and remembering! Thank you History Guy! ❤

[@Ripplin]

Not as mad as The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight, but still pretty mad. ;)

[@shampoovta]

Wow I just said that. Synergy 😂

[@dsc4178]

I've read his story. Shows what getting hurt at work and being gaslit can do to someone.

[@jeffbangkok]

I worked for the state of Ohio and they fired me after I whip lashed my neck. That was 1988. Luckily my friend was chair of the state retirement board. I took my disability and moved to Thailand

[@frankgulla2335]

What an unknown piece of American history, especially of NYC. Thank you, THG

[@bartmuller9797]

Growing up in the New York City area as a Kid l can remember vividly, the actions of the bomber, the paramount theater was a favorite place for my dad and his mom and dad, we began to go to other theaters , it was scary especially the Penn Station bombs my grandfather went through there everyday, during the week it got to my grandmother alot... lt was an introduction to terrorism...

[@mohammedcohen]

...I remember this very well - I was 6 or 7 years growing up in Fort Lee, NJ - across the river from NYC old when this guy was caught...it was a real big deal at the time (even cartoons of the day had 'mad bomber' themes) ( I read that 2011 book, BTW)...

[@michaelporzio7384]

Alice G. Kelly going through thousands of paper personnel files notices some words that lead to the arrest. Amazing work, with no internet, no Google, no keyword searches just meticulous dedication to the job at hand! Profiling is the forensic equivalent of astrology, usually vague enough to fit the subject after he or she is caught. Fascinating post THG!

[@flagmichael]

I think of profiling being more like a sketch: we have details that don't reveal the bigger picture directly, but can add clarity to recognition.

[@arrow1414]

I wouldn't go that far. We have noticed consistant personality traits common to a particular type crime commited. Is it justbas good as hard evidence? No. Is it perfect? No. Would I convict or even arrest someone on just that? Hell no; but it is a useful guideline to narrow a field of suspects. Just as long the cops don't go overboard and accuse someone just based solely on that, because tge vast majority of people who fit a particular criminal profile would likely never even come close to committing the crime that "fits them".

[@michaelporzio7384]

@@arrow1414 well said ! I remember the FBI profilers were convinced that Richard Jewell was the 1996 Atlanta Olympic suspect, ruined his life and were totally wrong.

[@notahotshot]

​@@arrow1414 yeah, so it's like astrology, vague enough to fit the subject, but not accurate enough to be actionable.

[@arrow1414]

@notahotshot No it is not that simple. Astrology us made up out of thin air. Criminal Profiling is the study of human nature and that nature has trends including a type of personality. Yes you can't SOLELY on that put someone under arrest and convict them, but again you can narrow the field. If you have noticed with previously convicted serial killers, rapist, arsonist etc., had a common trait; like with say a serial arsonist that they almost always-say 90% of the time-wear blue striped pants on the first of the month. Then you look at those people who are wearing blue pants on the first of the month. Now would you arrest anyone and everyone wearing blue pants on the 1st of the month, just on that basis? No. Just because 90% of the arsonist wore blue pants burned something down on the 1st, does not mean 90% of people who wore blue pants that day were arsonist; but you have narrowed the number of people you investigate further. You aren't wasting time and resources chasing people who wear say yellow pants on the 1st of the month. You do a background check on the blue panters and see if they had opportunity to commit the crime and not out of the city or something on that day. If any of the Blue panters were in the city that day, you from there gather further evidence, like have anyone of those blue pants stockpiled lighter fluid and matches from their local Home Depot in the previous month. Could a person wearing yellow pants on the 1st could've been the real arsonist? Sure, but the odds are against against it based on previous *experience*, not on if Jupiter is in conjunction with Venus and the phases of the moon....unless you have a experianced track record of serial killers starting a killing spree when the moon is full. Astrology was (in good faith) made up by the ancients to explain why certain people with certain personalities act the way they do. Profiling is based on the studies on what types of personalities have done in the past to predict what kind of person to look for as a starting point, you have a hard track record to examine, not a explanation based on what stars were in the sky at the time of birth.

[@dannyjones3840]

Hey Lance, I noticed how you replaced the sailing ship on the shelf behind you, with a bust of Robin Hood. The hero that helped to right the wrongs of a larger system. Hmmm.....

[@interstellarsurfer]

Surely a coincidence. 😉

[@talpark8796]

😂

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

That is a "Toby" from the movie Twelve O'Clock High, a gift from a viewer.

[@stevensanders6644]

I thought so! Cool momento.

[@bruno640]

Never thought I'd see the day when I'd say, Thank You, History Guy, for the link to a VERY-much needed plan for ID-theft tool discount...and, of course, for your latest-historical take. I've been a subscriber for a good-while now, ever since I discovered I actually-DO enjoy history!

[@abubaca2683]

The double breasted jacket was crazy spot on.

[@flagmichael]

I read a book by Dr. Brussel way back in the '70s - it was my wife's when we married. That was one of the details I remembered five decades later.

[@SoupBone-bp1qk]

Good morning to everyone and to the History Guy, if you haven't already done so, can you do one on the Schoolhouse Blizzard (aka The Children's Blizzard) of 1888? Thank you for all the work you do and the information you provide.

[@flagmichael]

It is waiting for you! "The Great Blizzard of 1888" It is every bit as great as we expect from The History Guy. Of course, after looking it up I had to watch it again.

[@ExposingReflections]

Loved the Dubbloon rolling. Great and very entertaining episode today, thanks. .

[@The20oz]

Hey History Guy, thanks for the videos and all the information that you give out for free. Knowledge is power and sophistication

[@marcomcdowell8861]

Once again, a fellow Marine going big in his endeavors.

[@markflacy7099]

Wow. It wasn't so long ago that your name, address, and phone number was publicly available in a device called "the phone book".

[@stanwolenski9541]

I remember the tv news reporting on THE MAD BOMBER.

[@vansongs]

I remember cartoons having mad bombers. Who knew?

[@xaenon]

@@vansongs I was in the Navy. There were often instances of a 'Mad Shitter'. Clearly inspired by the Mad Bomber, but of course merely pranks. Often the 'target' was a senior officer aboard - frequently the XO or a department head. It is discussed somewhat in the movie FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER.

[@ZilsR922]

I think the sister wrote the pyschiatrist. The Incendiary? Very interesting book about the NY bomber.

[@donalddodson7365]

I wonder in 2024 how many evil doers got their impetus from being jerked around by employers, supervisors, co-workers, classmates and insurance cartels? Thank you Team THG. Interesting bit of history, repeating itself too often.

[@G-Mastah-Fash]

He says to me-he says to me, 'you got style, baby! But if you're gonna be a real villain, you gotta get a gimmick.' And so I go, I says, 'yeah, baby! A gimmick, that's it! High explosives... Aaaaahahahahahaha!'

[@LorettoCareCNY]

I love showing these videos on the Resident TVs here at Loretto Health and Rehab. Unfortunately, when you are so specific about the date of first drop ("67 years ago today") it makes the video much less useful. It can only be put up once if at all. These are so awesome, I hate to limit them so.

[@jameshallett5395]

Heavy emphasis on the “Con” in Edison

[@LizzyDel]

Good morning! Great way to wake up and get ready for work! I love how you report and relay information. Thank you!

[@shampoovta]

Seems to me the Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight from The Tick show must be based on this.

[@RyanStone143]

There's at least four of us here with discriminating tastes... "SPOON!"

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

Back in the Saddle Again Naturally

[@RussellNelson]

4:58 6:19 Somebody put a bomb in the Grand Central Post Office (Station)? Or did you mean Grand Central Terminal as you quoted the newspaper article at 5:15 and 6:03? The tracks stop at Grand Central. It's a terminus therefore terminal. But note that Pennsylvania Station is in fact a station, named for the Pennsylvania Railroad which owned it, even though it was in New York.

[@johncox2865]

1/2 x 4 inch? He didn’t want to make much of a BANG!, did he?

[@kenrandall5680]

Very interesting subject. So much for the medical prediction that his life would be cut short due to lung disease. There are times when its okay for doctors to get a diagnosis wrong. At least in this case for the Mad Bomber.

[@deraldporter3828]

Thanks for a great video. By chance I just finished a good read on this called "Incendiary" by Michael Cannell, highly recommend. Thanks again for the great content.

[@somercet1]

Firesign Theatre used to mention George Metesky, now I know why.

[@shawnr771]

Thank you for the lesson. A bit of advice for people who might want a bit of privacy. Create an email account for personal use and create at least one for public use. I use a separate email for each credit card company and one to give to online retailers. The primary account can be setup to automatically check the others. If one starts receiving more mail I know which company sold my data.

[@kendisdai23]

The Evil Midnight Bomber what bombs at midnight?

[@jliller]

"Suggesting that the bomber might be what police called a...mooner." I would have been with lunatic.

[@1st1anarkissed]

Sand ashtrays were interesting. They were deep and the smoker would stab the cigarette butt into them. Sometimes with only a couple puffs taken, most of the cigarette left behind. These were a treasure for bums. The cleaners would use a sieve spoon to clean the sand. Smoking was so prevalent in my youth that no indoor spaces, not even hospitals and doctor's offices, were free of the blue haze and wafting drifts of smoke. It was a given that walls got foul, ashtrays must be everywhere, carpets and furniture would get burned, and everything stank of tobacco. My parents and everyone they knew chain smoked. Falling asleep and dying to fire from the cigarette still going became alarmingly frequent. It seems so outrageous now. I enjoyed watching the smoke drifts and playing with the air currents.

[@Svensk7119]

I love the Legerd'main while doing the Incogni commercial!

[@rexmyers991]

Good day Mr. history Guy. My father proudly served in WWII as a B25 bomber pilot. He past at age 76. Thankfully, his PTSD was very mild and he was gainfully employed his very full life.

[@petercozzaglio6070]

This reminds me of the guy that mailed several bombs to politicians a few years ago. The FBI, used their expertise to determine what type of person mailed the bombs and within 48 hours they had their perpetrator. It may have been 72, but what is important is how quickly they tracked down the person and arrested him.

[@dansand3794]

I thought Daryle Lamonica was The Mad Bomber. Thanks for educating me! 🙂

[@moonspots01]

Excellent episode!

[@johncox2865]

15:53 And what caused his emphysema? Might it not have been the worker’s comp accident? The guy got screwed by THE SYSTEM.

[@lawrenrich-nf3ni]

Finally a cool new thg vid that doesn’t involve warships ! Awesome 👏

[@ATRTAP]

There was a movie theater in time square in New York City that held 3600 people?!

[@BenjySparky]

THG, you rock! Love the stories you tell. Peace

[@Tmrfe0962]

Thank you. Always enjoy the show

[@miltmarhoffer729]

Very interesting about profiling. Fine job on this one

[@BasicDrumming]

I appreciate you and thank you for making content.

[@aquatarkus2022]

Glad to see you're addressing this topic. I've tried to get Dr. Grande to cover it to no avail. Thank you.

[@markcarey8374]

Hi, I just recently found your channel. Thanks for all the excellent videos you sent out!!

[@mohammedcohen]

....ahhhh...the New York Tribune...

[@mjboshko]

Another great video. do the sinking of the USS San Diego the only major ship lost by the US Navy during WW1

[@markp4321]

What you do is always very very interesting.👍👍👍

[@johnfun3394]

Great history, thanks.

[@Michaelbos]

As always, very interesting.

[@FryingTiger]

Was there anything after the commercial at the beginning? I fell asleep.

[@bethwyland7693]

Very interesting.

[@Wil_Liam1]

"Stymie nyc police for 16 years" like that's unusual,not the norm...

[@badbatchcustoms302]

Great episode

[@joannegully7770]

Love this channel!

[@rumplestilskin5776]

Hey Capt. Queeg what's up with the fiddling with the coin???

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Queeg played with ball bearings.

[@rumplestilskin5776]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel I know, The Caine Mutiny is one of my favorite movie.

[@stephenwalters9891]

Wasn't there a bomber who's bombs still remain to be discovered? I see to remember a story about a missing bomb in the Empire state building. And not the WW2 B25 bomber that crashed into the empire state building.

[@paulmcmanus6222]

The picture over your left shoulder looks like Smith Tower in Seattle. But, considering I'm viewing this on my phone...

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

That is the New York Flatiron building.

[@monkekrieg9405]

Hey THG would you ever consider doing a video about the 1774 Worcester revolt? It's a rather forgotten event that led up to the events of April 19 1776

[@semigoth299]

Con is short for consolidated but considering how that Thomas A Edison was a confidence man aka con is fitting, anyone who would legally steal from their employees like the corporation Sears did later deserves the title of con.

[@kellybasham3113]

Love your videos

[@Naturallystated]

Too bad you didn't have a round highway torch for your cabinet of curiosities! I kept looking for some cartoonish rapid disassembly unit on your shelves!

[@steveshoemaker6347]

THANK THE AMAZING THG🎀

[@luckytoastsebastian]

Is this where the Muppet version came from?

[@fatboyrowing]

Feeding the algorithm. Love this guy!

[@honodle7219]

Interesting story. Sounds like he never really intended to kill anyone.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

He said that he didn’t want to kill anyone. However, some of the bombs could have been deadly, and he seemed to be escalating their size.

[@davidrodgersNJ]

He looks crazy. I think most crazy people don't look it, but he does.

[@MikeDial]

I'm surprised that Metesky's profile didn't predict that he was of Slavic heritage. I believe it was during bombings in New York during the 1920's that police predicted that the bomber would be Slavic. This profile item would endure clear through the Unabomber case, which was the work of Theodore Kaczynski.

[@RRaquello]

Back in the 70s there was a bomb (or bombs) placed in a locker (or lockers) in Grand Central Station and if my memory serves me correctly, these bombs did result in fatalities. It's a long time ago, so I'm not sure. I grew up in NYC at that time, so my memory is kind of vague because I was just a kid. The responsible parties were Croatian Nationalists.

[@kraneiathedancingdryad6333]

Unsocial but not antisocial.... Sounds like someone I'd get along with. Without the bombs of course.

[@mercoid]

Incogni Don’t forget to take your Cognium for high cognition

[@labla8940]

14:38 "Mateski was determined to be a Schizophrenic" Well we should at least salute his determination to become a Schizophrenic, he accomplished his goal through sheer determination

[@J.A.Smith2397]

Helluva story!

[@stevedietrich8936]

Good Morning THG. An interesting "whodunit" and it seems to be the beginning of criminal profiling.

[@kennethswain6313]

I was in NY grade school when we were hearing about the “mad bomber”

[@davidk2906]

Narcissists are given to bearing a grudge of a perceived wrong which will in turn trigger rage and then striking out with sadistic retribution . I wonder who likes to do that who is always in the news.

[@flagmichael]

Politics is so rich with outright narcissists that the list would not fit here. It takes a lot of chutzpah to run for office, and sometimes the power trip is everything they ever wanted.

[@michelleslutpuppy4355]

There is a movie çalled the mad bomber in b/w tv it was great story

[@Roland14d]

While a good start, the psychological profile was far less impressive than portrayed. Most of it is statistical odds. He was known to be a veteran thus his minimum age to be working at ConEd was likely 22 to 26 yrs. Given that he likely was injured on the job, a profiler could look up the average years on the job before a worker received a major injury. They probably approximated his job at ConEd this way as well. Not many accountants know how to build a bomb. Once you have his age, the double brested coat is obvious. A man in his 50s is very likely to wear clothes similar to what he wore in his 20s & 30s. And so on. Profiling had been around in various forms for a long time before Brussel came along. He just had the good sense to name and market the idea.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Actually the age was derived from the usual age that paranoia manifests plus 15 years.

[@jayfrank1913]

Thanks for covering this. I do vaguely remember the arrest and knowing this is when the term, "mad bomber" entered the lexicon.

[@harleylawdude]

And then came Daryl Lamonica

[@MJA5]

proof that desperate people and fringe acts are nothing new under the sun

[@RetiredSailor60]

Good morning History Guy and everyone watching. Today, January 22nd, would have been my father's 87th birthday. He served in the US Navy during the Korean War.

[@weapons-gradenutella3068]

You and your dad are men that deserve to be remembered.

[@RetiredSailor60]

@@weapons-gradenutella3068 Thank you. Hope you are staying warm and safe during this frigid weather

[@talpark8796]

🤨

[@OGKenG]

Today is my grandson's 23rd birthday.

[@RetiredSailor60]

@@OGKenG Happy Birthday to your grandson

[@mikeh892]

"We're looking for someone who is angry with Con-Ed." Which simply narrows it down to "all Con-Ed customers".

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

You could say _George Mateski_ was the original *_Boomer._* 😉