George Metesky
George Metesky | |
|---|---|
Metesky in the Waterbury, Connecticut, jail after his arrest in 1957. | |
| Born | George Peter Metesky November 2, 1903 |
| Died | May 23, 1994 (aged 90) |
| Other names | Mad Bomber, "F.P." |
| Occupation(s) | Electrician, mechanic |
| Criminal status | Transferred to Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in 1973, released the same year |
| Motive | Anger and resentment about a workplace injury |
| Convictions | Not tried: declared legally insane and incompetent to stand trial |
| Criminal charge | 47 charges: attempted murder, damaging a building by explosion, maliciously endangering life, and carrying concealed weapons in violation of New York State's Sullivan Law. |
| Penalty | Committed to Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane |
George Peter Metesky (November 2, 1903 – May 23, 1994), better known as the Mad Bomber, was an American electrician and mechanic who terrorized New York City for 16 years in the 1940s and 1950s with explosives that he planted in theaters, terminals, libraries and offices. Bombs were left in phone booths, storage lockers and restrooms in public buildings, including Grand Central Terminal, Pennsylvania Station, Radio City Music Hall, the New York Public Library, the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the RCA Building, and in the New York City Subway. Metesky also bombed movie theaters, where he cut into seat upholstery and slipped his explosive devices inside.
Angry and resentful about events surrounding a workplace injury suffered years earlier, Metesky planted at least 33 bombs, of which 22 exploded, injuring 15 people. The hunt for the bomber enlisted an early use of offender profiling. He was apprehended in 1957 based on clues given in letters he wrote to a newspaper. He was found legally insane and committed to a state mental hospital.