Infamous America - BOMBINGS Ep. 4 | “Mad Bomber, Part 2: Manhunt”

Episode Date: February 5, 2025

Over the course of five years in the early 1950s, George Metesky escalates a bombing campaign that is designed to hurt his former employer, Consolidated Edison. He writes letters to the press and he revels in the media attention, but he feels angry because no one seems to understand his cause. Soon, his bombs begin injuring innocent people, and the NYPD turns to a radical new tactic to stop him. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join   Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial.   On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage.   For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My relentless sleep problems have always come from an overactive mind. I lay in bed at night with my mind racing from one thing to another, and then, of course, I have a brainstorm about something new. That lights the fire, and then I'm in real trouble. To calm my mind, the only things that have ever worked with any consistency are sleep gummies. Sleepy Time Advanced Gummies from Mood.com come in various combinations of THC, CBD, and CBN, so you can get something that's very low in THC, but higher in CBD, which helps turn off the stress,

and CBN, which is the thing that makes you sleepy. The brain shuts up, the racing thoughts stop, and it's off to sleep. Mood is federally compliant. The gummies are legal and delivered right to your door. At Mood.com, get 20% off your first order with our promo code, Infamous. Go to Mood.com and use the code infamous to get 20% off your first order. your first order. And they have a 100-day satisfaction guarantee. Mood.com promo code infamous. Captain Howard Finney, the head of the NYPD's crime lab, read the bomber's letter to the New York

Herald Tribune and panicked. In that moment, he knew he had the wrong man in custody. Frederick Eberhard was not the bomber. Throughout 1951, a man had been terrorizing New York with intricate, homemade pipe bombs. The bombs had been placed in highly public settings, like Grand Central Station and the Paramount Theater. Several bombs had detonated, though fortunately no one had been injured or killed. The mysterious bomber toyed with the police and the city. He left notes and letters and called some of the locations ahead of time. In his diatribs, the bomber who used the initials F.P. made it clear that the bombings were part of a bigger fight. He wanted vengeance against Consolidated Edison, one of the oldest and largest energy companies in America and the one that

powered most of New York. At the beginning of November, 1951, Captain Finney's team found their main suspect, Frederick Eberhard, a disgruntled former employee of Con Ed. Eberhardt was arrested and sent to Bellevue Hospital for psychological evaluation. But while Eberhard was locked away, the bomber struck again. On November 28th, a bomb went off near Union Square. Shortly after the bombing, FP sent a letter to the Herald Tribune that detailed the campaign against Consolidated Edison. The bombing and the letter forced Finney to accept that Eberhard was not the bomber.

The real bomber was about 90 miles north in Waterbury, Connecticut. His name was George Mateski, and he was also a former Con Ed employee. In 1931, he suffered a workplace injury that resulted in health complications. After a long and heated dispute regarding workers' compensation, George decided his only course of action was to declare war on Con Ed. In the late spring of 1952, Frederick Eberhard became a free man. He was released from Bellevue Hospital, and the charges against him were dismissed. He had been held by authorities for nearly six months. He called that six-month period, quote, the most harrowing days of my life. Frederick returned home to his wife and faded into obscurity. Meanwhile, George Metesky continued

to leave bombs around the city in heavily populated places. Three of the bombs exploded. One went off at the Port Authority bus terminal in Midtown Manhattan, and two detonation. at the Lexington Movie Theater on 50th Street and Lexington Avenue. The second Lexington bombing occurred on December 2nd, 1952. A theater of moviegoers were watching a musical called Everything I Have is Yours. About an hour into the screening, George's bomb detonated with a bright white flash and a bang. People murmured in confusion, but then the murmurs were drowned out by a loud scream. patrons rushed to a woman who was screaming and clutching her leg.

Shrapnel had ripped through her leg and foot and blood poured from her wounds. The December 2nd Lexington Theater bombing produced a first in Georgia's war against Conned. Someone had finally been injured. Captain Finney in his unit knew it was only a matter of time before the bombs resulted in fatalities. Now, more than ever, Finney needed to find the man the public was starting to call the Mad Bomber. From Black Barrel Media, this is infamous America. I'm your host, Chris Wimmer,

and this season we're telling the stories of the LA Times bombing of 1910, the Mad Bomber of the 1950s, and the crazy case of the Harvey's Casino bombing in Nevada in 1980. This is episode four, The Mad Bomber Part 2, Manhunt. For the first time,

the Mad Bomber had injured someone. Captain Finney and his bomb squad always knew it was only a matter of time before there was a casualty. Now it had happened. And now it was only a matter of time before someone died. Detectives dissected the most recent Lexington Theater bombing and compared it to the previous explosion. They believed the bomber went to the theater shortly after it opened. While the theater was still relatively empty, the bomber found a secluded section. Then he pulled out a cheap pocket knife, cut a slit in the seat cushion, and placed the bomb inside. Once the theater filled, the bomber would leave the pocket knife behind and leave before the explosion.

The unfortunate woman who was injured in the second Lexington Theater bombing sat on or near the seat with the bomb in it. The bombs George used in 1952 were all still roughly the same construction, but in 1953, he began to experiment with their design. Instead of using a 25 caliber bullet to help trigger the explosion, he tested a system that used batteries and flashlight bulbs. But he still used a unique timer, and he soon experienced a flaw in that plan. Instead of using an alarm clock as a timer to detonate the bomb like previous generations of bombers had, George placed a cough drop in a small container of water. When the cough drop dissolved, the water level rose and began a series of,

connections that led to the detonation. On March 10, 1953, George entered Radio City Music Hall, cut a seat cushion, and planted a bomb inside. Before George left the theater, the bomb exploded. George was shocked. The bomb had detonated way ahead of schedule. As it turned out, the cough drop dissolved much faster than normal. George always knew the timing system was a risk. That night, the cough drop became a liability. George slithered through the crowd toward the exit, an usher briefly delayed him, but he made a relatively quick escape. The next morning, George read about the radio city bomb in the newspapers.

To his dismay, the papers downplayed the incident and called the explosion a mild pop. Another paper called the explosion the work of, quote, a psychopath. A few weeks later, after another bombing, NYPD detectives called the bomber a mental case and a publicity-seeking jerk. George read the quotes and seethed in anger. It was clear to him that nobody understood who the real villain was. He needed to remind them. In May 1953, he sent a letter to the Herald Tribune.

He wrote, Get this into your heads. The Consolidated Edison Company will be brought to justice. All of my physical, mental, and financial substance. offerings will be paid for in full. He continued, I am bewildered by your attitude. I can only respond with more and larger bombs.

Every day that passes means a day closer to another bomb. George was hell-bent on keeping his promise to build bigger bombs. At his home in Waterbury, Connecticut, George hunkered down and tinkered. He knew his new bombs were going to need more gunpowder and a more reliable timer. For months, he meddled in his garage workshop. Finally, in the spring of 1954, George was ready to test his new bomb. On March 16th, George returned to Grand Central Station and left his latest creation in a men's bathroom. At around 5 p.m., in the thick of rush hour, the bomb exploded. shrapnel and debris tore through a marble sink, a toilet and a stall partition. When the smoke cleared,

three men were sent to the hospital for cuts, bruises, and shock. The bomb squad arrived and inspected the scene. They took photographs, gathered evidence, and returned to the crime lab. From there, Captain Finney and his team scrutinized what was left of the device. After careful analysis, Finney realized the bomber had come up with something more sophisticated than he could have imagined. Yet the new design did do one thing. It gave Captain Finney a window of opportunity,

to catch the man he knew as FP. In March 1954, the men at the NYPD Crime Lab made an interesting discovery as they analyzed the Mad Bomber's latest creation. For years, investigators had been confused as to how the bomber was able to time his explosions. They didn't know about the cough drop and water system, so they didn't realize that what they were seeing now

was an evolution in George's design. But the current system was simple and scary, nonetheless. evidence that survived the explosion suggested the latest Grand Central Station bomb contained a timing device constructed from a watch, most likely a cheap wrist watch. It was just a theory, but it was also the only viable theory that cops had at the moment. Throughout 1954, Captain Finney's men interviewed watch sellers all across the five boroughs. They went to department stores, watch repair shops, and jewelers. At the same time, detectives asked plumbers about anyone who was repeatedly buying pipes like the ones that were used for the bombs.

They asked the owners of sporting goods stores about anyone who was repeatedly buying shotgun shells, which could be used to spark the explosions. To their unending frustration, the detectives learned nothing of use. And then, the bomber struck again. On November 7, 1954, George returned to radio. City Music Hall and stuffed a bomb in an orchestra-level seat cushion. During a showing of White Christmas starring Bing Cosby and Danny Kay, the bomb detonated. The explosion injured four people. A few weeks later, a bomb exploded at a telephone booth at Port Authority.

In both instances, police found more evidence to support their theory that the bomber was using a watch as a timer. Back in his office, Captain Finney continued to struggle. Beyond some basic knowledge about the bombs, the only thing he felt certain of was that the man must be a former employee of Consolidated Edison. In December in 1954, Finney sent a man back to Con Ed's headquarters to dig through old employee files. Maybe they had missed something in their previous search.

At the same time, Captain Finney considered the break in the bombers' campaign when World War II broke out. In 1940 and 1941, the bomber left two duds in the city and promised more. But after Pearl Harbor, the bomber wrote a letter saying he was suspending his campaign due to his patriotism until the war ended. Captain Finney speculated that the bomber might have fought during the war, maybe even as a demolitions expert. Finney reached out to the Veterans Administration about veterans, especially with explosives'

experience, who had a history of strange behavior. He also asked a nearby Army arsenal if any bomb fragments were similar to explosives they had seen in the war. Finney wanted to know if the pipe bombs were inspired by devices used by either side. Unfortunately, Finney ran into dead ends with both requests. Then, out of nowhere, Captain Finney caught a hot lead. A war veteran called in a tip regarding a guy he knew overseas who was assigned to the demolition squad. The informant claimed that the man in question often acted strangely, and he used to work for consolidated Edison. Something about the guy always seemed off. Presently, he owned a repair shop in the Bronx. The description of the man intrigued Captain Finney. He also had no other suspects.

At the very least, it was worth checking out. So, detectives staked out the unnamed suspect's repair shop. After six weeks of observation, Captain Finney had seen enough and ordered his men to bring the suspect in for questioning. Detectives searched the repair shop and found nothing. No wires, no pipes, no watches, nothing that indicated bomb manufacturing. They let the unnamed suspect go, and Captain Finney was right back where he started. Worse, the bombings continued. Throughout 1955 and 1956, bombs detonated all across the city in places like Penn Station, Macy's department store, Grand Central Station, random subway stations, and various movie theaters. Some explosions resulted in injuries. Most just caused structural damage. Miraculously, no one was killed. But as the

1956 Christmas season started, another major explosion in a highly populated place forced Captain Finney to do something that had never been done before in an investigation. As the winter of 1956 approached, the detectives searching for the mad bomber were at their wits end. Morale in the precinct was low. A reporter described how the police essentially felt as if they were searching for a faceless man. They knew exactly how the bomber operated. They just didn't know who he was. But they weren't the only ones who were deeply unsatisfied to say the least. George Mateski, the elusive bomber, felt hopeless too. But his reasons stemmed from the fact that the press and the public

still didn't seem to understand why he was placing bombs around the city. He had hoped to shine a light on the so-called crooks at Consolidated Edison. Instead, the press simply reported details of the bombings themselves. In another letter to the Herald Tribune, George wrote, While victims get blasted, the yellow press makes no mention of these ghoulish acts. These same ghouls call me a psychopath. These bombings will continue until Khan Edison is brought to justice. My life is dedicated to this task.

George would once again make good on his threat and force Captain Finney to consider an unprecedented approach to catch the mad bomber. Not long after sending the letter to the Herald Tribune, George decided to attack the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, not to be confused with the Paramount in Times Square, which he had previously bombed. The date was December 2, 1956. That evening, the theater played War in Peace, starring Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda. Just before 8 p.m., the bomb detonated. After the initial chaos and panic subsided, six people were seriously injured and sent to the hospital. Less than 30 minutes later, Captain Finney and the bomb squad arrived at the scene.

They took one look at the damage and knew immediately that this was the mad bomber's strongest bomb yet. The press had a field day. Captain Finney felt the pressure from his bosses and other city officials. They were now closing in on five straight years of bombings and had little to show for the investigation. They were no closer to catching the culprit than they were in March of 1951. By that point, Captain Finney was open to any suggestions. He just wanted to bring the bomber down. A day or two after the Paramount bombing,

Captain Finney talked to John Cronin, the head of the NYPD's Missing Persons Unit. Cronin casually mentioned a psychiatrist friend who had had an interest in criminal behavior and criminal offenders. Cronin suggested the doctor could give investigators a physical description by creating a psychological profile. With nothing to lose, Finney contacted Dr. James Brussels. By 1956, Dr. Brussels had a glowing reputation among law enforcement.

He was both a private practitioner and a state employee. For the state, he was the assistant commissioner of the New York Department of Mental Hygiene. He was especially influential in crime lab techniques with his article, forensic evidence, and the scientific police methods. Four days after the Paramount Theater bombing, Cronin approached Dr. Brussels about creating a psychological profile of the mad bomber. It was a radical idea, and it was possibly the first time in American history that the technique had been tried. Brussels was hesitant, but he was also a mad bomber fanatic. He had followed the case for years, and deep down, he knew he couldn't pass up the chance to be part of it. Captain Finney and two members of the bomb squad showed up at Dr. Brussels' office and presented

the doctor with 16 years' worth of investigative material. Pictures of the crime scenes, pictures of bomb fragments, reports, and copies of the FP letters. Dr. Brussels studied the material for two hours, then he delivered his theory. According to Brussels, the bomber was a man who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. F.P.'s grudge against Consolidated Edison was part of a larger belief that everyone was out to get him. The bomber saw the locations, theaters, libraries, subways, train stations, as guilty by association. They were co-conspirators in a grand plot against the bomber.

Because schizophrenia typically developed later in life, Dr. Brussels guessed that the bomber was in his mid-40s. Brussels thought the bomber must be of Slavic origin or ancestry because of the use of bombs as opposed to other types of weapons. Historically, Slavs adopted bombs as their weapon of choice, especially Slavic anarchists in the 1800s. And if the bomber had Slavic ancestry, he might be living in Connecticut. At the time, Connecticut had a heavy Slavic immigrant population. Dr. Brussels theorized that the bomber was probably a loner,

The bomber might be courteous to others, but he likely had no friends and showed no interest in dating. The only real relationship the bomber had was with a family member. In fact, it was very likely that the bomber lived with an older sister. Finally, Dr. Brussels believed the bomber would be a neat and tidy dresser. Because the bomber's letters contained a sense of superiority, Brussels thought the trait extended to the bomber's personal grooming. Brussels predicted that when Captain Finney's men arrested the bomber, the bomber would be wearing a buttoned, double-breasted suit. It would take less than a month for all involved to learn if the doctor's profile was correct.

Armed with the doctor's assessment, Captain Finney went to the press to circulate the profile. On Christmas Day, 1956, New Yorkers across the city opened their newspapers to find two articles about the mad bomber. The first detailed the discovery of one of his bombs. On Christmas Eve, a New York public library clerk entered a phone booth to make a call. The clerk dropped a coin on the ground and bent down to pick it up. The clerk looked over and saw a red sock lying nearby. When the clerk looked inside the sock, he saw a pipe bomb.

Luckily, the bomb didn't explode, and it made news as a frightening near-miss rather than a mass casualty event. Meanwhile, the New York Times published a major expose that detailed the 16-year manhunt for the bomber. Near the end of the expose, the Times published Dr. Brussels' psychological profile. It wasn't the entire profile, but enough to provide a possible sketch of the suspect so that New Yorkers could be on the lookout. The next day, December 26th, the New York Journal American, published an open letter to the mad bomber. The letter asked the bomber to turn himself in and promised that if he cooperated with the police,

the police would treat the bomber fairly. Up in Waterbury, George Metesky read the open letter and went red with rage. A few days after the New York Times published the profile, Dr. Brussels received a call at his home in Queens. It was 1 o'clock in the morning, and the caller, a man, asked Dr. Brussels if he was the Dr. Brussels from the newspapers. Brussels said yes, and then the caller identified himself as FP, the bomber. He warned Dr. Brussels to keep his nose out of the investigation or else. On December 28, George sent two letters to the New York Journal American.

The first claim that the bomb found at the library and the one that exploded at the Paramount theater had been planted months in advance. The second letter featured another angry, raid against consolidated Edison, as well as two other elements, a temporary ceasefire and the promise to return with a new type of bomb. While George toiled in his laboratory to create that new bomb, Captain Finney and his men continued their search. The department was fielding an onslaught of phone calls because of the release of the psychological profile, and the decision to go public was becoming a nightmare for the NYPD. But as the phones rang, in front of the phone's rang, in

investigators and con-ed-ed clerks once again combed through employee files. They continued to look for handwriting matches, and now they searched employee descriptions that matched Dr. Brussels' profile. In the middle of January, the search moved to a section known as the Dead files. The Dead files was an archive of closed compensation cases of former employees. The Dead files were a bit controversial within the halls of con-ed. Years earlier, the company told the NYPD they were unaware that the archive even existed. Then they said the files only went back to 1940.

In reality, Con Ed had files dating back as far as 1930. It's not clear why Con Ed hid the information from the NYPD, but it seems likely they were covering up incidents pertaining to workplace illness and injury. Con Ed assigned special clerks to look through the dead files. It was a long and tedious process. But on January 18, 1957, in the final hour of the workday, a clerk named Alice Kelly made a major discovery. Alice grabbed a folder and saw the words, injustice and permanent disability written on the front. She immediately sensed that the name on the file was their man.

She opened it and started to read. The notes detailed an incident that took place in 19. and the years-long correspondence between the injured employee and the company. She saw letters written by the employee with phrases like dastardly deeds and treachery, as well as promises of vengeance. The name on the file was George Mateski, and his address was in Waterbury, Connecticut. Alice took George's file to her supervisor, who alerted the NYPD. The NYPD read the file and felt confident that George, George was the mad bomber.

But to avoid spooking George, the police wanted to make sure he was still in Waterbury. The NYPD contacted local law enforcement to quietly ask around about their suspect. Local authorities confirmed that George was living with his sisters. He was not married, and he was considered strange. He fit many of the elements in Dr. Brussels' profile. Just before midnight on January 21st, NYPD detects. and Waterbury officers drove to George's house. When they knocked on the door,

they were greeted by a somewhat portly man in pajamas. The detectives asked if he was George Mateski. George said he was, and the detectives held up a search warrant. George gave them a genial smile, but deep down, he knew the jig was up. The detectives told George that the search warrant was related to a hit-and-run investigation.

George nodded and allowed them to enter. His only request was that they stay quiet so as not to wake up his sisters. The police agreed to the request and started searching the house. In short order, a detective found a notebook that contained handwriting that matched the FP letters. The detectives asked George if he could write his name for them. George obliged, and when he was finished, he asked the police, this is not then about an auto accident. Instead of answering, the police asked George to go get dressed because they were,

wanted to see the garage. For the detectives, it was a moment they had been waiting for. They all wondered if Dr. Brussels' clothing profile would be correct. Minutes later, George walked downstairs in a buttoned, double-breasted suit, exactly as Dr. Brussels predicted. George took the detective to the garage. Inside, they found machinery that was used for metal work. Once again, George hinted that they weren't at his house to investigate a car accident. The detectives asked George what he thought they were investigating. George said it was because they thought he was the mad bomber. One detective commented that George didn't seem mad, but asked what FP stood for. George responded, fair play. And the detectives slapped the handcuffs on him and

took him to the police station. At George's house, police found pipes, wires, light bulbs, fuses, and pocket watches. The police knew they had George dead to rights, but George decided to help them close their case. Around 1.30 in the morning, the police began their interrogation, which quickly turned into a confession. George admitted everything.

He had placed a total of 32 bombs during his vendetta against Con Ed, and he explained the cough-drop timing system that was used to detonate his early devices. Police took George to Manhattan, and a grand jury indicted him on 47 charges, including assault, property damage, concealing a dangerous weapon, and attempted murder. But the judge took one look at George and was convinced that George suffered from some kind of mental illness.

He ordered George to be evaluated at Bellevue Hospital before standing trial. For the next four months, doctors and psychiatrists studied George Metesky. George's obsession with consolidated Edison and the belief that everyone was out to get him convinced several doctors that George suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Dr. Brussels was once again correct. On April 18, 1957, a judge ruled that George Mateski was not fit to stand trial due to insanity. Instead of going to prison, George was committed to Madawan State Hospital, which is now the Fishkill Correctional Facility,

about an hour north of Manhattan. In the months following his arrest, George's health had deteriorated. By the time George arrived at Madawan on April 19th, his condition looked grim. But with treatment, George's health improved each day. By Christmas, 1957, almost a year after his arrest, he was essentially back to normal.

In general, George kept to himself and never caused problems with the staff or other inmates. He spent his day's reading. He continued to petition for the workers' compensation that was denied back in the 1930s and to petition against his detention at Madawan. His petitions were consistently denied, and he was forced to accept his life at the state hospital. Then in 1971, a young lawyer filed a class action lawsuit on George's behalf,

claiming that George's rights had been violated. Specifically, the lawyer claimed that George, as well as other patients, should not be held in a mental hospital without being sentenced by a jury. Ultimately, the Supreme Court agreed. In early December 1973, after nearly 17 years at the hospital, doctors concluded that George was not a threat to society. And since he had served the equivalent of two-thirds of a maximum sentence, a judge dismissed the charges.

A few weeks later, 70-year-old George Mateski, the mad bomber of New York, walked out of Madawan State Hospital. George moved back to Waterbury, Connecticut, and lived a quiet, reclusive life for the next 20 years. He died in 1994 at the age of 90. Next time on Infamous America, it's the final pair of episodes about infamous bombings in American history. The next story is a wild one that happened in Lake Tahoe in 1980. At a casino in the popular resort town, employees, visitors, and law enforcement personnel were forced to confront a terrifying question. What do you do when you have a ticking clock and a bomb that cannot be diffused?

The answer to that question begins next week on Infamous America. Members of our Black Barrel Plus program don't have to wait week to week for new episodes. They receive the entire season to binge all at once with no commercials, and they also receive exclusive bonus episodes. Sign up now through the link in the show notes or on our website, blackbarrelmedia.com. Memberships are just $5 per month. This episode was researched and written by Joe Gera,

original music by Rob Valier. I'm your host and producer, Chris Wimmer. Find us at our website, blackbarrelmedia.com or on our social media channels. We're Black Barrel Media on Facebook and Instagram and B-Barrell Media on Twitter on Twitter. Twitter, and you can stream all our episodes on YouTube. Just search for Infamous America podcast. Thanks for listening.