Read Chapter 1 in Minds on Trial about George Metesky.
Summarize the chapter. What profiling techniques were used in his apprehension? How integral were they to his ultimate capture? Do you think the techniques were scientifically valid? Does it matter, if in the end you catch the person? What are your thoughts on that issue?
Find some more information about this case and discuss it here. Provide your links.
Chapter 1 in Minds On Trial was about the “Mad Bomber” case that began in 1940 when a man planted a bomb outside the city’s electrical company in New York City. While the bomb did not go off, there was a note that said “Con Edison crooks—this is for you.” Over the next few years the “mad bomber” planted many more bombs around the city, some in theatres, phone booths, and the grand central station. Some bombs went off and injured people, but many of them did not detonate. The bomber wrote letters to papers saying that he was seeking justice and that he would make the company sorry and that they will “regret their dastardly deeds”. He addressed his letters as F.P. which police later learned meant fair play. He would later write that he was frustrated with his limited media attention. He also wrote that the bombings would continue until Con Edison Co. was brought to justice. The mad bomber did take time off from these bombings during the War. He even wrote a letter saying that he would not place any bombs while the war was going on because it went against his patriotism. However, the bombings did return and so did the letters. This is where the profiling came into action. Dr. James Brussel created a profile and a plan for capturing the bomber. His profile described the bomber as age 40-50, paranoid, unmarried, living in Connecticut, and probably an immigrant from central or Eastern Europe. Each of these judgments was derived from the psychiatrist’s hunches about certain things. He guessed his age based on a diagnosis of paranoia which was believed to peak in the early 30s (when he would have started the bombings). He said he was single because paranoids tend to be “socially isolated loners”. He said the man would be stocky because 85% of paranoid individuals are stocky. Based on these things he created the profile of the man who he believed would be the bomber. He told the police they should publicize the profile to get the bomber to communicate with the authorities. This plan worked and the bomber contacted the doctor warning him to abandon the case or else he would be sorry. In a later letter, the bomber gave police the missing piece they needed to catch him. He told them of the date which had triggered his resentment. The police used this date to narrow down the workers at the place during that year and ultimately found out that it was George Meteskey. George lived in Connecticut, was stocky, unmarried, 54 years old and the son of a Lithuanian immigrant. These facts were all part of the profile created. However, even the profiler himself wasn’t sure about his role in finding the bomber. He worried that his profile may have led the police down several blind alleys. A few men were wrongly accused of these bombings based on the publicly released profile, which had many people on high alert for anyone resembling the profile.
The profiling techniques used here were based on common sense, not science. The doctor was ultimately correct, but many of the things he put in the profile could have easily been known based on what the bomber had put in his letters and knowing that he was angry with the company for a certain reason. Also, much of his profiling was very far off. For example, the bomber cut open a theatre seat and placed a bomb in there and the doctor thought he did this because he wanted to symbolize penetrating a woman or castrating a man. He thought that the way the bomber wrote his “w” was strange because it was rounded at the bottom. He believed this resembled a woman’s breasts or a man’s scrotum. These two theories proved to be completely wrong and possibly misleading in the case. I think he also relied on stereotypes to create his profile. He used his knowledge on past bombings to say that the bomber was a male because most past bombers had been male. He also said that he was Slavic, based on that historically Slavic people were the most likely to use bombs as weapons. These sorts of things can be very dangerous when creating a profile. I think that being Slavic had absolutely nothing to do with the crime. He was not planting bombs because he was Slavic; he was planting them because he was angry at his previous employer and company. He also was not placing bombs because he was male, a female could have just as easily planted the bombs because she was angry at the company. These two things, along with the beliefs about the slashing of the seat and the way he wrote his “w” are what make profiling so unreliable. The doctor believed all of these things to be true, but his reasoning had nothing to do with the crime itself. Thus, he really didn’t help at all with the case, even though he did turn out to be correct about a lot of things. The case was solved because the mad bomber gave himself away by providing the date of his incident and by making it obvious that he had a problem with the company. It was only a matter of time before the police looked into it enough to figure out that he had the motive and the means to plant the bombs. This would have happened with or without the profiling. I don’t think, in this particular case, that the profiling was very important in the case. Like I said, I think they would have figured out who the bomber was even without the profile. I even think that the profiling had negative effects on the case. Many people were on high alert because the profile was released; so many people were wrongly accused of being the bomber based on the profile. I think it is dangerous to put profiles out like that to the public, because there are a lot of men who would have met the descriptions in the profile. I don’t really have much faith in profiling after reading this chapter and chapter 5 in the C&K book because I think profiling can be very lacking in scientific credibility. I think this doctor did have some good ideas and leads about the type of person who was doing these bombings, but I also think that if his ideas had been wrong there would have been major problems involved in this case. He could have easily been wrong about his general knowledge and hunches and then easily led the cops in the wrong direction (he even thought he might have done so!) I think that in this example the profiling did not use any scientifically valid techniques; I think he just got lucky in his guessing. My thoughts on this are that profiling a person can be helpful, but it has an even bigger potential to be dangerous for the case. It can cause the investigators to focus their attention in the wrong places and on the wrong people and I think it could really hurt an investigation. I would say that the costs are far more than the benefits, so I personally don’t know if I would want to use profiling when investigating a crime. I think having just one small thing wrong in a profile can lead the investigation down the wrong path. Even though in this case they did catch the criminal, I don’t really think any of the credit should be given to the profiling or the profiler. I think it was useless for the most part and was of no help to solving the crime.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/3.html When doing some more research on this case I found that Dr. Brussel was intimidated by the investigator that contacted him and said that he wouldn’t settle for anything less than a solid conclusion. In his book, the doctor even admits he was worried he wouldn’t be of any help in the case.
For 16 years, New York City was plagued with a series of homemade bombs planted all over the city. Dubbed the "Mad Bomber," George Metesky built the bombs and planted them in various public locations as a revenge tactic against the electric power company called Consolidated Edison.
In September of 1931, Metesky suffered an on-the-job injury at a small power company which was later merged with Consolidated Edison. After the injury, he was let go and never received compensation for the injury do to some technicalities of the claim. Infuriated by what he claimed as the "dastardly deeds" the company committed against him, Metesky formulated a plan to set bombs off at public locations to bring attention to the "crimes" he thought Consolidated Edison committed to "bring them before the bar of justice."
By 1940, Metesky planted his first bomb in front of the Consolidated Edison's city headquarters. The bomb did not detonate but oddly had a note attached to it. For the next 16 years, subsequent bombs would be placed through out the city in phone booths, movie theaters, etc (anywhere where there would be a lot of people). During this time, Metesky repeatedly contacted the media wanting to know why he wasn't receiving the attention he deserved.
By 1956, the NYPD was desperate. It had been 16 years and they were not any closer to catching the "Mad Bomber." It was at this time, they decided to enlist the help of Dr. James Brussel, a criminologist, psychiatrist, and assistant commissioner of the New York State Commission for Mental Hygiene (and a personal friend of the police captain, John Cronin)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Metesky). Brussel was initially hesitant to take on the task of developing a profile of the Mad Bomber. He wasn't sure that he could help or get it right. However after analyzing the evidence, Brussel came up with the following profile: "The Mad Bomber was a male, middle-aged, meticulous, largely self-educated, Slavic and Roman Catholic, with an Oedipal Complex, who lived in Connecticut. He would have worked for Consolidated Edison or one of its subsidiaries." Brussel insisted to the skeptical police that to draw out the Bomber, the case and the profile would have to be widely publicized. He also suggested they have Con Edison search its files of past employees. Additionally, Brussel claimed to the police "When you catch him, and I have no doubt you will, he'll be wearing a double-breasted suit. And it will be buttoned" (http://www.essortment.com/new-yorks-mad-bomber-32532.html). This last bit of information would provide an ironic twist at the end of the case.
After helping the police to develop the profile, Brussel insisted that they publish it in the newspaper to draw the Mad Bomber into communicating with the police. His strategy proved effective because soon after, Metesky contacted the police and demanded that Brussel be removed from the case. He also contacted the media to complain and ended up revealing a clue that would ultimately lead to his capture: the date of his energy. Once this date was known, investigators could narrow down their search of the Consolidated Edison's employee records to the year which then led to the discovery and arrest of Metesky. And yes, when the police went to arrest Metesky, he had changed into a double-breasted suit in which he buttoned up.
Brussel's profile of Metesky was developed through what he called the art of common sense and general knowledge. He looked at the specific pieces of evidence and drew conclusions based on historical perspectives (bombers tended to be male, bombs are the frequently used as weapons in Slavic countries), psychological knowledge (the expression of persecution in the bomber's letters sounded like he suffered from paranoia which usually peaks in a person's 30s), and common sense (the bomber's letters were mailed from a county that was between Connecticut and New York City and he reasoned that the bomber would be bright enough not to mail the letters from the area in which he lived).
Although the profile itself did not lead directly to the apprehension of Metesky, it's publication did encourage him to communicate more. This communication ultimately led to the reveal of his injury date. From that point, traditional investigative tactic were used to discover the identity of Metesky. It's hard to say whether Metesky would have revealed the date if the profile had not been published. What we can say, is that the publication helped to get that information faster before Metesky had time to cause even more damage and injuries.
After reading Chapter 5 of C&K, I'm not sure what I think anymore of the validity of profiling. Part of me still believes that there is something to said about its usefulness in helping police narrow down suspects. I still believe that information about gender, age, and race can be deducted through the probabilities of certain crimes (for example: homicides statistics show that males are likely to commit homicides, therefore a suspect is more likely to be male).
George Metesky—Mad Bomber
Citizens in the Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. areas were affected by the terrorist acts of the Mad Bomber. Presumptuous accusations were conducted during this scare; defining the man to be quite opposite of who he actually was. Dr. James Brussel got his big break while uncovering this case and surfaced the real mission-based “Mad Bomber”.
Metesky terrorized the country for over sixteen years before he was finally captured. His bombs were carefully handmade with household items and tied off with a note. The bomb was thought to only be a threat for the shear fact that, if he had wanted to kill, the note would not have been placed where it was. His first target was the local electric company; each bomb left the police puzzled in confusion to his motives. His bombs grew more intricate and larger as time passed; the bomb left in Grand Central Station showed his technological advancements. The first sign of Mr. Matesky’s attempt to cause harm was when his next bombs were detonated in telephone booths near New York Public Library and Grand Central Station. Due to these highly populated areas, Metesky wanted to be known and have his message broadcasted. After his public attempts, he moved onto snail-mail bombs; mailing at least eight bombs in the New York area. One mistake made by the Mad Bomber, a hand-written letter to a major newspaper in N.Y.C. and also to the newsstands of surrounding areas. The time ratio spent in between bombings soon decreased. George had begun to detonate around two times per month, seriously injuring more and more civilians. The lack of media attention drove Metesky mad! He threatened: the less media coverage, the more detonations; his threat was not empty, by any means.
Dr. Brussel’s profile: socially isolated, loner, no significant other, male, large in size, age 40 to 50, immigrant from English descent from the Connecticut area. The profile was based off of recent research (at the time), empirical evidence, and also common sense. Some of the research he used may not be significant at all now, but he took it into account and it worked to his advantage. This profile was given to the New York newspapers; the media attention Metesky wanted was surfacing. Brussel noted that the media attention would also draw the bomber in for communication; which was spot on. Metesky phoned Dr. Brussel and also wrote a few more letters responding to his profile. A tip to the police of Metesky’s past, surfaced who the real Mad Bomber was: an injured ex-employee, disgruntled with his compensation (or lack-there-of).
Police found, and arrested, a single man living with his elder sisters, of stocky build, aged fifty-four years, and of Lithuanian descent. He was skilled in bomb making through the training of the US Marine Corps. George was later charged with forty-seven separate crimes and seven counts of attempted murder; although he was found not competent to stand trial due to paranoid schizophrenia. Metesky never stood for trail and spent his sentence in hospitalization to be later released in 1973.
This case was a huge stepping stone in the field of psychological profiling. His profile, and media attention, brought the Mad Bomber to communication. Some speculated his work was inclined to have sexual connotations. The commonality of the Mad Bomber profile led people to question the true helpfulness of Dr. Brussel’s work. I don’t think HOW the information for the profile is received, as long as the perpetrator is brought to justice in the end. If George was different than the man described in the profile, but he was still captured, some other aspects of the profile may have been brought into the light. People would say “well he was a male and was stockier than most, and his actions could account for some sexual connotations”. I don’t think society wants to think that the justice system isn’t doing the right things in order to catch criminals. People will use cognitive dissonance to prove that their belief of the “criminal justice system always bringing people to justice swiftly” is correct. They want to live in a place where crime is low and high standards are held constant.
http://wn.com/George_Metesky
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/1.html
From 1940 to 1960 bombs had been placed all over New York City, condemning the power plant Consolidated Edison for all of the wrongs they had committed against the bomber. The bomber started with a bomb right outside the power plant and left a note attached signed F.P. to the bomb itself, odd considering it was meant to explode, destroying the note. The bomb did not blow, though, and this happened multiple times before a bomb finally did explode. The bomber also placed bombs in movie theaters, hidden in the seats, something I also find odd, since the bomber was always focused on the "dastardly deeds" committed by Consolidated Edison. After sixteen years of tyranny, the police enlisted the help of the psychiatrist Dr. James Brussel. Brussel gathered all of the evidence collected by the detectives on the case and studied it, aiming to create a profile of F.P. What he had finally come up with was this:
Single man between the ages of forty and fifty. Unsocial and a loner. Lived by himself or with an older female, most likely family. Paranoid. Catholic and of Slavic descent. Worked in the military and probably a current or former employee of Consolidated Edison. And finally upon his arrest, will probably be wearing a double breasted suit, buttoned up.
Brussels suggested that this be published in the newspapers to get a response from F.P. It did get a response shortly after its publication and in the letter F.P. had written about an incident that had happened on September 5, 1931. This caused the police to look back on the records of Consolidated Edison and found George Metesky. He blamed the company for the cause of his tuberculosis and requested compensation for the trauma he had suffered. He did not get it, the cause of all of this craziness. Upon his arrest, it was found that Brussel was exactly correct on everything he described the criminal to be. Metesky was charged with forty-seven crimes, including seven counts of attempted murder. He was found to be not competent to stand trial and was confined to Matteawan State Hospital for sixteen years of his twenty-five-year sentence.
Brussel used the letters that Metesky had sent to the police and the newspapers to profile the bomber F.P. His age was figured by the age at which most men become paranoid. He figured he was thirty at the of the first bomb planting; sixteen years later would make him between forty and fifty. He decided single because most paranoid individuals tend to be socially isolated. He figured stocky build because eighty-five percent of males suffering mental illness are stocky. The bomber's nationality came from the fact that bombs are often used as weapons in Slavic countries, and his pretentious use of language also alluded to his Eastern European descent.
I do not think that the profiling of the bomber was really necessary at all. While publishing the profile led to the important date written in one of F.P.'s letters, leading to Metesky's capture, it really did not aid in finding the culprit at all, even though it was spot on. I think that some of the techniques are valid, such as the discovery that the perpetrator is paranoid and knowing what he would wear once captured (followed his thought process), but other information such as his nationality or religion could just be something that a geography major could know. I do not believe that it took psychology to gather that information.
I do not think that it was necessary for a profile of the perpetrator to be made, even though in the end the person was caught. Two people fitting the description of the profile made, were suspects of the crime even though they had nothing to do with it; one even had some very personal information about himself made public. These two had to suffer because of the publishing of the profile, and Metesky was not even a suspect until he had sent in the last letter. He got himself caught, the profile did not really aid in this at all. In my opinion, profiling the criminal hurt more than it helped.
This chapter was about the Mad Bomber of New York City in the 1950s. Mainly, the chapter was about the profiling and investigation of this case rather than focusing on solely the crimes. When I first read the psychological profiling techniques, it seemed like they were mostly logical conclusions to come to. However, I did not see how this psychological profile could lead to the capture of a single person. As the chapter discussed, this type of profile fit many people in New York City. Several people were false suspects, and were doing things that were rather normal (except for the man with the boots in his briefcase), but because of this case, viewed as suspicious by others. I thought the conclusion that Brussel came to about the suspect wearing a buttoned suit was somewhat ridiculous. I did not understand how estimating what the suspect would wear, down to every detail, would lead to his capture or serve any purpose at all. Police cannot exactly arrest every person that they see wearing a suit like this one.
Brussel was a psychiatrist who was hired to create the profile for the Mad Bomber. Mainly, Brussel used his knowledge of psychology paired with common sense to create a rough profile of who the Mad Bomber would probably be, where he was likely to live, and what he likely did. However, as previously stated, this profile fit several people. This profile also did not lead to the capture of "F.P." but rather its publishing in the media did. The bomber thought it necessary to write a letter after the publishing of the profile to clear things up, telling why he was out for the company Consolidated Edison and the date of his incident that started his grudge. It was after this information that police were able to get help from Consolidated Edison to find the records from that particular date and employee accident that ultimately led to George's arrest.
I personally have never put much thought into how I felt about criminal profiling before this class. I thought it was a great technique, but I did not quite understand how profilers come to all of these conclusions about who the criminal is. However, after reading chapter 5 in C&K and this chapter in Minds on Trial, I have very little faith in psychological criminal profiling. Although Brussel's conclusions about the Mad Bomber were all correct, they did not assist the investigation itself. It was only after the capture of George that Brussel's profile could be matched to him. In fact, these profiles actually caused police to have other suspects, due to these others fitting the same profile that Brussel created. This would waste time in the investigation, which is crucial to solving the case.
Although this profile was correct about George, it was really of little to no assistance in the investigation itself. The profile was not scientific at all, but rather based on knowledge and experiences from a particular psychiatrist. The profile is not scientific, simply because it is correct about George. Some of the information in the profile about George are things that any person with common sense could also determine. For example, the fact that the bomber would be "neat with tools" and "egotistical of mechanical skill." These are conclusions that anyone with common sense could draw from seeing the bomber's letters or receiving his calls. As stated before, this profile did lead to having other false suspects in the case, which wasted time in the investigation. When time is wasted in the investigation, it not only gives the bomber time to create and plant more bombs, therefore possibly injuring or killing people, but also gives him time to pack up and leave the area, making it even more difficult to be captured. For these reasons, I think it does matter that the profile is not scientific. Although George was caught, it was not the profile itself that caught him. If George hadn't responded to the publishing of the profile, he may not have ever even been caught.
http://www.crimecircle.com/category/crime-case-files/terrorist/george-metesky-a-k-a-mad-bomber/
I found this website that gives a lot of information about the case. In browsing it quickly, everything matched up with the chapter in Minds on Trial. This website simply has more detailed posts about each part of the investigation. I found it particularly interesting to read Metesky's notes.
Chapter one in the book Minds on Trial is about George Metesky…profiling the “mad bomber”. On November 16th, 1940 there was a bomb left outside of the company called, Consolidated Edison with a note attached as well. That was one of many bombs that was left near or had some attachment to Consolidated Edison. That particular bomb did not go off which investigators found interesting. A year later another bomb was left a few blocks away from the company, Consolidated Edison. This time there was no note but there was an alarm clock attached to it. Once again investigators were puzzled as to why the person had not set the bomb off and why there was an alarm clock attached to the bomb. Investigators decided that after the second bomb was found that it must be the same person doing this. A few months later a letter was sent to the police station from which they thought may be the person setting out these bombs, the person had signed it F.P. In the 1950’s another bomb was set out but this time at Grand Central station. After this the investigators knew they had to really start investing on who was doing this because it was just a matter of time before one of these bomb was set off and hurt someone or something. The police then tried to figure out a profile of who the suspect may be by hiring a psychiatrist who developed a potential profile. The psychiatrist hypothesized that the bomber was stocky, around 40-50 years old, paranoid, unmarried, lives in Connecticut, and probably an immigrant from central or Eastern Europe. After the profile was developed it was given to the police and then decided that they should publicize the profile as well in hopes the mad bomber would turn themselves in. After the profile was released to the public the mad bomber told the psychiatrist if he didn’t remove the profile that he would be sorry. He also sent out other letters in response to the profile, which he told the police why he was mad at the company, Consolidated Edison. From the letters they were informed that he was hurt and was mad that nothing had been paid for. From that information the Consolidated Edison secretary was on a man hunt for who it was because he also told the date of when he was hurt. They were able to find through their records whom the mad bomber was from the date he had informed them of. George Metesky was charged for 47 different crimes because the placing of bombs and bombing lasted for a total of 16 years before he was identified and found. He is mentally ill, and suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. He then served the maximum period for hospitalization due to the fact that he was mentally ill and was released in 1973. He then lived in Connecticut and died at the age of 90.
The profiling techniques used in this case were pretty much common sense. They called in a psychiatrist to use their knowledge to identify or develop a profile for who the bomber was. Due to the fact that he wrote letters and the bombs were set out by a company was pretty big easy information right there. Being considered mentally ill was also not hard because most people who do things like this are mentally ill. Also, most bombers are males.
The techniques used in the case worked, it ultimately found the guy who was doing this. Like I said before, it was pretty common sense stuff though. If they would have never done anything though or put it out for the public in hopes for the bomber to basically turn himself in then it wouldn’t have worked as well. So the fact that the psychiatrist knew to put the information out to the public was definitely good.
I do not know if I believe that the techniques were scientifically valid or not. I am not sure how much I believe is scientifically valid with profiling. The psychiatrist did what he had to do but it was pretty common knowledge stuff and I would say not a ton of science was even used.
I would say it does matter in the end if you catch the person. If someone is committing crimes, especially horrific ones like this where people’s lives are in danger than something needs to be done to find the person. I understand it is not easy and it is not always possible to find the person. Ultimately, if you are going to hire people and spend loads of time trying to figure out who the person is, it does matter if you catch the person in the end.
I think profiling is a hard topic to decide yes I agree with it or no I don’t agree with. There are people everyday who get mistaken for the wrong person due to profiling. When you are a profiler it is obviously your trained job but what if you are completely wrong. What if you spend years on trying to find someone and the whole time you couldn’t find them because the profile was wrong. It also is hard because like I said before people get mistaken or even wrongly convicted just because of their profile.
I went online and researched some more about this case and found these…
This article is about George Metesky and what happened once the cops came to his door with a search warrant believing he was the one who was the “mad bomber”
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,723774-2,00.html
This article gives a really good description on George Metesky and his case
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/2.html
Chapter 1 in the Minds on Trial book discussed the "Mad Bomeber" case. George Metesky is the name of the bomber. What Metesky would do is he randomly left bombs in which he would build throughout New York. He would also leave notes along with the bombs, specifically expressing his hate for the company Consolidated Edison Co. Metesky continued to leave bombs and notes for over 16 years.
Metesky's first bomb never detonated nor was it going to. Attached to this bomb was an note which was meant to be read. After researching each new device, detectives concluded it was the same person.
Profiling techniques were used almost immediately with this case. Brussel, a psychiatrist profiled this case. Brussel inducted that Metesky would of had to have been a former employee of Consolidated Edison Co. Brussel hypothesized that the bomber was stocky and about 40-50 years in age who was paranoid, unmarried, living in Connecticut and probably an immigrant from central or eastern Europe.
Brussel demanded that this profile be published:
* Single Man
* 40-50
* A lone wolf/introverted
* Immigrant, or 1st generation American
* Neat with tools
* Cunning
* Expert in civil or military ordnance
* Religious: Roman Catholic
As soon as the newspapers published the profile and encouraged the Mad Bomber to turn himself in. The bomber immediately telephoned Brussel. He stated his displeasure and provided evidence that led detectives directly to him.
I feel as though profiling worked far to well in this case. I feel as though it is really not scientific, but mostly pure luck. Brussel was able to make many lucky guesses all of which seemed to match perfectly right. I think it is important to note that most cases do not work this way. Brussel was able to conclude many factual things. But many of these were assumptions. He assumed that Metesky was of Slavic decent, because the ethnic category had made bombs in the past. Stating his build could have been anyone. Stating his personality traits also included many people in the same mental state as Metesky. Also noting that Metesky was a former or current worker of Edison Co, was a big sign as well. I feel as though all of these pieces of 'evidence' lacked scientific anything, they did however held uncover the bomber when these results were published. The inductions were just too close to home.
More information into George Metesky's life and work life at Consolidation Edison
Co.http://www.essortment.com/new-yorks-mad-bomber-32532.html
The story behind James Brussel and his involvement and progress throughout the case
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/3.html
-George Metesky
Chapter 1 of Minds on Trial discusses the case about the bombings in NYC and criminal profiler’s exact description of the bomber. George Meteksy, who referred to himself as “F.P.,” aka the “Mad Bomber”, worked for the electric power company United Electric, the company later merged with Consolidated Edison in New York City, in 1931 he was injured on the job and was denied workman’s comp from his employer. He was 1st put on sick leave, but was later fired. A bitter Metesky had written angry letters to company for years blaming them for his loss of a job and owing him money for medical bills. In 1940 planted his first homemade bomb in New York City outside of Con. Edison, with a note attached, this would be the 1st of 16 years of planted homemade bombs in New York City. He planted bombs that didn’t detonate until 1950, where a bomb he planted in a telephone booth at the New York City Library, but didn’t hurt anyone. Before that authorities concluded that it was someone who had held a grudge against Con. Edison, he also wrote letters to the media and wasn’t acknowledged, he wanted them to know his hate for the company, and how he would continue to plant bombs until justice was served according to him against the company for his pain and suffering. He began planting more bombs, even in movie theater seats; more telephones booths, even a subway locker. In 1956 he set bombs in more public places injury numerous people and destroying property. Dr. James Brussel, a psychiatrist who did an almost exact profile on who the Mad Bomber would be and it matched up Metesky. He hypothesized that the bomber was a stocky man, age ranging from 40 to 50, who was paranoid, unmarried, and living alone or with an older female relative in Connecticut, and possibly an immigrant. Meteksy wrote another note to the media after the release of what they thought the bomber’s profile would be and he gave a date that he was injured and that had he worked for Con. Edison. That gave authorities way in their search through records of former employee’s leading them to him. Psychological experts found that Metesky was mentally ill, suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, and not competent to stand trial, he serviced his sentence in hospitalization and was released in 1973.
The profiler used deductive profiling in this case, attempting to locate a suspect base on crime scene evidence, attempts to determine personality and motives. Even though the profile by Dr. Brussel helped bring Metesky forward with his letter of communication to the media, I think he would have been caught eventually, the profile could have been any average man and it was confused with a couple other men believed by society to have traits just like the bomber. I am not sure it was 100% necessary to have the profiler, yes it did help, but I think non-directly in a way they didn’t think would happen (with the letter with the date to give away his identity).
The description they gave of George in this article seems like it was out a movie, a bitter middle aged, unsatisfied with his life trying to blame/make his old employer pay for the pain they caused him. The way he handled himself in a calm manner when the police came to his home, the profiler’s description of him was dead on.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,723774,00.html
The profile of George Metesky, A.K.A. the Mad Bomber, done by Dr. Brussel in 1956 marks the beginning of criminal profiling. Starting in 1940, Metesky left bombs around New York City. His first one was left outside Consolidated Edison, an electrical company, along with a letter indicating the bomber, who was still unknown at the time, was unhappy, to say the least, with the company. The first bomb didn't detonate. Ten months later another bomb, that also didn't detonate, was found a few blocks away from Con Edison. A few months later Metesky sent a letter to the police stating that he wouldn't send any more bombs until the end of the war. This letter was postmarked in Westchester County, not far from NYC. Metesky didn't send any more bombs until 1950 when an unexploded bomb was found in Grand Central Station. About a month later a bomb exploded in a telephone booth outside of the public library, he mailed a bomb to Con Edison, and stuffed a bomb in movie theater seat. After this he sent a letter to New York Herald Tribune and called another newspaper to complain that they weren't covering his bombs. Over the next two years he planted another four bombs, some of which injured people. In 1956 he wrote to the New York Herald Tribune again, complaining that he still didn't get adequate coverage. After more bombs the NY police department asked for the help of psychiatrist, Dr. Brussel. Brussel studied the police records to develop a profile, and hypothesized other information regarding the suspect. Brussel knew that historically bombers were male. He hypothesized he was paranoid based on the feelings of persecution he expressed in his letters. He guessed his age based on what he knew of paranoid disorders peaking in the early thirties, and the bomber starting to send bombs sixteen years earlier. Brussel knew paranoid personalities tended to be loners, which helped him hypothesize the bomber's marital status. He hypothesized where the bomber lived based on the postmarks of the letters he sent. He thought the bomber may be of central or Eastern European decent because he used bombs as weapons, which was commonly done in this part of the world. The police gave the profile to the newspapers, who printed it. Metesky called Brussels to let him know he was dissatisfied with his profile, and wrote numerous letters to Con Edison where he eventually revealed that he was a former employee who was injured on the job and gave the date of his injury. One of the secretaries for the company ended up finding out Metesky's identity from that information, and from his repeated use of the phrase, "dastardly deeds." Two days later he was arrested. Dr. Brussel gave law enforcement a very detailed profile, but ultimately it had nothing to do with helping law enforcement find him. It was really the detailed letter Metesky wrote to Con Edison and the work of a secretary matching up dates and paying attention to similar wording, that lead to Metesky's capture. Although alot of the information in the profile was remarkably similar to Metesky, the profile didn't tell police anything useful that they didn't already know. I think some of the techniques used by Brussel to create the profile were scientifically valid. He could have looked at the probability of, and the statistics regarding, which gender or ethnicity was most likely to engage in these specific criminal activites. Other techniques used by Brussel weren't scientifically valid at all, they were a matter of Brussel's personal opinion. For example, Brussel believed Metesky unconsciously wrote the letter "W" to look like breasts because he had sexual problems and unresolved issues with his parents. I think it matters even if you end up catching the person in the end because the profile could lead to dead ends, pursuing an innocent person, and overlooking the guilty person. When it comes down to it investigators can come up with pretty much the same information given in profiles that are useful to the investigation. Because of everything mentioned above I think it's kind of a waste of time to do profiles since the common sense of the detectives can come up with the same information. I couldn't really find a ton of new information on this case. However, I did find out that when investigators went to arrest him they found ingredients to make a bomb that would have been larger than all the others.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Metesky
This chapter was about George Metesky, the “Mad Bomber.” The Mad Bomber ‘worked’ in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. During this time he placed 47 bombs in New York City telephone booths, theaters and at his former place of employment, Consolidated Edison Co. The reasoning behind it all? Metesky had previously been employed by Con Edison and had been injured on the job. He felt that the company owed him some sort of compensation that he believed led to his diagnosis of TB and prevented him from working again. He terrorized them with bomb threats, as well as the city, until someone corrected Con Edison’s grave mistake they made with him. He had a brief intermission where he stopped sending bombs during the war to show his patriotism, but resumed shortly after. He constantly wrote letters to the company and to the New York police and newspapers hoping to gain some attention. However, the police prevented the newspapers from printing his letters and this seemed to greatly upset him. He wanted the publicity so everyone could know how horrible Consolidated Edison Co seemed to be. The chapter continues to discuss different situations in which he placed his bombs including in telephone booths and on subway platforms. He also slashed movie theater seats and sometimes put them there. His bombs never killed anyone and very rarely injured people. In fact, more often than not his bombs never detonated. After discussing the background of the “Mad Bomber” the chapter moves on to his capture. It started when the police asked psychiatrist Dr. James Brussels to put together a profile of who the bomber may be. His profile stated that the bomber was single, paranoid, 40-50, lived in Connecticut, either alone or with female relatives, Catholic and a skilled mechanic who was from an Eastern European descent. Metesky was upset at the profile that was created and contacted Dr. Brussels and told him to leave the case and that if he didn’t he would be sorry! Eventually Metesky wrote letters to the newspaper complaining about his treatment by Con Edison and even offered information that he was injured in a work accident on September 5, 1931. At that time personnel from Consolidated Edison Co. went through records and finally determined that George Metesky was the “Mad Bomber.” When police went to Metesky’s residence with search and arrest warrants, Brussels profile was almost to a T. Metesky was 54, unmarried, stocky, living with his sisters, a former member of the US Marine Corps who had worked as a mechanic. He was a descendant of Lithuanian immigrants. Metesky was deemed incompetent to stand trial and spent almost 17 years in the New York state hospital for the criminally insane. He was released in 1973 and lived 21 years before dying at age 90. The chapter ended with Dr. Brussels questioning whether his profile really led to the capture of Metesky. In his opinion, he thought good ole fashioned police work was really was caught the “Mad Bomber.”
I read on the TruTV website that he slipped in and out of the buildings unnoticed in order to plant his bombs. At first the company looked into recently fired employees, but they and the police gave up on the case because they figured they wouldn’t find the bomber and they had ‘more pressing matters’ that they had to try to solve. I was surprised that even though the road may have been tough that they gave up on looking so soon. It makes you wonder if they would have pressed the issue harder at first if Metesky’s reign would have lasted the 16 years that it did!
Some of the profiling techniques used in the apprehension of Metesky include deductive AND inductive profiling. Dr. Brussels determined that the Mad Bomber was a male because in the past, known bombers have been males. He was using inductive profiling when he determined this. On the other hand, using different things from the crime scene like the slashing of the theater seats and the notes written and the handwriting of the notes, that was deductive profiling. He used information that was readily available and that applied to that specific case to come to the conclusions that he did. The rest, such as being Catholic and an immigrant was based off of clues like most Eastern immigrants were Catholic and the address from where he sent the letters was from Connecticut and most immigrants lived in Connecticut and that area.
In my opinion I don’t think the profile was the only thing that led to the apprehension of Metesky. I think that Dr. Brussels creating the profile sparked something inside of Metesky to stand up for himself in a sense. Because of this he gave up clues that eventually led to his capture. Determining whether those were inevitable or not, is difficult. So far Metesky hadn’t seemed to give up any clues to who he was. In fact, the reason the police used Brussels in the first place was because they were out of leads and needed to try something new. I think that this comes down to whether you think profiling is useful or not. And my answer to that is kind of. I think certain things seem to help, but like all things there are always downfalls. For instance, Brussels himself even said he knew that the police wasted time hunting down innocent people who fit his profile. They took those leads and went the wrong direction. I think profiling can help police get started in the right direction, but I know for a fact that that can’t be all you rely on! So while it did lead to his eventual capture, I don’t think that it was an integral part of it…just ‘a’ part of it. As far as the scientific validity of it, I don’t think it’s necessarily scientific. It seems more like someone’s good deduction and reasoning skills. I don’t think it’s a science. I think it’s someone who is well versed in certain subjects and truly understands humans. I also think it has to be someone who is good at analyzing data and understanding how that data can relate to other situations. That doesn’t seem scientific. I don’t think that if you had 3 profilers look at one crime that each would come up with the EXACT same profile of a criminal. Part of that problem is that to be scientifically valid, it has to be repeatable and consistent. Therein lies the problem….While it is great that you can catch criminals through this, I agree that it doesn’t replace good ole detective work. I liked what was said in class “it doesn’t catch the criminal, but it gives the tools to catch the criminal.” I think that profiling is helpful and should be used when necessary, but I don’t think it should be heavily relied upon and be the only evidence one has before accusing people of a crime.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/1.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,723774,00.html
Chapter 1 in Minds on Trial discusses the case of the "Mad Bomber." The "Mad Bomber"/ George Metesky/ F.P(fair play),placed bombs around the New York City area for 16 years. However, he did take a break during WWII for "patriotic feelings" which I thought was very interesting. When first reading this chapter, I automatically assumed that Metesky was a kind of lonely loser, being that most of his bombs didn't even ignite, and when they did they rarely injured anyone. I also assumed this because, his bombs were, more often than not, placed quarterly throughout the year. I quickly noticed a pattern too, with his need to place bombs in movie theater seats (which turned out to be due to the Oedipus complex)-- another reason that made me assume that this "bomber" was a loser. I couldn't help but think, who bombs a movie theater? In hindsight, I see that Metesky was in need of attention. He was constantly writing letters and making phone calls to either the police or local newspapers. He wanted attention and believed that his bombs were justified. It was clear that his bombs were aimed at hurting Cod Edison (his prior workplace). This was made clear at the first bomb with a note that read CON EDISON CROOKS—THIS IS FOR YOU. From the beginning, cops new that he was either a worker or former worker of Con Edison but they had no leads to help them unravel the thousands of files held by the larger company. In 1955, the "Mad Bombers' bomb went from quarterly to bimonthly and they were beginning to improve in size, technique, and efficiency. Cops called in the help of Dr. James Brussel, a former chief psychiatrist for the Army during WWII and the Korean War. The police force was exhausted and they believed that if Brussel could help profile who the bomber was that he may come forward or that people may start to notice who it is. Brussel was very weary of the project and admitted that he had no experience in this exact thing nor did he know if he would be able to help at all. However, Brussel was able to hypothesize that the bomber was paranoid, stocky (physical attribute of those suffering with paranoia), 40-50 years old, had some kind of military work, was Slovik immigrant (bombs are popular weapons there) and that he either lived a lone or with older woman. Last but not least, Brussel said that the perpetrator would most likely be seen with a double-breasted suit, coat buttoned. The police force decided to go public with this profile in attempt to lure the bomber in. And with ease, it worked. Metesky wrote another letter, only this time, he included why he was holding a grudge against Con Edison. He said he was injured Sept. 5, 1931 at work and was not paid money for his injuries or his the tuberculosis he attained from it.This eventually led to the arrest of George Metesky after working through all the paper works of Con Edison. And to my surprise, Brussel's profile was correct, right down to Double-breasted coat, even buttoned. Metesky was found unstable to stand trial, served years in the mental hospital, and lived his last 21 years in freedom.
According to the book, this may have been one of the 1st cases of psychological profiling to solve a crime. However, it was made clear that it was not Brussel's profiling that solved the crime, he helped, but ultimately it was the hard work of the police and those dedicated at Con Edison. Even Brussel was modest in his account of the situation, and admitted that his profile led authorities down several blind alleys.
I have always thought the profiling was almost 100 percent effective and that it almost always led the police to the perpetrator. After reading this chapter and our other assignment for today, I feel a little dumb. Profiling can lead to wrong accusations, tunnel vision, and wrong paths. And while it may be helpful to the investigation, it is rarely, if ever, the reason why justice is served. Old fashioned hard work and dedication is why justice is brought to the table.
This chapter of Minds on Trial focused on the Mad Bomber who later was found to be George Metesky or as he referred to himself ‘F.P.” He has been leaving bombs and threating letters for almost 16 years in the New York City area, specifically targeted at the Consolidated Edison’s power company. His first bombs that were left never detonated and this puzzled police officers, because they didn’t know if he was doing this or purpose or if he was unskilled in making bombs. They felt that he was doing this for a reason because he would leave notes on the bombs that were intended to be read. Police also receive mail directly from F.P. and they attempted to use his letters as a way of tracking him down but they were unsuccessful in doing so. Later F.P. began having success if detonating his bombs in public, specifically in phone booths, movie theaters and at Grand Central Station. These explosions did not lead to any deaths but did result in a number of injuries.
This is where Dr. James Brussel came into the pictures. He was a former chief psychiatrist for the Army during World War II and the Korean War. After studying the case of the mad bomber, Brussel soon came up with a profile that he felt would help police narrow down their search and possibly lead them to F.P.. His profile included the description of a single man, between 40 and 50. A lone wolf. Introverted. Unsocial but not anti-social. Skilled mechanic. Immigrant. Disinterested with women. Resentful of criticism of his work but probably conceals resentment. These along with a number of other inferences including where he lived and what type of clothing he would most likely be wearing. After releasing this profile, F.P. contacted authorities and complained of his inaccurate description while unintentionally revealing an important detail that broke the case. Detectives were able to look through company files and find George Metesky who was injured on the job on the date that F.P. indicated in his letter. After Metesky was found and taken in my police, was when Brussel’s profile began receiving wide spread attention. His profile almost matched the profile of Metesky perfectly. Brussel was even able to predict what kind of suit Metesky would be wearing when he appeared in court.
People were astonished when they thought of the possibilities profiling could bring to law enforcement agencies, but were surprised by the downplay Brussel had on his work, claiming more to the idea that it was logical deducting and could have helped or hurt the detective team. And to this I agree, I think that his profile was well thought out but was too general to point police in one direction. I think that if police would have kept communicating with F.P. and entice him enough that he would have eventually slipped up like he did, and he would have been caught that way. I don’t think that Brussel’s profile actually did much good for the case; it may have even prevented them from making progress by following leads that supposedly matched the profile of F.P. I don’t think this technique used was scientifically valid because there was no solid evidence to go on, only characteristics and ideas that could be assumed. However, I think that as long as the criminal is caught it shouldn’t matter how. It could have been bad luck on Metesky’s part but that wouldn’t matter in the eyes of the law.
I did some additional information about the Mad Bomber case on the internet and found that there is also a hat called the ‘Mad Bomber Hat’ not sure if this has anything to do with the actual case but just thought everybody should know. But actually pertaining to this case I found out some people think that the Mad Bomber actually influenced more crimes including the Unabomber and the Zodiac Killer, but I would have to do some more research into those cases and see what kind of similarities came about. Another interesting thing I found was an article about a director who was approached about doing a musical based on a man from Waterbury Connecticut, who just happened to be Metesky. This article talks about why Metseky is so well know and how people from his hometown are “ people are practically born knowing about this.” It goes through the director’s discovery of the Mad Bomber and how he felt it could be made into a play. The article presents the general history of Metesky while transforming these real events to scenes on stage. It is a really interesting article but kind of bizarre but I encourage you to read it and see how this criminal inspired a musical interpretation of his life, creatively entitled “The Mad Bomber”.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/9.html
http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/news/featured-news/musical-revisits-connecticuts-homegrown-terrorist-george-metesky-032665
This was another interesting chapter in minds on trial. This is about the MAD BOMBER or George Metesky who was a psychologically disturbed middle aged man. Metesky had a certain modes openandi that he used while he committed his offence. He basically made bombs at his house and then used to plant them at various public places over the span of several years .He also wrote continuous letters to the police and various newspapers conveying any spot of displeasures he had even his reasons for his actions. George Metesky did all this cause of his anger towards a company where he was previously worked for known as consolidated Edison. He had a lot of anger due to the damages he had suffered at work which according to him was contracting TB virus while at work and being injured several times at work, but despite constant demands from his employers for disability compensation he did not receive any response to his requests. This he claimed was the reason why he targeted the consolidated Edison and called them crooks and talked about putting them to justice in the various letters le left with the bombs he had planted or the letters that he had sent to the various newspapers.
This has been called one of the cases where profiling has been extremely accurate in the early days by first psychiatrists who used it in the modern era .There were various techniques which were used by the psychiatrist were the inductive profiling technique and also a mixture with deductive profiling. It can be said that inductive profiling was used by Dr. James Brussel as he made a lot of inferences and use of the research statistics while coming up with George Metesky’s profile, for example he stated that the bomber was stalky and he stated this based on the criteria that he was paranoid and recent study conducted at that time had found that that 85% of paranoid individuals were stalky. Other techniques used were geographic profiling by looking at the stamps on the letters and determining the place where he was living and also behavioral analysis ie that he was angry with con Edison hence was a past employee possibly.
I think they had a high impact on Metesky being caught eventually as the profile generated by Dr.Brusells was very similar to the reality and this profile was actually used by the investigators while tracking George Metesky down, this profile was even published and was eventually the cause of Metesky getting caught. On the other hand it is also stated in the chapter that even if the profile was not used there were several things which were only common sense but were not really paid attention by the police like the letters that he was the letters he were sending were all directed to Con Edison and it was clear that George Metesky had some sort of grudge with the company only if the police would have looked at the past employees of the company they surely would have got many clues as to who the Mad Bomber was ,so in this case the profiling was effective as it was used but if this detail was examined there would have been no need to use the profile. I have read about profiling and it is mentioned several times that profiling is not scientifically valid and also learnt in class today that it cannot be used in court but yet I think that it is an effective way to gain some knowledge about the criminal ,it may not be accurate and made use of all the time and in all cases but at the same time in other cases it may provide the investigators with some extremely relevant and useful information which can eventually help them solve the case and arrest the criminal.
Following is the link to an arctice from the APA website about this case
http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/criminal.aspx
George Metseky became known as the "Mad Bomber" and referred to himself as F.P. which stood for "fair play" and ultimately shows his whole philosophy in his attempts to get back at the Consolidated Edison company, his former employer, to in essence treat them as they treated him which is where he derived the term "fair play." Metseky is notoriously known for planting bombs around New York City for over sixteen years without ever being identified or publicly recognized.The starting line in this whole scandal took place on September 5, 1931 in which George was working for Consolidated Edison and was injured by hot gases from one of the companies boilers and never received compensation for the injury and claimed to live a life of misery and suffering. He soon got fired and developed tuberculosis, which he believed to be the result of the incident. In summation he never was granted any sort of aid and was cut from the job as if nothing had ever happened.
In retaliation Metesky went on a rampage with administering bombs all over the city in places like that of phone booths, movie theaters, and Grand Central Station. One very odd thing about the "Mad Bomber's" technique was that he left notes with his bombs and left rather obvious clues in those notes. His first attempt never did detonate and read "Con Edison crooks--this is for you." Continuing on in his pursuit to get redemption he would consistently leave notes with his bombs that would sometimes explode and others never go off. George then sent a letter to police saying "I will make no more bomb units for the duration of the war-My patriotic feelings have made me decide this-Later I will bring the Con Edison to justice-They will pay for their dastardly deeds. F.P." True to his word the bombs and notes stopped for four years and apparently F.P. was done.
In 1950 the most feared had returned as George was back at his attack and even sent a hand-printed letter to the New York Herald Tribune stating that justice is to be served. He stated he wanted to show how important he was and would not stop. For fear of possible hoaxes the police and press did not publish these writings for the public to see. With the bombs coming in faster rates and the letters only growing Metesky showed his frustration at the limited media attention he had received and threatened only more to come.
After an explosion in 1956 as the bombs kept coming, authorities had enough and round up fifty detectives to the case, offered $25,000 reward for any information, and enlisted the famous Dr. James Brussel to develop a profile and a plan to capture the "Mad Bomber." Brussel devised an idea that the suspect was male, stocky, 40-50 years old, paranoid, unmarried, living in Connecticut, would wear a double-breasted suit, and probably an Immigrant from Europe. Brussel then advised authorities to publicize this profile in an effort to get George to communicate directly with them. Once Metesky caught drift of the publication he personally called Brussel and said he best take himself of the case or else.
After the profile was out and the letters continued to pile up George released some incriminating evidence within his letters in which he stated the cause of his frustration and the date for which the incident had occured. The police force contacted Con Edison and had a secretary look through the mass amount of files and triggered a match with that of George Metesky. Once officials had arrived at the house in Connecticut they found a stocky, unmarried, fifty-four year old male who lived with his two older sisters. He was found to be a member of the U.S. Marine Corps who had learned bomb making while serving. He would soon admit that he was the bomber indeed and volunteered that his "F.P." status stood for "fair play."
Confirming the facts, the truth came out that once his mother had died Metesky graduated from high school and entered the Marines in which he became a trained electrician. After the service, he worked as a generator cleaner for two years for United Electric, a company that later merged with Consolidated Edison. After his incident and loss of the job he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent time in TB sanitariums. He became unemployed and gave up on convincing his former employer that he indeed contracted the tuberculosis from his on-the-job accident and was never entitled disability compensation. Here he put his electrical and metal-working skills to work and built bombs in a workshop within his own basement.
He claimed of planting 54 bombs, but only 32 were discovered while 21 did in fact detonate injuring numerous people with a few very seriously. He was charged with forty-seven separate crimes, seven counts of attempted murder, found mentally ill, suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, and not competent to stand trial. He was confined to a Matteawan State Hospital for the "criminally insane," served his maximum sentence of 25 years, and was release in 1973 where he returned to Connecticut and lived another twenty-one years and dying at the age of ninety.
Dr. Brussel's role in this case is often referred to as the first instance of American law enforcements use of psychological profiling to solve a crime. In reality it is obvious that the profile administered by Brussel really did little, if anything at all. It may have only led authorities into dead ends as one today would see the apparent connection with the notes and the Consolidated Edison from the start and could end this case in a much faster sense in today's world. Brussel used his own knowledge base along with inductive reasoning to create a general portrait of the suspect but in fact it was the investigative police work that caught the "Mad Bomber" and not the profile that ultimately led to much drama and dead end results.
The profiling techniques used in this case were that of a Intuitive Approach by that of James Brussel in that he used his own judgment and instinct to develop a potential portrait.I see the "signature" aspect of profiling also playing out here as the notes and writing style were noted to correlate consistently along with bombs themselves. George, I feel, would also hit on another topic in criminal profiling in that he was an organized criminal in that he planned his crimes out, reflected control, and followed the media accounts of his crime. Lastly I seen the idea of "racial profiling" present in this case as well when Brussel associated his bomb fascination to him being that of a Slavic denomination.
As far as the profile being integral to his ultimate capture I can argue along side that of the author in that I don't believe that it was this publication of the profile that instigated the initial capture. George was already communicating with the public and I think it was only a matter of time before he would reveal the incident date and reasoning behind his work. If anything I see this process at fault here in that if the profile had not been publicized, and a better account for the direct evidence given had been better examined this chase would have been much shorter. In his first note one should automatically start with all present/prior employees that had seem to, or would have a reason to be upset. I see the profile in relation to his capture as one that bought Metesky time as it caused many hoaxes to occur, created a tunnel vision, and took the pursuit off course. In support the text said after the publication of Brussel's profile the bomb squad received about 50 bomb threats a day just by the mere fact of posers and people copying the acts. The profile caused many detours that could have been avoided, but in saying that I have no support because one will never know. In regards to if it is scientifically valid, I guess, it would depend on a case by case basis. In this case I guess the judgment and instinct of Brussel showed to be somewhat accurate but then again there were multiple assumptions that were far off. So in a science standpoint i would throw this out due to it being an individuals perception based on common sense facts that he linked together. In the end, I guess it sort of matters if you catch the person in respect to see how accurate the actual profile is. Ultimately NO, it is completely useless once you catch the perpetrator because inferences are only valid until the resolution is found.My thoughts to this idea is that in court no one would bring up Brussel's idea that he guessed to be male, this age, unmarried, etc. because it has no relevance. The only time it matters is when in pursuit. Once in custody, no one cares about initial inferences that led you to this man.
In my further research I found some interesting insights. The idea that the "Mad Bomber" did his work immediately before and after war created a great sense of fear upon the city as if creating a sense in which he held New York City hostage. He was very intelligent in his work as fingerprints were never found and trace evidence was impossible. The initial target of his acts was that of Consolidated Edison,which was and still is currently the utility giant that supplies New York with all of its energy. The first bomb was found within a wooden tool box upon a window sill in one of the offices. It was stated that since this corporation is so massive and the offices so big and continually busy with activity it would be extremely easy for a stranger to come in and out without being drawn to. In another light my research showed that Brussel's hiring of the job was what appeared volunteer. Brussel said in a excerpt that I had read the he felt extremely intimidated by his fellow co-workers on the case and knew they wouldn't go for anything but a sound conclusion and a vibrant profile. I see this personally as maybe a type of bias as we have discovered before, this may be a reason he generated the way he did to in a fashion provide sound convincing facts where in idea that they may not have been as strong as they were portrayed. He made these assumptions sound rather convincing in the idea that he felt pressure and a need to get the case rolling.
Websites used:
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/3.html
The chapter depicted the investigation of the “Mad Bomber” from the investigator’s point of view. It told about how the case started in November of 1940 when a bomb was left on the door step of Consolidated Edison. Luckily, they bomb never detonated. Over the span of 16 years, 32 bombs were placed around New York City. Nobody was ever killed by one of the bombs and ten never detonated. The chapter really focuses on Dr. James A. Brussel, a criminal psychiatrist who was assigned to the “Mad Bomber” case. Dr. Brussel was able to pull together past knowledge he knew about criminals and basic facts to construct a profile for the “Mad Bomber”. When George Metesky was finally arrested, the profile fit him even down to the clothes he wore.
The profiling techniques that Dr. Brussel used to profile the “Mad Bomber” were a combination of knowledge and inductive reasoning. The example used in the book was that any past bomber that Dr. Brussel knew of had all been males, there for, the “Mad Bomber” was most likely male. Using this same technique, he was also able to reason the “Mad Bomber’s” religion, his background, the kind of person he was, who he lived with, and where he most likely lived.
Although the resulting arrest proved that Dr. Brussel was very much correct in his profiling techniques, they also fit a verity of men at the time. This resulted in the police spending very much time following up leads that ended up being wild goose chases. Dr. Brussel was right on target when he constructed his profile, but even in the book it talks about how vague the description was for that time period. I think that profiling can assist an investigation on a case-to-case basis but I don’t think it is fully scientifically valid as many people feel it is or should be. Many people take offence to the profiling (mainly people who feel targeted who did not commit a crime) but it has provided in some cases the brake through needed to close the case.
Even in the book it is said that it comes down to sheer dumb luck. By releasing the profile, the George Metesky revealed enough information about himself to result in him getting caught. He revealed the day of his accident that led to his unemployment and then the company he used to work for could narrow down what records to look up. He also used the same wording in the paper work he filed in the letters he also sent to the press. I don’t think he was really trying to hide from any one so I don’t think that he let information ‘slip’ on accident. In the end, George Metesky turned out to be just as mentally unstable as Dr. Brussel had predicted.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,723774-1,00.html
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/1.html
The first chapter of Minds on Trial talks about George Metesky aka the “Mad Bomber” who randomly planted bombs in New York City for over sixteen years. The first bomb was left outside of the Consolidated Edison Electric Company’s headquarters. It was wrapped in a noted that said “Con Edison crooks—this is for you.” This was especially peculiar since the note would not have been found if the bomb had been detonated. Nearly a year later another bomb was found a few blocks away from the headquarters. Again, it was not detonated. Again, months went by without any more bombs being found and the mad bomber had not been heard from until he sent a note saying he would not place anymore bombs until the war was over. He cited patriotic reasons for this decision. The note was signed “F.P.” He kept his word and did not place another bomb in the city until 1950 when a third explosive was found. It, too, did not explode. The Mad Bomber then went on a rampage, placing 5 more bombs by the end of the year. If he was trying to hurt people, he was very unsuccessful as no one had been injured yet. He sent letters to the newspaper very angry he was not the coverage he felt he deserved. Over the next few years, more bombs came and they were increasingly more advanced in their design. People also began to be injured in the explosions as well. No one had been killed, but the public was no aware there was a deranged man out there placing bombs throughout the city. F.P. became more confident and increased the volume of the letters to the media and police. Fearing they would not be able to stop this man, the police called in psychiatrist Dr. James Brussel to assist in the Mad Bomber’s capture. Although reluctant at first, he eventually created a fairly accurate profile for the Mad Bomber. He said he was single, between 40 and 50. A loner. The mad bomber was also likely a skilled mechanic who was either an immigrant or a first generation American. He was more than likely religious and probably Catholic and a former or current employee of Consolidated Edison. He also thought he had progressive paranoia. Lastly, his profile said he would be found wearing a double breasted suit when he was found.
This profile may make it seem like Brussel had psychic abilities, but really he just thought logically about who it would be. In fact, it even lead authorities down some dead ends initially. In the end, his profile was very accurate down to the clothes Metesky was wearing when found. When examined further, it is not as impressive as it seems at first. He knew most bombers were men and Slavic people often used bombs as their weapon of choice. Going from that, he knew that most Slavic people were Catholic. He also said he would be wearing a suit, which he was. Today that fact would be impressive, but back then most people wore suits. It wasn’t as much of a stretch as it may seem. This is all very cool, but it really didn’t help authorities catch Metesky. Metesky felt the need to reply to this published profile and in one of the letters he gave a clue to why he was upset with the company. He revealed the date in which he was injured on the job, which in his mind caused his firing. The profile Brussel made did not capture Metesky, but rather the publication of the profile did.
The technique used by Brussel is not really scientifically valid but rather a lot of assumptions and leaps. He did play the percentages when saying the bomber was a man, but leaping to him being Catholic and wearing suits would not be considered scientific. This is just an educated guess with no real evidence behind it. His explanations make sense, but it would not stand up in court, for example. I don’t really think it matters that it wasn’t scientific. As long as no one else gets hurt and the city doesn’t have to live in fear, it shouldn’t matter how the person is caught. I think profiling today is a very useful tool, but it will never actually solely catch a criminal. It undoubtedly assists investigators, but alone would not do much good.
This article paints a picture of a pleasant man who was just trying to bring justice to the company who had wronged him. This makes the picture of in the book make more sense. I initially found it odd how happy he looked, but apparently he was a happy guy in general.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,723774,00.html
This chapter of the series shows how qualified Brussel really was to become one of the first profilers.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/3.html
This chapter in Minds on Trial was about George Metesky who was better known as the "Mad Bomber". Between 1940 and the late 1950's he placed multiple bombs throughout New York. In Metesky's earliest bombs, he left a note attached to the bombs. His first bomb was left outside the headquarters of the city's electric power company, Consolidate Edison, on November 16, 1940. The note that was left with this bomb read "Con Edison crooks, this is for you". Many of Metesky's bombs never detonated, however, there were quite a few that did. Luckily no one was killed by his bombs, but at least 2 dozen were injured. Heady with a post war economic boom, the greatest port in the most powerful nation that ever existed — the mysterious "Mad Bomber" was holding the city hostage with fear. Metesky admitted that the reason for his targets against Consolidate Edison was because he was a disgruntled former employee. Metesky stated that he developed tuberculosis as the result of being struck by hot gasses fro one of the company's boilers. According to the records, Metesky was knocked to the floor by the backfire of the boiler and had not received any aid until he was discovered hours later. Metesky was then fired from the company and his worker's compensation claim had been denied because it lacked substantiation and had not been filed in a timely manner. In 1956 the police working the "Mad Bomber" case enlisted the help of psychiatrist, Dr. James Brussel. Brussel hypothesized that the bomber was a stocky man in the forty to fifty age range who was paranoid, unmarried, living in Connecticut, and probably an immigrant fro central or eastern Europe. Besides just creating a profile of the bomber, Brussel help the police come up with an idea as to how to go about catching him. Brussel told the police that they should publicize the profile that he had created in a effort to draw the bomber into communication with them. Brussel's plan worked, and the bomber called him to let him know how displeased he was with his profile. Metesky unknowingly gave himself up in that phone call when he let the information slip that he had worked at Consolidate Edison and the date of his accident. AWith that information the police had all of the old records of Consolidate Edison employees pulled until they found what they were looking for. When the police went and arrested Metesky they found that Brussel's profile had been extremely accurate. He was a stocky, unmarried, fifty-four-year old son of Lithuanian immigrants. Brussel also commented that Metesky would more than likely be wearing a double-breasted suit with the coat buttoned and when Metesky changed out of his pajamas during his arrest he changed into that double-breasted suit.
Although Brussel's profile of the "Mad Bobmer" was very much accurate, none of the actual profile itself brought the "Mad Bomber" to justice. Because Metesky was already actively communicating with the police, it would seem obvious that eventually he would have mentioned to them about his accident while working under Consolidate Edison, which would have led to his arrest. However, the publishing of Brussel's profile did prompt the bomber to call in and give the information up sooner which may have possibly saved more people from his future bombs. In the matter of the technical validity of profiling Brussel himself said that profiling is not a science, it is more of an art. Common sense, crafty thinking, and a bit of luck can be a key part of profiling. The only problem that can come with profiling is the fact that sometimes it can lead police down a completely wrong path. Even if eventually they do catch the perpetrator, if the profile hadn't led them astray then they might have caught them before they hurt anyone else. My thoughts on the matter of profiling is that sometimes it can be helpful while most of the time it can hinder the police investigation.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/1.html
George Metesky was responsible for the implantation of homemade bombs in New York City in 1940. Metesky described that he wanted to get revenge on Consolidated Edison. He placed a bomb near the power plant. Attached to the homemade bomb was a note (which was supposed to be destroyed in the explosion) that threatened the company. Metesky also placed bombs in other public places across New York City—one bomb was found in a seat of a movie theater. Metesky wrote a note declaring he would not make or place bombs in New York City during the war (World War II). However, in 1950, Metesky declared that it was time to continue fighting for justice. Metesky wanted to make Con Edison “pay for their dastardly deeds.” At this time, law enforcement called for help from a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist, named James Brussel, was hired to create the profile for the Mad Bomber.
With his experience and knowledge in psychology, Brussel created a profile to describe the Mad Bomber. He described who the Mad Bomber would most likely be, where he thought the Mad Bomber lived, and what the Mad Bomber did. His description of the man was as follows: a man who is between 40 and 50, Roman Catholic, foreign-born, single, and living with a brother or sister. This description could identify quite a few people in reality. Brussel continued, “when you find him, chance s are he’ll be wearing a double-breasted suit. Buttoned.” In fact, the policed tracked and arrested George Metesky. Metesky was an unemployed, single, male who lived with two sisters. In fact, when he was arrested, he was asked to change out of his bathrobe and into different clothes. When he came out from the bathroom, shockingly enough, he was wearing a double breasted, blue suit—and was buttoned.
Officials learned more about Metesky while he was taken into custody. Officials learned about Metesky’s grief with Con Edison. He described that he contracted tuberculosis on the job, wanting disability compensation. Later Metesky explained that he built bombs in his basement. In all, Metesky was charged for 47 crimes and 7 counts of attempted murder. To understand what was going through Meteksy’s mind, psychologists found that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Metesky was considered dangerous and “criminally insane.”
In this case, Brussel’s accurate profile of the criminal was impeccable; however, as the authors of the book Minds on Trial state, “ It really did little, if anything, to assist police in identifying the unknown perpetrator” (p. 13). The police can use the profiles to get a sense of a criminal, but the profiles are not very reliable or valid. In fact, as the textbook explained, profiles may lead police in every which way; therefore, profiling is not very reliable.
I feel that it is good that they caught the criminal. However, learning that profiling not scientific, I would not rely on criminal profiling. It is scary to think that I could fit the characteristics a profiler draws up. One profile can also fit more than one person. With this said, there are numerous opportunities for law officials to track down and punish an innocent person when following criminal profiling. Although, I was shocked to learn that the profile of the man was correct. Like I mentioned before, personally, I would not strictly rely of profiling for any case.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/1.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,723774,00.html
These articles detail the story about the “Mad Bomber.” The Time’s Magazine article is interesting, describing the arrest.
http://wn.com/George_Metesky
This site presents a slideshow, describing the story about the “Mad Bomber.” This was a different way to learn this information.
Chapter 1 of Minds on Trial discusses George Metesky, a Lithuanian immigrant who went on a bombing spree in New York. After a few bombings he mailed letters to the Police and to newspapers. The messages he left revealed details about his past and current situation. The police hired a criminal psychiatrist to come up with a profile for the bomber and he was able to come up with one based on several known details. He was a bomber which lead the profiler to believe he was an immigrant most likely of Slavic descent. The W's in his letters had rounded bottoms which lead the profiler the bomber was sexually frustrated and the tone of his notes lead him to believe the bomber was paranoid/psychotic. He finally concluded that the bomber would be stocky as other bombers in the past had been and that he would be wearing a double breasted button down suit.
After the bomber revealed that he was a previously an employee for Con Edison, a power company in New York, and had been injured on a specific date, the police were able to locate him. Just as the psychiatrist had suspected he was a stocky Lithuanian immigrant diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. At the time of his arrest he was wearing a bath robe but the police allowed him to change before being taken into the station. He changed into a buttoned up double breasted suit.
While no specific profiling techniques were mentioned, Brussels used several methods for developing his profile. He relied on common sense and general knowledge based on profiles of previous offenders, he derived some information using his psychological experience, and he baited the criminal by posting his profile in the newspaper. This profile ended up being a very small factor contributing to his capture. In fact, it might have lead police down several dead ends. And his conjectures certainly had no scientific validity as all were based on speculation. In all cases, if no aspects of a persons profile are known, developing a possible profile is helpful; especially if said profile is based on characteristics proven true of the majority of past offenders or similar crimes. Any profile is better than no profile but I think a hypothesized profile should only be developed if NO information on the actual profile of a perp is known.
Chapter One is about George Metesky, the “Mad Bomber.” He left his first bomb outside of Consolidated Edison in 1940. And his bombs would be left for nearly 16 years to follow. The bomb never detonated, which was peculiar because there was a note attached and that would have never been found if it would have detonated. Just ten months later, another bomb was discovered a few blocks away , again it did not detonate. This led many to wonder if he was after attention or not constructing the bombs correctly.
It was acknowledged the bombs were from the same person and this person had a grudge against Consolidated Edison. After another bomb, unexploded, was discovered police felt it was just a matter of time before someone was injured from his actions. The actions continued, some bombs exploded causing property damage and the perpetrator even started writing letters to the newspapers but the papers did not print the letters fearing it was what he wanted. Throughout the next years, he continued to leave bombs, increasing the frequency.
By 1956 he was almost requested the media attention and when he seemed to be dissatisfied he planted more bombs, even injuring people from the detonations. After this incident, the city hired Dr. James Brussel, a psychiatrist . Brussel soon created a profile of the “Mad Bomber.” He predicted the man to be between 40-50 years old, unmarried, paranoid, living in Connecticut and an immigrant from Eastern Europe. All of these ideas came from his observations. Brussel also was key in capturing Metesky by putting his story on the media, expecting him to be unable to keep himself contained.
Metesky did as expected and contacted the media once his story was out, but he was still demanding money for medical bills caused from an injury while working at Consolidated Edison. This led the police to investigate records to see who the individual might be. This ultimately led them to George Metesky who was arrested two days later. He was charged with 47 different crimes but he was found to be mentally ill. He was then confined to a secure hospital. He was never found competent to stand trial.
Some of the key evidence that led Brussel to the assisted capture of Metesky was his look at the details. Metesky was leaving notes talking of Consolidated Edison and an “injury.” I think this is what ultimately led to his arrest, without knowing where he worked or of the injury he had and the bills that were left unpaid there would have been no real lead. As for the scientific authenticity of Brussel’s methods, I am leery. His overall description was quite vague and his motives were even more vague. To say he was at one time an employee at Consolidated Edison did not narrow it down much. He was shockingly right in his profile but I feel some of this was luck. It is kind of hard to knock someone for such a technique when they figured out who was the “Mad Bomber.” I would just be hesitant to say it will always work this way, even for it to happen a few more times. Overall, this is an issue that will never be one way. Sometimes profiling will work and help and sometimes it will not. Some crimes cannot benefit from profiling while others, such as serial killers, would greatly benefit. It is a situational technique. I found it interesting that some of his bombs were still being discovered after his arrest. Numerous ones went without discovery for years.
http://theboweryboys.blogspot.com/2010/05/crazy-tale-of-mad-bomber-1950s-new-york.html
http://wapedia.mobi/en/George_Metesky
The chapter was about a man, George Metesky, who began bombing many public places in New York due to his frustration with an old employer. After 'several' attempts of trying to get anyone's attention and the several attempts of being denied, he finally got so mad and this is probably what drove him crazy, he started putting skills he learned in the military to use. Many bombs went off that could have hurt several before the investigators truly started a good search for him, and due to the low publicity that he got, it made him more enraged and create more drama. Had he gotten the attention in the first place, it probably all could have been avoided.
The profiling techniques were said to be common sense and a mix of psychological knowledge. The doctor (Brussel) looked at the language he used and what he was doing as his crime in the first place to realize that he was male, probably of Slavic descent and probably had military training of some sort. He then drew on the evidence of the letters to find where he was probably from. He then looked at the evidence with another view to realize he probably had sexual problems and lived with an older female relative, etc. Though, the conclusive profile was absolutely correct and spot-on, I don't believe any of that needed to be known to search for Metesky in the first place. The investigators didn't go on the street and subject out people that 'looked' like this person, so it doesn't seem like it was needed for the initial search. The whole time, the doctor said he didn't play a huge role and that he didn't think what he said had truly mattered so it doesn't seem that it really mattered once Metesky had been captured. The fact that he analyzed the evidence for no purpose just seems like it's a waste of time and good money to pay for a career for no reason. The police forces should just hire a normal person and train them with these techniques just as a side unit like a special victims, drug task force, etc.
Overall, I was quite surprised that Metesky couldn't stand trial, ever. After looking at his release info and notes that the doctor had written about him while visiting, he was always nice and normal. He never was an issue in the hospital and he had lived a normal life. But just because he heard voices and felt certain feelings, he was unfit for trial and therefore didn't complete his full sentence he should have had. I think they go too easy on mentally ill and 'older' criminals. Another thing is, some criminals have copycats, and for Metesky, he has multiple. His legacy lives on through the unabomber and the zodiac bomber. http://www.essortment.com/new-yorks-mad-bomber-32532.html
The Chapter in Minds on Trial was about a man named George Metesky. Metesky was known by the public as the "Mad Bomber", but refered to himself as F.P. which stands for fair play. He called himself this because he made several attempts at retaliation towards his former employer, Consolidation Edison Company. Metesky was notoriously known throughout New York for planting bombs around town, while evading police. September 5, 1931, was the day that sparked this whole ordeal. On that day Metesky was injured while working with hot gas and the company did not show him any sort of compensation for the accident that Metesky claimed led his life to misery. Shortly after the accident, he was terminated from his position and developed an illness. All this he blamed on the injury he sustained on September 5th. This was when Metesky decided he needed to get back at his former employer.
Eventually, Metesky began placing bombs in different places throughout New York. Sometimes in movie theaters, or by buildings, or even in phone booths. Sometimes the bombs would go off, other times they didnt. But everytime there was a note attached to it. These explosions would go on from 1940-1957 but there was a gap between the incidents. When America went to war F.P sent a note to the police stating that he would not set off anymore bombs until the war was over. This was because of his "patriotic feelings". But just like he promised, his bombings continued after the end of WWII, and continued until 1957. In 1956 Dr. Brussel came forward with information about the bomber, giving a likely profile of the perp.
Eventually police were able to use the profile to catch Metesky and charge him with several different crimes, such as attempted murder.
Despite what some would consider helpful profiling, i think that Brussels profile was rather broad so it was obvious that Metesky would fit into some of the categories. I felt that with all the attention that the Mad Bomber was recieving and the contact he had with authority that eventually the Mad Bomber would have been brought to justice. With or without the help of Dr. Brussels.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/1.html
chapter one in mind on trial was simply about George Metesky and his home made bombs. Metesky case was a case of anger and hate; I state this because from the look of the case, Metesky was angry at the fact that he was let go from working, he was angry that in his time of need no one was around. i believe when Metesky injuries accrued on the job at Consolidated Edison,the company decided to let Metesky go with no sort of income that may have helped him cover his huge medical bills thats why he was angry. i also believe metesky questioned himself over and over of how can he pay this bill if he no longer has a job that brings in the cash...with that anger built in side Metesky turned into a serial psychopath. this chapter stated that Metesky began building bombs and planting then in the city of New York with a note on it, the reason for his action was to "bring Edison Before the bar of Justice" Metesky reason for a justices request was simply to get revenge on his former Employer Edison.
The profiling techniques used here were based on common sense and psychological profiling, and deductive profiling. I state this because, Dr. Brussels determined that the Mad Bomber was a single male between age 40-50,present or former employee of consolidated Edison, resentful of criticism of his work, resentment keep growing. with this information any one with common sense and skills can guess this just by paying close attention to the case cause for one his bombs where targeted at the company, two the creation of the bombs was not to kill but to threaten. using common sense in cases like this may have cause the residents of New York their lives and the innocents worker in the company their lives too; just think if the doctor did have some good ideas and leads about the type of person who may have been doing these bombings imagine what wort would have happened. deductive profiling was used in this case too because in this case the attempt to locate a suspect base on crime scene evidence, attempts to determine personality and motives, shows that deductive profiling was used.
you ask, Does it matter, if in the end you catch the person, i believe it do matter if you catch the right person meaning the right man or woman who committed the crime, i believe this because from what i have seen society wont give it a rest if some one dose not get blame for what has accrue.
to tell you the truth if i was let go because of an injury on the job like Metesky was i would probably flip out too, not to the point that i would want to kill innocent people but to the point where i can get justice, to the point where they would pay for the medical bills for my injury,my reson for this would be simply because times are hard, jobs are hard to find and if am going to be out of a job for a long time then am going to need something to lean on cause being broke just ant doing it any more not for me or anyone who is living in this economy now and-days. well i guess i will never have to deal with any thing like this cause now their is such thing as unemployment check that helps family who are out of work.
The chapter starts out by talking about the D.C. Sniper and how the everyone was coming up with these profiles on who the D.C. Sniper was and how most of them were wrong. It then talks about the case of George Metesky in 1956 and the work done by Dr. James A. Brussel. The chapter goes on to describe the beginning of George’s bombings, or at least the placing of bombs since the first two never went off, and one even had a note which makes one wonder if he meant for it to go off. George began to send letters to the police, the first one saying that he would not place any more bombs until after the war, and all of the letters had a reference to the Consolidated Edison utility company and how they needed to be brought to justice. As the time went on, he began work on his bombs again and began to place them in places like movie theater seats, subway lockers, mailing them to the Con Edison building, Grand Central Station, and telephone booths. Each bomb was getting bigger and better in composition and even though the police tried to keep this serial bomber a secret, as the time went on and more bombs began to appear and explode, the public and media caught on. It wasn’t until 1956 that the NYPD out together a large task force of fifty detectives and enlisted the help of Dr. James A. Brussel. Brussel came up with a rather detailed profile and urged the police to publish it in the media and so they did. Just as Brussel expected, his published profile was met with many responses from George, one being a call and other’s being several letters which included specific information that led the police to the apprehension of George Metesky. It was determined that George was mentally ill and suffered from Paranoid Schizophrenia. He ended up being found not competent to stand trial and 16 years and eight months in Matteawan State Hospital until he was released where he spent the rest of his life in Conneticut. Dr. Brussel was very modest and humble about the attention he received after the capture of Metesky. He said that his profile probably led the police on more wild goose chases than anything else and said that it wasn’t his profile that captured Metesky, it was the hard work by the police. This is one of the most widely known cases that involved profiling, especially since it was almost scary how accurate some of the information was. Some techniques used were things such as looking at his letters and reading into what they said and making inferences on things such as his age, mental state, body build, religious affiliation and other things. Dr. Brussel looked at the location of some of the bombs such as the movie theater seats and tried to make an inference on what that could have meant along with the way Metesky wrote his W’s. Seeing that the bomber had a grudge against Con Edison, Brussel inferred that it would be a disgruntled employee or former employee. Brussel’s profile wasn’t that important to Metesky’s capture, what was important about it was the publication of his profile that spurred the letters from Metesky, one of which included the date and origin his grudge with Con Edison began. I think some of the techniques were scientifically valid such as figuring he was from one of the European countries and was probably catholic. I would not say they were stone solid assumptions, but fair guesses. I believe it definitely matters if you catch the person in the end, after all profiling is supposed to help police find the criminal. I do believe that the police need to rely highly on their own skills and experience and limit the use of a profile, especially since it has shown that only 2.7% of cases that involve a profile actually end up in apprehension. On this website, http://www.essortment.com/new-yorks-mad-bomber-32532.html is talks about Alice Kelly who was the clerk at Con Edison who found George Metesky’s file and recognized the “dastardly deeds” remarks he made in both his letters to the police and also the complaints and threats he made to the company back when his grudge began. The website goes on to talk about how Metesky began his “bombings” and how he wrote letters to the police. It also talks about how the bombs became more and more sophisticated with time, and tells of Brussel’s profile and of the famous detail of what Metesky would be wearing at the time of the capture. Finally it talks about Metesky being criminally insane and after spending his time in an insane asylum, living and dying in Conneticut. Basically it said everything the chapter in Minds on Trial with a few more descriptive details here and there. On Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Metesky there was a lot more detailed information about Metesky’s injury, the bombs and locations of his bombs, and also the process of arresting, questioning, and committing Metesky.
Chapter 1 of “Minds on Trial provides us with one of the first cases in which criminal profiling was used. The year was he was apprehended was 1956, the man was George Metesky, otherwise known as the “Mad Bomber” and the creator of the profile was criminal psychiatrist Dr. James A. Brussel.
On November 16, 1940 Metesky left his first bomb outside of the headquarters of the city’s power company, Consolidated Edison, wrapped in a note that read “Con Edison crooks-this is for you.” This is ironic or just a fore warning, because if the bomb had gone off, the right people might not have got the message. The next occurred 10 months later a few blocks away from Consolidation Edison’s main offices. A few months later Metesky made a letter that stated “I will make no more bomb units for the duration of the war – my patriotic feelings have made me decide this – Later I will bring the Con Edison to justice – They will pay for their dastardly deeds. FP” From 1946 to 1950, nothing was heard from the Mad Bomber.
After 54 bombs and a letter to the paper that he will get his revenge by being just as mean to the public as Con Edison was to him.
This was the last straw, after a December 1956 explosion the New York police department assigned a task force of 50 detectives to the case; the city offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to his capture. The police also got the aid of Village psychiatrist, Dr. James Brussel. After studying police records Brussel quickly developed a profile and a plan to catch the Mad Bomber.
Brussel used inductive and deductive profiling, along with behavioral investigative advice to the media, and also aspects of geographic profiling. I think some aspects of the profile were pretty accurate. The idea that historically bombers had been men is a good use of inductive profiling. The diagnosis of paranoia along with age is also a good use of inductive profiling. The idea about the bomber’s marital status flowed from knowledge tend to be isolated loaners, this seems to be a good assumption. The idea that 85 percent of paranoid individuals are stocky seems completely ridiculous. Brussel also believed his home state was Connecticut because that was the return address of most of the letters, he also knew that eastern European immigrants lived in that area, which connected with his idea that people from Slavic countries use bombs as a weapon, this is a good use of some aspects of geographic profiling. I think the idea of the double-breasted suit is just a fluke, as discussed in class appearances don’t always match. I also don’t agree with the idea about W analysis and the bomb in the theater seat leading to sexual problems, that is quite a stretch. Finally Brussel’s idea to draw the bomber to the authorities uses aspects of behavioral investigative advice. It was ultimately this contact that led to the letter about his issues with Con. Edison that finally led to his apprehension.
If you ask me, none of this stuff was important to his capture, he had written numerous letters saying that Con. Edison would pay. This is obviously where the bulk of the investigation should have taken place, finding out who had issues with the company. If that had been done well, the profile could have actually been used in cross-examining potential suspects. I think most of the techniques were scientifically valid, except for the idea about being stocky and being well dressed because he is paranoid or having sexual problems because of how he writes W’s. Other than that I think most of the profile as Brussel stated was based off of logic rather than psychology.
I’m not sure if I understand the question correctly, but no I don’t think it matters if his techniques were scientifically valid, although ideally we would like them to be, but science and technology were not nearly as advanced then as they are today. Now if we are talking in current terms, yes for the most part, I think profiling done by the right people is scientifically valid. It is a great tool used to aid in the apprehension of criminals and I don’t have any problems with that. The ultimate goal is to catch the bad guy and if you are doing it by today’s standards using scientifically correct inductive and deductive profiling, then it is valid. I don’t think it does matter today that it is not usually admissible in court, but as I stated I do think it is scientifically valid, as long as it is catching the right guy.
In some extra research I found that the case catapulted Dr. Brussel to fame, and he was often called in as a consultant on the nation's most troubling unsolved cases. With varying levels of success, he worked on the Wylie Murders, the Coppolino Case, the Sunday Bomber and most notably the case of the Boston Strangler. His work forever changed the way police forces catch criminals. For better or worse, profiling is now an integral part of modern police work.
Dr. Brussel, who sometimes worked at Matteawan, the asylum where Metesky was committed, visited Metesky occasionally. Dr. Brussel always found him talkative and charming. Metesky often pointed out that he'd purposefully constructed his bombs not to kill anyone. Dr. Brussel once asked him directly if he thought he was crazy. Metesky smiled politely and answered no.
This is an interesting article, it tells more about the bombs and investigation than Minds on Trial does.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/1.html
Chapter 1 gives insight to the historical uses of profiling in the case of George Metesky, the "Mad Bomber", in 1956. This case served as a catalyst for the work of criminal psychiatrist Dr. James A. Brussel. For sixteen years, Metesky planted homeade bombs all around New York City. His first was outside the headquarters of Consolidated Edison which was found with a note stating: "Con Edison crooks-this is for you". This act proved to be puzzeling to detectives because if it was to go off, the note would be destroyed...so was it placed as a threat or had the perp not thought it all the way through. Several more acts like these occurred but then seized upon America's entrance into WWII due to "patriotic duties". Over the next four years, no bombs occurred, but there were many letters written seeking justice from Con Edison. Then in 1950, the bombs began again. He planted bombs in NYC Public Library, which caused property damage, but no one was hurt, another in Grand Central Station, again no one was hurt, but F.P did not give up. He sent another bomb to Consolidated Edison, then shorty left another in a cut open seat at the movie theater. Of these bombs, none went off, and F.P became more enraged when there was no media coverage, even sending hateful letters to papers demanding publicity. The bombs and hateful letters continued on for the next several years.
Finally, after an explosion set off in a movie theater in Brooklyn, in 1956, police sought the help of psychiatrist Dr. James Brussel. Though Brussel was unsure of his own skills at first, he was quickly able to form a profile after studying police records.
Brussel used historical information to gather information about the criminal's gender. Since generally, bombers were men, Brussel felt confident that the criminal was a male. He also went on to say the person suffered from paranoia and this assumption stemmed from the words expressed in his letters about feeling persecuted. This then helped gather information about his age, because if the person did indeed suffer from paranoia, then he most likely started setting off the bombs in his 30's because this is when paranoia would most likely peak in a person. Also, because the person was most likely paranoid, he was unlikely to be married because they generally tend to be loners. He also relied on evidence from his time that said most people who suffered from paranoia were stocky, so this is why Brussel assumed that Metesky had this type of build. In addition, people who are paranoid are usually obsess about their dress, so this is why Brussel thought the criminal would be neat about his appearance and wearing a "double breasted suit" because it was what only prestigious men would wear.
He was able to assemble insight on the criminal's nationality because of the use of bombs. Since meany bombs were used as weapons in Slavic countries in central and Eastern Europe. This information helped him guess that he lived in Connecticut cause many central and Eastern Europeans resided in that area.
After this profile was assembled, Brussel thought of an idea to capture him, and released his profile to the paper. This infuriated Metesky, and he contacted Brussel to leave the case. Detectives searched into the past employees of Con Ed, because the criminal obviously had a problem with them. After much searching they found a letter that used the same words of "dastardly deeds". Metesky was found in the exact setting Brussel predicted. Conneticut, within a Lithuanian family, they found their stocky man living with his two sisters. He was a former member of the Marines and was skilled like Brussel had also said. There was more revealed about Metesky, and much of what Brussel had predicted was true. Metesky was charged 47 separate charges, but psychiatrists diagnosed him as a paranoid schizophrenic who was not competent to stand trial and wound up serving the maximum sentence for hospitilization.
Brussel's profile and plan to prove to be rather essential when it came to the ultimate capture. This is because it gave direction to where the police were supposed to search. Though Brussel's profile was surprisingly correct, many of his methods cannot be considered scientifically valid. He may have researched, but many of his assumptions were based on intuition and common sense. It may have led to this person's capture, but this is why profiling cannot be considered a science. Though this may have been right, they cannot always be right, and this could lead to an innocent person's freedom being stolen away. So if the person is caught in the end, there must be other evidence that can contribute to the profile, but the profile cannot stand alone.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/1.html
This article gives detailed descriptions of Metesky's biography. After reading it, it is actually scary how close Brussel's profile really was.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/George-Metesky/135016593197563
This is actually a facebook page dedicated to Metesky in which people can like. I found this to be funny, because I guess he really got his wish of notoriety and fame.
George Metesky became infamous as the Mad Bomber after being apprehended by police January, 1957. Prior to his arrest, Metesky terrorized New York City with a string of homemade gunpowder filled pipe bombs and demanding letters to police, newspapers, and private citizens. Metesky was motivated by an injury he received from an industrial accident. At trial, his criminal behavior was ruled due to paranoid schizophrenia. Metesky was released without trial to a state facility until release: December 1973. Besides widespread coverage as an instance of serial bombing, this case is well known as an early and successful use of offender profiling.
In 1931, Metesky was injured while working at New York's United Electric Light & Power Company. Backfire from a boiler caused Metesky to fall and inhale hazardous fumes. Metesky reported lying on his back for several hours awaiting aid. The damage to his longs developed into pneumonia, causing Metesky to miss work and eventually lose his job. Metesky was denied workers' compensation by Consolidated Edison after failing to file his claim in time. The accident and subsequent denial of compensation spurred Metesky's deep hatred and paranoia for the management of Consolidated Edison. Metesky stated his "bomb units" were his way of bringing "the Con Electric" to justice, his goal was public awareness of the "dastardly deeds" committed against him; Metesky was convinced he required a successful appeal to his compensation case.
"The Mad Bomber" first struck November 1940, four years after Metesky's last unsuccessful appeal for workers' compensation. He placed a crude bomb in a windowsill of the large Consolidated Edison office building. This bomb did not explode, subsequent investigation questioned whether detonation was the bomber's intention as it was found with the note: "CON EDISON CROOKS - THIS IS FOR YOU. -F.P." Ten months later another, similar bomb was found several blocks away. Investigators were puzzled, but the case received little attention by police and media. After the United States entered World War I "F.P." sent a message to the New York Police Department:
"I WILL MAKE NO MORE BOMB UNITS FOR THE DURATION OF THE WAR—MY PATRIOTIC FEELINGS HAVE MADE ME DECIDE THIS—LATER I WILL BRING THE CON EDISON TO JUSTICE—THEY WILL PAY FOR THEIR DASTARDLY DEEDS...-F.P."
Metesky kept to his promise, though F.P. continued to send messages to Consolidated Edison, the police, media, as well as unrelated parties. After the conclusion of the war (though less the year after the beginning the Korean War) F.P. resumed "bombing" leaving dud devices in several major public areas, including terminal lockers and theater seats. The first of the Mad Bomber's devices exploded in Grand Central Station, 1951. Metesky was beginning to receive the notoriety he desired as the public became aware of the many bombs being distributed throughout the city.
Police were unable to retrieve identifying evidence from any of the letters or bombs F.P. left. Finger print analysts and bomb experts were able to glean few details other than the bomber most likely had military experience and was meticulous. Analysis of the messages noted the bomber's "G" and "Y" were characteristically European and the style formal, suggesting the bomber was European or educated in a European manner. Because of the messages' fixation on "the Con Edison crooks, police suspected the bomber was a disgruntled former employee of Consolidated Edison.
The Mad Bomber's continued attacks and stylized letters to the public, press, and police began to terrorize the city. Investigators launched what was announced as the largest manhunt in city history. Consolidated Edison was unable to corroborate with the investigation, claiming pertinent files had been destroyed. The Company's record keeping had been obscured by its merger with smaller companies like United Electric Light & Power Co., although records of Metesky did exist.
According to policy, the police requested as little publication about the bomber as possible. The media did publish letters from F.P., including the 1951:
"HAVE YOU NOTICED THE BOMBS IN YOUR CITY—IF YOU ARE WORRIED, I AM SORRY—AND ALSO IF ANYONE IS INJURED. BUT IT CANNOT BE HELPED—FOR JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED. I AM NOT WELL, AND FOR THIS I WILL MAKE THE CON EDISON SORRY—YES, THEY WILL REGRET THEIR DASTARDLY DEEDS—I WILL BRING THEM BEFORE THE BAR OF JUSTICE—PUBLIC OPINION WILL CONDEMN THEM—FOR BEWARE, I WILL PLACE MORE UNITS UNDER THEATER SEATS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. F.P."
NYPD continued making sweeping searches of bomb areas and threatened locations, with little success of apprehension. In 1956, Investigator Finney and two other detectives of the NYPD approached psychiatrist Dr. James Bussel for help. Among various other positions working with psychiatric evaluations, Bussel had experience with counterintelligence profile work with the FBI. Equipped with the full police report, Bussel gave his now famous portrait of the suspected Mad Bomber. Under Bussel's urging, the police released the profile to the press. Many papers ran the story December 25th, 1956. It was only January 21st, 1957 before The Mad Bomber's sixteen year spree was ended. Upon arrest, George Metesky admitted his pseudonym "F.P." meant Fair Play.
Bussel's profile was developed using inductive reasoning. Dr. Bussel used the police investigative report and clues from Metesky's writing to develop a general picture of a likely suspect. Bussel noted Metesky's fixation with Consolidated Edison and justice; believing Meteskey to be in a constant state of perceived threat, Bussel guessed the author was paranoid. Paranoia typically develops in the mid-to-late thirties, given the bomber's first "strike" in 1940 Bussel expected the bomber to be between 40 and 50 years old. Congruent with police, Bussel expected the bomber to be a former employee of Consolidated Electric. Bussel thought this met an incident must have occured during the 1930s. Assessing the bomber's word choice and writing style Bussel expected the bomber was partially self-educated, but not college-trained: a high school graduate at most. The word choice also supported the European hunch, and the lack of contemporary language suggested to Bussel the bomber spent most of his time with Europeans or other foreigners. Following this idea, Bussel concluded the bomber was Slavic, inferring this from his knowledge that central Europeans often use bombs. Also, the bomber often used a Connecticut address and Bussel knew that state was home to Central and Eastern European communities.From this, Bussel felt it was also safe to assume the bomber was male, probably of average build, Catholic, sensitive to criticism, and friendly but not social.
Bussel also built theories on the bomber's modus operandi. The fallic nature of the bombs, and fixation with inserting bombs into slits cut under theater seats, suggested to Bussel a sexual tone to the bomber's thought. Male, paranoid, inclusive social group; the bomber probably had an aversion or disinterest in females. Also, Bussel's "W" was uncharacteristically round against his other letters, this suggested a fixation with breasts. Bussel inferred the bomber had an Oedipus complex. Bussel advised that the bomber was unmarried and probably lived with an older female relative.
This analysis was what Bussel felt a safe description of the bomber, Bussel added the cherry on top when he uttered his final - and most famous - expectation: the buttoned double-breasted suit.
Metesky was finally fingered out by Alice Kelly. She was searching company records as an employee of Consolidated Edison, under specific instructions to find the Mad Bomber. Kelly was reviewing accident claim files and recognized Metesky as a possible match to the published profile, feeling confident upon seeing "dastardly deeds." Kelly remembered this word choice from the bomber's reports, this Consolidated Edison file became the clue leading investigators directly to Metesky. After visiting Metesky, NYPD and Waterbury, Connecticut police arrived at Metesky's house with a search warrant. After being asked by investigators to draw a "G" Metesky quickly and amiably confessed, Metesky showed the police his workshop, a full search on the property yielded all of the items needed to produce one of the Mad Bomber's explosives.
In all, twenty-two of Metesky's thirty-two reported "bomb units" detonated, injuring seven people. Before a grand jury, forty-seven indictments were made against George Metesky, including seven counts of attempted murder. Other charges included maliciously endangering life and damaging a building by explosion. However, the judge ruled George Metesky unfit to stand trial and ordered him to be committed to Matteawan Hospital for the Criminally Insane. By this time, Metesky's respiratory ailment had developed to tuberculosis and it was not believed he would live much longer. However, Metesky's condition improved and he remained in the hospital until a brief transfer and release in 1973.
Dr. Bussel's analysis was uncanny, its apparent effectiveness established psychological profile as a credible means of forensic investigation - if only to the public. Offender profiling remains an important tool to investigators.
I feel Bussel was correct in his belief that the bomber was paranoid. Menesky was employed as a wiper, often the lowest job on the totem pole. The accident was hurt literally an unexpected, scarring bang that left him incapacitated. After being bed-ridden, his claim for compensation was denied - he was rejected several times by the company he trusted would continue to aid him. I am sure the whole ordeal caused Metesky physical and emotional harm. Metesky was unable to cope with the trauma, over time he grew increasingly resentful of "the Con Edison Crooks" whom he felt had intervened with his proper, rightful compensation. The change in company name may have played a role. From the outset Metesky accused the company of "dastardly deeds" as was later to be discovered by Alice Kelly. Matesky developed Fair Play as a method of defeating his opponent. It took four years for F.P. to come out, I wonder how long Matesky had been planning on planting the first bomb. I don't believe he meant for it to explode. I think every bomb Metesky planted was an event to him, maybe a kind of "rush" or empowering move.
Paranoid, Mateskey probably believed Consolidated Edison was watching him, somehow they were aware of every move he would make against them. Therefore, when he placed his first bomb he expected it would be immediately found, and be taken very seriously. Metesky did not expect his unexploded device would be ignored by Edison and officials. By the time he placed his second device Matesky felt "F.P." was an ominous threat, evidenced by his letter promising not to continue placing bomb units during World War II. This promise followed the two undetonated and rather unknown devices placed at Edison, Metesky had to think those devices had been important enough. Throughout the war his character developed in his letters to police, public, and Edison employees. Each handwritten letter required meticulous effort, showing how dedicated Metesky was to each of his F.P. works. Bussel was right to assume public notoriety was Metesky's motive for the bombing, successfully baiting him information posted after the release of the profile. Metesky appreciated every bit of public attention towards his appeal for justice, any misinformation about his appeal prompt Metesky to speak out let his cause for justice go awry.
I feel better cooperation by Edison may have ended the investigation sooner. By only expecting the bomber to be a former employee any clerk would have been able to match the bomber's use of "dastardly deeds" with Metesky's accusations against the company - I've read the phrase wasn't that common in the 1940 and 1950s. However, Bussel's Oedipus diagnosis is impressive. Metesky was found living with his two sisters. I would never have been able to infer that from theater seats and W's. Also, Bussel's recommendation to bait the bomber with public information led to several clues, including the date of his accident, which were later matched to the file Kelly recovered.
I'm not really sure how paranoid I believe Metesky was. While I read about him, I imagined him as the red stapler guy from office space, only less heavy and more European. He expressed patriotic feeling for America and former employer, the Marines. But apparently his eagerness to resume placing bomb units couldn't keep Metesky from bombing during the Korean War, or else he questioned its legitimacy haha. I wonder if his patriotic sentiments could have saved him from being labeled as a Red. I do believe he never intended to harm anyone, just as he repeatedly told Dr. Bussel. Besides the possible central and eastern European connection, bomb blasts probably resonated with Metesky due to the nature of his own injury. Sudden, unexpected fear was the tool Metesky planned to yield against his enemies; he intended his "attacks" to spurn public outcry against Edison. I wonder how long he would have carried out the attacks before announcing himself as "F.P." is his intention was really justice, at some point, wouldn't he have had to turn himself in to get his new appeal? Or was he planning to deliver the Con Ed crooks to justice some other way? Or was he just crazy after all?
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,723774,00.html
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/7.html
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/paranoia
http://www.minddisorders.com/Ob-Ps/Paranoia.html
Chapter 1 in Minds on Trial titled “George Metesky: Profiling the “Mad Bomber”” was about the bombings that terrorized Virginia, Maryland and the D.C areas, the man behind the crimes, and how the “Mad Bomber” was finally arrested. The crimes started in 1940 with the first bomb found outside an electrical company in New York City. The bomb did not go off but it was accompanied by a note that said “Con Edison crooks, this is for you. Over the next 16 years bombs were planted in phone booths, terminals, theaters, storage lockers, restrooms, movie theaters (where he would cut the upholstery of a seat and put the bomb inside the seat) and even the Grand Central Station. Metesky wrote a note stating he would not continue his bombings during World War II. The note said “I will make no more bomb units for the duration of the war, my patriotic feelings have made me decide this, later I will bring Con Edison to justice, they will pay for their dastardly deeds – F.P.” F.P. was later discovered to stand for fair play. The “mad bomber” at this time obviously wanted revenge on the electrical company Consolidated Edison. George Metesky was a very disgruntled former employee of Consolidated Edison. He was angry about a workplace injury that had occurred years ago that he had was fired for without any compensation. The bombs started back up again about ten years later by the patriotic George Metesky. Metesky also contacted the media frequently wanting attention for what he was doing. After 16 years of bombings without any viable suspects, the NYPD asked psychiatrist Dr. James Brussell for help. He was also a personal friend of the police captain. James Brussell, after initial hesitation, came up with a profile after studying photographs of the crime scene and reading the mail the “mad bomber” had sent. The profile stated that the “Mad Bomber” was stocky and about 40-50 years in age who was paranoid, unmarried, living in Connecticut alone or with a sister and probably an immigrant from eastern or central Europe, Catholic and would arrested wearing a double breasted suit. James Brussell also convinced the newspaper to publish the profile. George Meteksy wrote another note to the newspaper after Brussell’s profile was published that gave a date when the he was injured at work. This led to a search through Consolidated Edison’s employee records. An electrical worker who finally pulled George Metesky’s file because the phrase “dastardly deeds” rang a bell because the “Mad Bomber” had used the same phrase in his letters because even though they had the date of when he was injured, it was not computerized like it would be today and it would have taken weeks, if not months to search the files. This led to George Metesky’s arrest. George Metesky was a stocky, unmarried, 54 year old son of Lithuanian immigrants who lived in a house with two older sisters. In the basement the police found a bomb making laboratory. He was arrested while wearing a double breasted suit. George Metesky says that he planted 54 bombs, but only 34 were ever found and 22 exploded. These bombs never killed anyone, but injured about 2 dozen and 3 were seriously injured. George Metesky was charged with 47 crimes and 7 counts of attempted murder, because of the five year statute of limitations. He was found legally insane by psychological experts and sentenced to state hospital. The “Mad Bomber” was technically “mad”. He was not expected to live very long because he had been diagnosed with advanced tuberculosis which he claims to have contracted with the injury he sustained while working for Consolidated Edison. He was released on December 13, 1973 because he was not found to be a threat any longer and he had served 2/3 of the maximum sentence he could have received if he had had a trial. The only condition upon his release was that he was to make regular visits with a local mental hygiene. He died 20 years later at the age of 90 on May 23, 1994.
Dr. James Brussell used deductive and inductive profiling to help the police capture the “mad bomber”. Inductive profiling is based in statistical date and deductive profiling This chapter is great example of when profiling really worked. I’d like to read a case of when the profile was completely off. Brussell used inductive profiling to determine that the bomber was male, because in the past the majority of bombers were male. Brussell used deductive profiling when looking at the notes and deciding that the “mad bomber” must have been a former employee of Consolidated Edison.
I believe that Dr. James Brussell’s profile of the mad bomber helped significantly to catch George Metesky, but in reality, a profile is just a well-educated guess, a hypothesis. And any scientist knows that hypotheses are sometimes wrong. Profiles can definitely help a police department to catch a criminal who is at large, but it could also become a huge waste of time if the perpetrator does not meet the profile criteria. It can also lead a police department to arrest someone who does meet all the criteria, but did not commit the crime. Profiling will never be the only tool used to catch a criminal.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,723774-1,00.html
Chapter 1 was about George Metesky, better known as the “Mad Bomber”. He is known for planting at least 33 bombs in New York City, 22 of which exploded. His reign of terror lasted 16 years from 1940 to 1956, until he was finally apprehended in 1957. His first bomb was placed in a tool box in a windowsill of Consolidated Edison on November 16, 1940. Con Edison is a utility giant that was and still is the main supplier of energy for New York City. He created a pipe bomb and wrapped a note around it. The bomb never exploded and the note simply, and in neat block lettering, read, “CON EDISON CROOKS, THIS IS FOR YOU.” It is thought that the bomb was intentionally a dud because of the note attached to it. There were no fingerprints or any other evidence, and after investigators did a quick check into recently dismissed employee records, the police gave up on the case. That was until nearly a year later when a second intact bomb was discovered a few blocks from Con Edison offices. It was made out of an alarm clock detonator and was wrapped in a woolen sock. There was no note attached to it this time. Investigators linked this bomb to the first because of the similar construction. Both of these bombs were ignored by the press. A few months later, when the U.S. entered the war, a letter was sent to police headquarters. Written in neat block letters, the bomber said he would make no more bombs until the war is over, due to his patriotism. He also said that he would bring Con Edison to justice for their “dastardly deeds”. During the time of the war, many letters were written by the bomber, some were in the same writing as the first and some handwritten. The only difference in any part of the writing was the “W”s. They were curved on the bottom, while the rest were straight and neat. All the letters were signed “F.P.” Once the war had ended, the bombs began again. On March 29, 1950, the third intact bomb was discovered in Grand Central Station. It has similar construction to the first two, except the skills were honed over the 9 year hiatus. Seeing as the three bombs had not exploded, theory was that the bomber did not intend to detonate them at all. That was until the fourth bomb exploded in a phone booth inside the public library. Out of the 33 known planted bombs, 22 had exploded in all. He would mostly plant them in public places. He had also planted them in the movie theater. He would slash open the bottom of the seats and plant the bomb inside. He continued to write letters to the police and media, however the press was asked by police not to publish the letters.
Coming up with nothing, the police asked the help of a criminal psychiatrist, Dr. Brussel. He had read over the case file, looked at the photos, and created what he called a “portrait” of the bomber. He came up with several conclusions:
• The bomber was male.
• The bomber had a grudge against Con Edison and was likely a former employee.
• The bomber was a textbook paranoid.
• The bomber was middle aged, between 40 and 50.
• The bomber was neat, meticulous, and skilled at his work.
• The bomber was overly sensitive to criticism.
• The bomber was foreign or spent the majority of his time with foreign people.
• The bomber had at least a high school education but probably no college.
• The bomber was a Slav and probably Roman Catholic.
• The bomber lived in Connecticut, not New York.
• The bomber suffered from an Oedipal Complex.
• The bomber probably lived with an older female relative.
• The bomber would be wearing a double-breasted suit, buttoned, when captured.
Using these “characteristics”, Dr. Brussels gave the police a profile to publish in the paper, hoping to cause the bomber to reach out to correct anything that was wrong. It worked and the bomber contacted the paper and police. He wrote letters telling about his incident at Con Edison. He explained that he was injured and contracted Tuberculosis from the injury, for which he was not compensated, but lost his job. In later letters and contact, he gave away the date of the injury as well, September 5, 1931. These details led the police to focus their search through company records to find who was injured on this day and fired later. Alice Kelly, a Con Edison clerk, read the profile and searched through records. On January 18, 1957, she found a file marked in red with words that were the same in the letters the bomber had written in response to the profile. His name was George Metesky. He had written many complaints to the company and used the phrase “dastardly deeds”, which matched many of his letters from the bombings. On January 21, 1957, police went to his home with a search warrant. He said he knew why they were there and that he was the Mad Bomber. He told them that F.P. stood for Fair Play. He showed them his workshop and tools. He was asked to change out of his pajamas to go to the station, and when he returned he was wearing a double-breasted suit, buttoned. He was convicted on 47 charges and was found legally insane. He was committed to the Matteawan Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where he was only expected to live a few weeks due to his tuberculosis. In 1973, he had served 2/3 of his 25 year maximum sentence and was released. He returned home and died 20 years later, living to the age of 90.
Dr. Brussels used both inductive and deductive profiling in the creation of his “portrait”. Inductive profiling is the process of using statistical data known from previous criminals, crime scenes, and/or victims, to reason a specific criminal offender’s behavior. This is the easier of the techniques to use, because you do not have to have special training or knowledge of forensics, you only need to be able to find statistics that fit the case. It is easiest to understand with the example of the profile (although some of his inductive reasons are based on deductive ones):
• The bomber was male – because historically bombers have always been male.
• The bomber was middle aged – because paranoia generally peaks around age 35 and he had been active for 16 years.
• The bomber was overly sensitive – because this is a classic symptom of paranoia.
• The bomber was a Slav and probably Roman Catholic – because Eastern and Central Europeans most often used bombs as weapons and most Slavs are Catholic.
• The bomber probably lived with an older female relative – because most Oedipal sufferers are unmarried and live with a single female relative or relatives which are not their mothers.
These characteristics were based on statistical generalizations due to knowledge of previous criminals, crimes, and victims. While these seem like they are sound and of good use (especially since they were correct), this type of profiling is troublesome and must be taken with a grain of salt. It has been exhibited in research results that there are not any true generalizations across criminals, crimes, or anything like these. This information is typically based on limited population samples and is not specifically related to any one case. In other words, it does not accurately represent any population and cannot reliably tell anything about a specific case. This can lead to a major problem of implicating innocent people, simply because they “fit” these generalizations. This was evident in the Mad Bomber case. There were hundreds of “tips” sent to the police about people who matched the profile, some of whom even were investigated thoroughly. This takes up time and resources that could be used to catch the real criminal. It also causes biases within the investigators. They may find someone completely innocent, but be convinced he is the person because fits some, if not the majority, of the characteristics.
The other technique that Dr. Brussels used was deductive profiling. Instead of using generalizations to determine who, how, and why, deductive profiling uses the crime scene as its major contributor. Deductive profiling is the process of interpreting the crime scene, forensic evidence, autopsy reports and photographs, and individual offender victimology to deduce offender characteristics, behaviors, emotions, demographics, and motivations. This does not use the information from other similar crimes, but focuses solely on the one at hand. This technique relies heavily on the ability of the analyst to deduce meaning from the aspects of the crime and crime scene. That is why it is also termed Behavior Evidence Analysis. From the characteristics that Dr. Brussels offered, several were based on deductive profiling:
• The bomber had a grudge against Con Edison and was likely a former employee – because the letters that were written concluded that he was permanently injured by the company and was seeking revenge. His focus for many of the bombs and letters was Con Edison.
• The bomber was a textbook paranoid – because he believed Con Edison and the public was conspiring against him, based on his letters.
• The bomber was neat, meticulous, and skilled at his work – because everything was carefully constructed, the bombs, the neat lettering, and the planning of the bombs.
• The bomber was foreign or spent the majority of his time with foreign people – because he wrote in stilted, formal language without contemporary slang. He also used phrases that sounded Victorian. Instead of saying Con Edison, he referred to them as THE Con Edison, where New Yorkers did not use the article “the” for years.
• The bomber had at least a high school education but probably no college – because the language used and skilled construction of the bombs pointed to self-education. His excellent handwriting indicated some formal schooling.
• The bomber lived in Connecticut, not New York – because some of the letters were mailed from Westchester County (between Connecticut and New York) and Connecticut was home to a large community of Eastern and Central Europeans.
• The bomber suffered from an Oedipal Complex – because of the phallic construction of the bombs. He also wrote his W’s differently, with the bottom being rounded and breast-like or scrotum-like. He slashed the bottom of the movie seats, indicating that he was “penetrating” a woman or castrating a man. The Oedipal Complex is where the man loves his mother and hates his father and other authority figures.
These characteristics were based on the crime and crime scene themselves. Dr. Brussels looked specifically at this individual case instead of looking at the larger picture. This technique also created an accurate portrayal of the Mad Bomber. Deductive profiling is a better technique than inductive profiling. It is sounder and helps to create a more reliable picture of the offender. This technique is also useful for establishing the offender’s MO (Modus Operandi) and the signature behavior. The MO is the method of operation. It is a learned behavior that changes over time as the offender gets more experienced. The difference between MO and signature behavior is that the MO involves only those actions necessary to commit the offense. The signature behavior is comprised of those actions not required to commit the offense, thus creating the offender’s signature. The offender may change their MO, but is not likely to change their signature. Deductive profiling is an advantage because recognizing an offender’s signature allows the investigators to find the interaction between the victim, crime scene, and offender. It can explain the offender’s motivations even in the most senseless seeming offenses. This type allows the investigation to come before the theory, thus making sure that biases (if existent) are limited, and hopefully eliminated, and that procedures are typically followed more precisely than if they have a theory and act on it before the evidence is in. Deductive profiling also allows for the analysis of change and growth, whereas inductive profiling looks at the crime as one with certain characteristics that don’t change. Many times offenders grow and change their MO. Using deductive reasoning can notice that and help to understand the offender better.
While there are few disadvantages, they are important. Deductive profiling takes time, much more than inductive. It also takes someone who has multi-disciplinary skills. The effort that this technique takes is quite a bit, and the person doing it is typically more of an integral part of the investigative team. This also can be emotionally exhausting. It takes someone who is emotionally grounded and is not afraid to discuss sensitive matters with others close to them. The last disadvantage is that this technique is based on the knowledge and establishment of the signature. Without knowing the signature, the profile cannot say for sure that a specific person is responsible for a crime or series of crimes. It is more reliable, yet it can still be wrong a significant part of the time.
With both of these techniques utilized, profilers are able to create a sounder, more reliable list of characteristics with the hope of finding the right person. Although these techniques are not extremely scientifically valid, they do assist the police in capturing criminals. The problem is if it is right to use these scientifically invalid techniques to catch criminals, especially if it ends with the capture of the right person. This is a hairy area to discuss. I think that these techniques can be used, but like I mentioned before, need to be taken with a grain of salt. I think that there is too much emphasis on these techniques. Studies have shown that they are not right that much of the time, yet people look at them as the quick and easy way to find the culprit. I do not think that they should be used as the primary investigation tool because they are not significantly scientifically valid. They should be used as a back-up or accessory item instead. If all the evidence otherwise points to a certain person, especially forensic evidence, then the profile can be used to build on existing knowledge and strengthen a case. Because there are so many people that may fit the profile, using it as an accessory at the end should help to eliminate biases that investigators may base their arrest on. In summation, I think it very much does matter if the technique is scientifically valid, even if you catch the person in the end.
Links used:
Case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Metesky
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/1.html
Profiling:
http://www.criminalprofiling.ch/article2.html
Criminal profiling allows people to made ‘educated’ guesses on what they believe are characteristics of a particular criminal. In The case of George Metesky, the criminal profile was correct, however, that is not always the case. In 1956, New York was faced with multiple bomb threats from one individual, who is later revealed as George Metesky. Metesky was a disgruntled ex-employee of an electric company. He was injured on the job and was unable to attain workman’s compensation. Soon after, he was fired. He attempted to avenge the ‘sins’ of his former place of employment by detonating bombs around the city that would cause financial problems for Consolidated Edison. He acquired the name “mad bomber”; which described him literally. George Metesky continued to make Con. Edison ‘pay’ for their “dastardly deeds”. He sent letter to local newspapers and the police, almost as if he wanted to be found. These letters ultimately enabled police to learn more information about Metesky. After they figured out that he was a former employee it was only a matter of time before Metesky was ‘caught’. In the investigation process a criminal profile of George Metesky was created. No official techniques were used to create the profile of the “mad bomber”. The finished profile used in George Metesky’s case was not very integral to his ultimate capture. They provided investigation with broad statements and facts that did not reveal new information. Also, the specificity of some of his statement may have been shocking, yet again; they were unhelpful in determining who the “mad bomber” was. The techniques used to profile the mad bomber were not scientifically valid. The profile made assumptions based on observations of data already known to investigators. Ultimately, if the perpetrator is caught it is always a good thing. However, I think the profiling techniques must be regimented or carefully used. If the profile of a serial killer sends investigators on a wild goose hunt then those wrong statements have a major effect on the case and they matter! For example, in the chapter an example profile was given where the information was completely false. Police may unknowingly look past potential suspects and be forced to investigate on the many ‘leads’ that match such a broad profile. Investigators time and resources are used to look into worthless information while the perpetrator has a chance to hide, run, or continue committing crimes.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/7.html
After reading this case, it is no wonder that the public opinion of serial murders went the direction that it did. There is a bomber who contacts everyone through the media as if toying with the police. He successfully evades capture for a decade and a half, creating the illusion that he is a genius of sorts. During this time, he even teasingly interrupts his bombings for the world war, saying that his feelings of nationalism prevent him from attacking during the time of national struggle.
The criminal himself is not the only aspect of this case that makes it so legendary. A psychologist (Dr. Brussel) is consulted and through some of his guidance the criminal is caught. When Metesky is finally caught, Dr. Brussel’s seemingly trivial prediction that he would be wearing a double breasted shirt comes true.
It does not get any better in the movies. However, this is not a work of fiction but actual fact so a closer analysis is necessary.
Geographical Profiling was used to identify the location they thought Metesky resided (Western County. It turned out he was in Connecticut). They come up with a profile of his mental status (psychological profiling). They decided he must be single, lives with older women, probably disinterested in women, etc. all of which turned out to be true. They predicted he was motivated by revenge from Con Edison Co., which should have been clear from the fact that he generally targeted areas connected with Con Edison Co. They also predicted that he had progressive paranoia, a form of which was diagnosed after they actually caught him.
Deductive Profiling was clearly used. They used the fact that he attacked the areas he did attack to come to a conclusion about his area of residence and his motive. But inductive profiling was also used. The fact that most bombers were men led to the conclusion that this must be a man. The predictions about his age and marital status were all based on various studies carried out at the time, thus making them inductive profiling. To this I want to add Dr. Brussel’s prediction about what Metesky would be wearing. A lot of people at the time wore double breasted shirts so it made sense for Metesky to do the same. Of course, that means plenty of perfectly innocent men were also wearing double breasted shirts…
The validity of the scientificness of the conclusions that were drawn is definitely questionable, but this is a fact that is readily excusable by the lack of proper research procedures at the time. Afterall, Brussel did base his predictions on research he thought was reasonable, which is all anyone can really do. But the soundness of his logic really ends up not mattering in this case. The decision to publish this profile was the turning point of the entire scenario. It was the right/wrong “facts” published about him that prompted Metesky to make mistakes and ultimately give away the final hint that lead to his capture. It was a risk, but it was worth taking for the police.
The scientific soundness of evidence really does matter. It was clearly noted in the reading that in addition to catching Metesky, the police had also captured a great deal of bewildered innocent people. Using scientifically sound techniques is an attempt to limit these innocent captures. Though there still is a chance that innocent people may be investigated, it is still a matter of integrity to use scientific evidence. It did not end up mattering in Metesky’s case but, in the case of Gary and Holly Ramona, this was very important.
I found more information about the false leads this profile induced, and this is the link to it http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/metesky/6.html
Apparently, there were a great deal of people who were convinced their neighbors or some random guy on the street was the “mad bomber.” Only four cases of these false leads were written in this link, plus one that Brussels followed himself. So there were false leads here. I am not sure if any of them lost reputation because of the false accusation, but profiles that are not scientifically sound lead to such losses of reputations.