I caught an episode on a crime show about it the other day, think it was FBI files. The guy that pulled this off was a successful landscape contractor living the American dream, unfortunately a poor gambler that ran up 800 k in marker debt to Harvey's
Somehow he managed to steal a large shipment of dynamite since you can't just buy it at Walmart, even more surprisingly he had the ability to construct this device with only a little bit of labor from his 2 teenage son
This guy was around 60 at the time
So gets 3 of his workers to deliver this gift there disguised as computer equipment and get into an office area there
He makes a 3m Ransom demand, FBI handles it now, apparently the plan was to pay the ransom but that would certainly be an FBI trap, so the bomber Never even tried to collect it, building of course evacuated, so FBI makes the decision to try to blow-up the portion of the bombing they think controls it
This fails, bomb goes off blowing a respectable sized hole in one of the biggest hotels there
Bomber didn't manage to level place, but it takes 12 million and 8 months for repairs !
He doesn't get caught soon either ! A large reward for info is offered , somhoe the 18 year old son of the becomes a suspect , and lies well enough to protect Daddy
FBI concludes, no way this 18 year old built the bomb, it would take someone closer to an engineer to Mastermind this !
Reward increases, someone reports that , the Father is the guy to look at, not the kids. John Birges,sr gets life and dies at 74 in prison, his boys testify against him and both luck out with pure probation
I think there was a G/f involved that a sentence as well
Bottom line is better security would have prevented the whole matter. You can't just let 3 guys wheel in a 1,000 bomb and deliver wherever they want. Show was fascinating as I never knew it happened
Somehow he managed to steal a large shipment of dynamite since you can't just buy it at Walmart, even more surprisingly he had the ability to construct this device with only a little bit of labor from his 2 teenage son
This guy was around 60 at the time
So gets 3 of his workers to deliver this gift there disguised as computer equipment and get into an office area there
He makes a 3m Ransom demand, FBI handles it now, apparently the plan was to pay the ransom but that would certainly be an FBI trap, so the bomber Never even tried to collect it, building of course evacuated, so FBI makes the decision to try to blow-up the portion of the bombing they think controls it
This fails, bomb goes off blowing a respectable sized hole in one of the biggest hotels there
Bomber didn't manage to level place, but it takes 12 million and 8 months for repairs !
He doesn't get caught soon either ! A large reward for info is offered , somhoe the 18 year old son of the becomes a suspect , and lies well enough to protect Daddy
FBI concludes, no way this 18 year old built the bomb, it would take someone closer to an engineer to Mastermind this !
Reward increases, someone reports that , the Father is the guy to look at, not the kids. John Birges,sr gets life and dies at 74 in prison, his boys testify against him and both luck out with pure probation
I think there was a G/f involved that a sentence as well
Bottom line is better security would have prevented the whole matter. You can't just let 3 guys wheel in a 1,000 bomb and deliver wherever they want. Show was fascinating as I never knew it happened
