For nearly 17 years, George Metesky terrorized New York City in a series of bombings as a way to get revenge on his former employer. Metesky's reign of terror left investigators exploring every possible path to put a stop to the bombings. It would take Captain Howard Finney, the commanding officer of the NYPD's bomb squad, looking tapping a psychiatrist and his then-unconventional investigative technique to hone in on Metesky. In doing so, the bomber was brought to justice, and investigators began considering what we now know as criminal profiling as a worthwhile tool to solve crimes.
The Start of the Turmoil
A city in peril.
A terrorist on the loose.
A desperate police department.
A country on the brink of nuclear war during the "Age of Anxiety."
This may sound like the plot of a Batman comic book from the early days of D.C., but it is in fact what the citizens of New York City faced from November 1940 to January 1957, as the criminal known as “The Mad Bomber” planted explosives at major venues like Grand Central Station, Radio City Music Hall and Macy’s.
