Evil Genius shows the moment ‘pizza bomber’ Brian Wells blows up by bomb around his neck. A bizarre bank robbery in Erie, Pennsylvania, involving a pizza delivery man and an improvised collar bomb leads to a scavenger hunt full of explosions, bodies, and double-crosses. Directed by Ryan Bergara. For those who closely tracked the case, the government's long-awaited announcement was severely unsatisfying. Some would say that this is a solved case but I think there is still a lot of mystery surrounding this event. Who Invented Chess and When Did it Start Being Played? In 2008, a Pizza delivery man walked into a bank and demanded to be given 250 thousand dollars. Rothstein was one of them. Was it wise to let such an erratic, unpredictable personality testify? "Get out of the car and go to the small sign reading drive thru/open 24 hr in the flower bed. Collar bomb device that Wells wore around his neck. She pleaded guilty but … He was sentenced to 45 years behind bars, but he agreed to testify against Diehl-Armstrong in the hope of getting his sentence reduced. And, according to Fisher, there is no way that Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong planned the collar bomb caper. © 2021 Condé Nast. This is the crazy real-life story of the Pizza Bomber. Most intriguing, Diehl-Armstrong's lawyer, Douglas Sughrue, had decided to let his client take the stand. Bill Rothstein may have appeared to be just a man who owned a house next to a TV tower. He also is claiming that he isn’t behind the bomb. In other words, the robbery was never the point. This deadly bank robbery was just the beginning. The Mosman bomb hoax took place in the Lower North Shore Sydney suburb of Mosman, New South Wales, Australia on 3 August 2011.An apparent collar bomb was placed around the neck of 18-year-old student Madeleine Pulver, by a balaclava-clad home intruder. 5 The Bizarre Collar Bomb Bank Robbery (S4 E2) -8.4 Shane and Ryan discuss the complex case of the collar bomb bank robbery. Beep... Beep... Beep. Follow these steps to minimize the damage. That was just one of the questions that perplexed investigators. But something about this man doesn’t quite add up. ", Within hours of making the call, Rothstein was in custody. Trial Starting in Pa. Bank Robbery That Ended with Pizza Deliveryman's Death by Collar Bomb. On September 20, less than a month after the bomb killed Wells, Rothstein called 911. They just wanted to craft a beguiling puzzle, one that would resist explanation for years to come and that would keep cops and investigators hunting fruitlessly after clues just as Wells was sent on his doomed scavenger hunt. So he implicated Diehl-Armstrong in the Roden case before she could rat him out, all while pleading ignorance of the collar bomb affair. He lifted up his shirt to show the bank workers that he had a bomb strapped to him. Addressed to the "Bomb Hostage," the notes instructed Wells to rob the bank of $250,000, then follow a set of complex instructions to find various keys and combination codes hidden throughout Erie. Fisher turns back to the FBI's profile, which states that the bomb builder was "comfortable around a wide variety of power tools and shop machines." TV camera crews arrived and began filming. Never. They force Wells to the ground and proceed to handcuff his hands behind his back. Prelude: The teenage daughter of a wealthy Australian businessman is strapped to a bomb in a brazen extortion attempt. But by that time, Rothstein was past caring about the old girlfriend he'd given up to the cops: He had died of lymphoma in July 2004. This deadly bank robbery was just the beginning. Some 15 minutes later, state troopers spotted Wells standing outside his Geo Metro in a nearby parking lot, surrounded him, and tossed him to the pavement, cuffing his hands behind his back. It has your next instructions." Even though he was at the end of his shift, he agreed to deliver the order. However, Wells’s personal motivations for his involvement are still unknown. "The son of a bitch ended up winning," Fisher says. After all, why would someone who was involved in the plot voluntarily call the cops and meet with them for hours? It was 3:18 pm. Rich Schapiro (richschapiro@gmail.com) is a writer based in New York City. She was paranoid and narcissistic. The bomb squad arrived three minutes later. She cried. Wells was caught before he got to that clue, but the investigators picked up the thread, locating the container with the orange tape. The hinged collar locked around Wells' neck like a giant handcuff. An Erie woman who was featured in the Netflix true-crime documentary “Evil Genius,” about the renowned 2003 collar-bomb bank robbery case, was detained Friday in the Westmoreland County Prison after failing to post $10,000 bail on a prostitution charge filed by Greensburg police. He recruited coconspirators he knew he could control and kept crucial details of the plot from them—a tactic designed to further complicate the investigation. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Wells walked into a PNC bank in August 2003 with the collar bomb … On Aug. 28, 2003, Wells was working as a pizza deliveryman when he walked into a PNC Bank in Erie, Pa. at about 2:20 p.m. and handed the teller a note demanding $250,000. A bizarre bank robbery. "It continues to be the opinion of the [department] that this is much more than a mere bank robbery," it reads. A twisted love triangle. Barnes said the original plan was to outfit the collar with a fake bomb to scare the bank teller, but that Rothstein had a live device attached to the collar that Wells wore to the real robbery. Brian Wells was either an innocent rube or the co-conspirator in one of the most complex and disturbing bank robberies in American history. But those revelations would have to wait. Rothstein was one. Prosecutors opted to press on, and the trial was rescheduled for October 12. In mid-August, he said, he'd received a phone call from an ex-girlfriend, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, whom he had dated in the 1960s and early 1970s. ... A bank robbery in Pennsylvania ends in the bombing death of a pizza deliveryman who may or may not have been a hostage forced to commit the crime. Contest ends December 30, 2019. History Hit brings you the stories that shaped the world through our award winning podcast network and an online history channel. That same day, the US Bank was robbed again. She also seemed to be the kind of person who would likely be unable to stop herself from telling the world about her brilliant ruse. At that same moment, two armed men, operating with military-like precision, entered the US Bank, twenty blocks away. After the incident—which later became known as the “collar bomb” or “pizza bomber” case—authorities said Wells had been lured into robbing the bank. Photo: Michael Schmeling, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong's brilliance had become spiked with madness. But if Diehl-Armstrong didn't set this plan in motion, who did? ADVERTISEMENTS. On Tuesday, jury selection begins in Erie in the federal trial of the woman accused of masterminding a bizarre 2003 bank robbery plot that ended … More than 50 times, the judge sought—often futilely—to cut her off. She went ballistic, slamming her fist on a conference table and cursing out the agents and her lawyer. The officers called the bomb squad and took positions behind their cars, guns drawn. Some would say that this is a solved case but I think there is still a lot of mystery surrounding this event. Suspect pleads guilty in collar bomb case – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And the scavenger hunt went from a clever piece of misdirection to a real-life race against the clock. Back in high school, according to former classmates, Diehl-Armstrong was known for her dazzling intelligence, and she still possessed an almost encyclopedic knowledge of literature, history, and the law. The teller, who told Wells there was no way to get into the vault at that time, filled a bag with cash—$8,702—and handed it over. Now she needed help removing the body and cleaning up the scene inside her Erie home, about 10 miles from Rothstein's place. As police called in the bomb squad and then took cover, Wells sat on a parking lot of an eyeglass shop near the bank. A woman has been convicted in connection with the death of a pizza delivery man who died when a collar bomb blew up after he carried out a robbery in … Barnes insisted he was kept in the dark about several aspects of the plot. After deliberating for 11 hours, the seven women and five men returned guilty verdicts on all three charges: armed bank robbery, conspiracy, and using a destructive device in a crime of violence. The Collar Bomb Bank Robbery. Upon the completion of each task, Wells was to be given more time before the device exploded.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'historyhit_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_18',144,'0','0'])); But what really happened here?eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'historyhit_com-leader-1','ezslot_6',162,'0','0'])); This long and complicated story involved an even longer investigation – but ultimately Wells was, it transpires, in on the robbery. Photo: Erie Federal Courthouse; Erie Bureau of Police; Newscom. Her moods swung sharply, and she appeared unable to control her nonstop, rapid-fire speech. A new online only channel for history lovers. He obsessively pored over the media coverage of the case and studied every piece of evidence released by the FBI. It turned out that the quiet pizza man had a relationship with a prostitute. BOMB SHOCK. He escaped detection. Rothstein's suicide note, it seemed, was a lie; Diehl-Armstrong had said that Roden's murder had everything to do with the collar bomb plot. He painstakingly melted down the murder weapon and scattered the pieces around Erie County. Did he realize the danger that he was in? Wells fidgeted. The collar exploded three minutes before the bomb squad arrived and 30 minutes after the robbery. The explosive collar had been built by a … Diehl-Armstrong, Barnes said, devised the plan and enlisted a few coconspirators to help carry it out. They told him to sit and not move while they waited for the bomb squad to come and investigate the bomb. But if he fails, the bomb will explode after 15 minutes. Photo: Michael Schmeling. Then he lifted his shirt to reveal a heavy, boxlike device dangling from his neck. The death was ruled accidental, but questions lingered; Armstrong had a head injury when he arrived at the hospital, but the case was never forwarded to the coroner's office. In late summer 2003, Wells walked into an Erie, Pa., bank wearing a bomb attached to his neck by an elaborate, locked metal collar. Those questions, Fisher says, serve as a reminder of Rothstein's ultimate triumph. Suddenly, the device started to emit an accelerating beeping noise. The collar exploded three minutes before the bomb squad arrived and 30 minutes after the robbery. How was Wells chosen to be the hostage? One of his sisters, Barbara White, repeatedly shrieked "Liar!" Wells entered the bank with this ingenious handmade gun disguised as a cane. As police called in the bomb squad and then took cover, Wells sat on a parking lot of an eyeglass shop near the bank. Barnes—the ex-crack dealer and would-be hit man—was Piccinini's star witness, and his final one. The plot ended in the death of 46-year-old Brian Wells when a bomb locked to his neck exploded following the robbery. Pizza man bombing remains odd mystery – Fox News. One of the strangest and most unique crimes in history was a bank robbery that became known as the Pizza Bomber. He said it would explode in 15 minutes. If he succeeds, he lives. The Incredible True Story of the Collar Bomb Heist – Wired. Despite his insistence to the officers that the bomb will explode at any moment, Wells seems completely at ease with the situation.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'historyhit_com-box-4','ezslot_16',160,'0','0'])); Is the bomb actually real? The delivery location, reachable only by a dirt road, was a TV transmission tower site in a wooded area off of busy Peach Street. "This powerful, booby-trapped bomb can be removed only by following our instructions... ACT NOW, THINK LATER OR YOU WILL DIE!" Wells walked into a PNC bank in August 2003 with the collar bomb … In Fisher's view, Rothstein toyed with the investigators from the start, concocting the scavenger hunt at least in part to send them on a useless chase, eating up valuable time in the precious days after the robbery. Her wavy black hair looked greasy and clung to the sides of her face. Can VR make porn profitable—and make the tech world, The tech industry's key ingredient, silicon, is extremely expensive—but. Wells was a loyal employee—in 10 years, the only time he had called in late for work was when his cat died. Psychiatrists deemed her mentally incompetent seven times before a judge finally ruled she was fit to be tried in the Thomas case. When she finally was deemed ready to face a judge and jury, she was diagnosed with glandular cancer, and the proceeding was put on hold again as she awaited her prognosis. On day five of the trial in the Erie Federal Courthouse, Ken Barnes took the stand. July 30, 2018 ADVERTISEMENTS. "You have only 15 minutes." Why scatter clues in public locations where they might be discovered? he told them in desperation. He didn't get far. ‘Let Them Eat Cake’: What Really Led to Marie Antoinette’s Execution. He says they held him at gunpoint, attached the bomb around his neck, and then instructed him to carry out the robbery. Then there was the 911 call. He had a short cane in his right hand and a strange bulge under the collar of his T-shirt. He gets the last laugh in that sense. Rothstein did what she asked. Wells walked into a PNC bank in August 2003 with the collar bomb around his neck. This baffling true crime story starts with the grisly death of a pizza man who robs a bank with a bomb around his neck -- and gets weirder from there. It was a local matter and seemed to have nothing to do with their case. But over the years, that brilliance had become spiked with madness. But in April 2005, they got a phone call from a state police officer who had just met with Diehl-Armstrong about an unrelated homicide. Evidence collected over the course of the complex investigation: a Remington shotgun shell. Sorry but that sounds sketchy in and of itself. He was tackled as he tried to sprint away and locked into the device at gunpoint. Prelude: The teenage daughter of a wealthy Australian businessman is strapped to a bomb in a brazen extortion attempt. ‘The Most Impressive Medieval Grave in Europe’: What Is The Sutton Hoo Treasure? He lifted up his shirt to show the bank workers that he had a bomb strapped to him. He walks up to the teller and hands her a note demanding $250,000 cash. In late summer 2003, Wells walked into an Erie, Pa., bank wearing a bomb attached to his neck by an elaborate, locked metal collar. 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