CNN 02/09/03:
The FBI on Tuesday released photos of a steel collar used to secure a bomb to the neck of a pizza deliveryman killed last week after robbing a bank in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Is it just me, or is this about the weirdest piece of news that you've heard lately?
It seems like an elaborate "suicide-by-cop" scenario or some fantastic "perfect crime" that could have only been cooked up in the fevered mind of a 46-year-old, uh, pizza deliveryman.
I don't buy the evil genius in the abandoned TV transmitter theory. Better he should turn his attention to that and start pirating satellite signals.
Bank robbery is these days a crime for losers -- junkies and deadenders who'll be lucky to get away with a couple of thousand dollars, usually equipped with an exploding dye-pack.
And with the police about two minutes behind. (Would that they responded with such alacrity to the average housebreaking.)
You'd think, too, that such a devious plot would have a more dramatic punchline than a crappy pipe bomb that barely delivered a flesh wound, but had enough concussive effect to rupture vital organs or blood vessels.
You really want to rip the scene apart, you might want to look into Semtex or C4. Consult your local Palestinian.