4. The Casino That Was Held Hostage With a Bomb
One of the nuttiest cases ever handled by the FBI was the bombing of Harvey’s Resort Hotel and Casino in Stateline, Nevada. It began on the morning of August 26th, 1980, when men in white jumpsuits pretending to deliver a copying machine, rolled a big bomb into the hotel, deposited it in the middle of the employee lounge, and left.
Sometime later, an employee noticed a note attached to the delivery. It read in part: “STERN WARNING TO THE MANAGEMENT AND BOMB SQUAD: Do not move or tilt this bomb, because the mechanism controlling the detonators in it will set it off at a movement of less than .01 of the open end Richter scale. … Do not try to take it apart. The flathead screws are also attached to triggers, and as much as 1/4 to 3/4 of a turn will cause an explosion“. It went on to add that for $3 million in used $100 bills, delivered via helicopter, the bomb maker would provide a combination of switches, allowing safe removal for a remote detonation.