Pizza Bomber: The Untold Story of America’s Most Shocking Bank Robbery (Berkley Publishing)

Full disclosure: I literally had a front row seat for much of the early portion of this horrific story. I am a recovering radio talk show host; my morning show was broadcast from a studio situated on State Street in Erie, Pennsylvania, which was directly across the street from the office building that housed the Erie office of the FBI. On a regular basis during the early days of the investigation of what would be dubbed the Pizza Bomber case, I attended press conferences that were held in the FBI office or a block down in Erie City Council chambers.

I waded through much of the same information that Erie Times News reporter and co-author of this book Ed Palatella did and regularly saw Jerry Clark, the FBI agent in charge of the investigation and co-author standing to the side of the podium where the latest information was being discussed. With that front row seat, I regularly saw law enforcement types including Clark, parade the string of bizarre characters involved in this story through the side entrance of the Highmark Building and into the FBI office for questioning.

On one occasion my co-host had the opportunity to pepper William Rothstein, a large, bearded, character decked out in his trademark bib overalls, with questions live on the air, while he stood on the sidewalk outside the studio waiting for a ride. Rothstein remained tight lipped, not responding to any question posed.

They say that truth is stranger than fiction and if any fiction writer had ever proposed a book laced with such a bizarre cast of characters and such a truly far-fetched story, they would likely have been laughed out of any publisher’s office. It is that dysfunctional, gang who couldn’t shoot straight and the tenacity of Clark and his fellow investigators that make this story so interesting.

 

It was a beautiful, sunny day on Thursday, August 28, 2003. The events that would unfold on the busy retail hub that the locals in Erie call “upper Peach Street” were incredible to the point of almost defying description. Brian Wells, a pizza delivery man walked into a branch of PNC Bank wearing and oversized T-shirt covering a large, metal contraption that was fitted around his neck, carrying a large, black device that was fashioned to resemble a cane, that would later be determined to be a cane gun, and demanded money from a teller.

Shortly after the bank robbery was completed, Wells was stopped by police and placed on the ground in front of his vehicle. It was at this point Wells began a rambling dissertation about the device that was locked around his neck. Police quickly determined that the collar could indeed be an explosive device as Wells claimed. The first responders backed away and called for the Erie Police Bomb Squad to respond to the scene. As time dragged while the bomb squad attempted to work their way through the usually hectic Peach Street traffic, Wells became increasingly agitated, pleading with those on scene to help him and remove the locked collar.

At 3:18 PM, three minutes before the bomb squad would arrive on scene, the device detonated, killing Wells and sending this story into the national spotlight. It would also start the clock on the investigation that would consume hundreds of man hours, cost participants in the investigation their marriages and take countless twists and circuitous turns before concluding with indictments of the conspirators who were involved in the twisted plot to rob a bank.

Central among that group was Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, a near-infamous women who was serving time for the murder of her boyfriend, James Roden. Investigators believe Roden had made the fatal mistake of claiming he would expose the bank robbery plot to law enforcement which led to his untimely demise. Further twisting the tale was that fact that Roden’s body ended up in the freezer at Rothstein’s house. Armstrong had first come to attention of law enforcement when she was acquitted of the murder of another of her beaus in the late 1980s.

As I worked my way through the book I was amazed to remember how many of those that played a role in the extended tale had succumbed to illness or had died under mysterious circumstances. The story has told by Clark and Palatella has a disjointed feel to it, but when you reflect on just how twisted this tale became and the manic mental state of those involved in the plot, that disjointedness seems almost fitting. Despite that front row seat, the book does reveal some amazing detail of how investigators honed in on this group, picking up threads of the story that would lead to not only the indictments, but also the convictions of those central to the story. Palatella details his nearly daily conversations with Diehl-Armstrong, as she called collect from whatever correctional facility she was currently housed in to berate, rant, rave and regularly, loudly, proclaim her innocence. It made me feel sorry for him and glad she didn’t have my number.

While some, including Wells family may disagree with the outcome of the case, Pizza Bomber is a fascinating look into the day-to-day inner workings of the investigation into what certainly is and will remain one of the strangest crimes in U.S. history.

There’s a Reason Why Bob Costas is a Sportscaster…

During halftime of NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcast, tiny sportscaster Bob Costas felt the need to step out of his usual role and while talking about murderous Kansas City Chief linebacker Jovan Belcher opined by quoting a fellow sports goof Jason Whitlock;

“Writer Jason Whitlock, with whom I do not always agree but today said it so well that we may as well just quote or paraphrase from the end of his article.

Our current gun culture, Whitlock wrote, ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy, and that more convenience-store confrontations over loud music coming from a car will leave more teenage boys bloodied and dead.’

Handguns do not enhance our safety. They exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments, and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it.

In the coming days, Jovan Belcher’s actions and their possible connection to football will be analyzed. Who knows? But here, wrote Jason Whitlock, is what I believe: If Jovan Belcher didn’t possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.”

Costas should stick to what he knows...sports and plastic surgery

There’s a reason why Costas and for that matter Whitlock are sportscasters; they just are not all that intelligent. Does anyone really believe that an oversized individual like Belcher could only cause the demise of the mother of his child by using a gun? I would bet that there were plenty of implements of death within arm’s reach in the couple's home.

The problem with simpleton’s like Costas, Whitlock, and most mind-numbed, gun control advocates is that they blame the tool, not the person using the tool. Costas and Whitlock’s misguided thought that the elimination of guns from our society would somehow eliminate violence, has been proven wrong in every nation that has ever attempted it. In fact in places where gun ownership is mandatory, violent crime is almost non-existent. Even not-to-bright sportscasters should be able to grasp the concept that bad guys won’t take the chance to act out if they might me met with serious firepower.

If Costas and Whitlock are so dead set against guns, then I would encourage them to take the lead and post signs outside their home that read; “GUN FREE HOME.” Let’s see how safe they feel then. I don’t just doubt that they would take that step I know for a fact that these gutless wonders will blanche at the mere suggestion because like all mind-numbed liberals it’s do as I say not as I do!    

Stephen Moore – Who’s the Fairest of Them All (Encounter Books)

The talking point became a mantra for Obama and the Democrats during the run up to the election that the “rich” need to “pay their fair share.” This class warfare line was repeated so many times that my ears started to bleed.

The problem is, not one member of the lazy media ever bothered to ask exactly what a “fair share” really amounts to! When you consider that the Top 1% of earners pay 39% of the total income tax nut, the Top 25% of earner clock in at 86% and the Top 50% reach 97% of all income taxes, it seems like a relevant question.

Economist, Wall Street Journal editorial board member and Club for Growth founder Stephen Moore not only asks the question, but provides a clear, concise (just a shade over 100 pages) and easy to understand (even for the average Obama voter) answer in his latest book, Who’s the Fairest of Them All.. Simply put, this should be required reading for every American.

 

In the space of a couple charts and graphs, Moore slices, dices and hammers to dust the Liberal argument against so-called “tax-cuts for the rich.” He details the undeniable facts that every time it’s been tried, cutting tax rates has resulted in an increase in the tax revenues to the treasury.

Surprisingly, Moore points out, “the Republicans almost universally opposed and the Democrats almost universally favored” the cuts in income tax rates that were proposed by President John F. Kennedy. Makes you wonder about what spurred the 180 degree flip by the parties.

While Liberals may be allowed to hold onto their own twisted version of reality, they are not allowed to twist the facts. Moore lays bare with facts the fallacy of the liberal mindset that tax cuts come with a price tag to the government and that the only way to bring an increase in revenues to the Federal coffers is to elevate the rate of taxation.

 

 

 

Rick Santorum – American Patriots: Answering the Call to Freedom (Tyndale House)

More often than not when we hear or read stories of America’s founding it is packaged in the form of group of men dubbed “the Founding Fathers.” With American Patriots: Answering the Call to Freedom, former Presidential candidate, Senator Rick Santorum delves into the deep bench of folks who sacrificed blood, sweat and fortune to contribute to the founding of this great nation.

Broken down into three section; Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness the book spells out 25 tales of the heroes to that founding. While the contributions of the likes of the familiar; Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Franklin are widely acknowledged, Santorum also provide detail into the likes of Dabney, Hart, Darragh, and Francisco and the critical role they played.

At a time when our nation is in danger slipping into an abysiss this book is a strong reminder the sacrifice those present at the founding made for the liberty that so many will so easily sacrifice for silly handouts from the government. I would recommend buying a copy for any Obama voter, but they would likely be too distracted by their Obama phone and too stupid to read it anyway.

 Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for my honest review.

Richard Minitier – Leading From Behind (St. Martins Press)

The President of the United States is often referred to as the “leader of the free world.” The underlying premise of award winning, investigative journalist Richard Minitier’s latest best seller Leading From Behind” is an examination of the leadership skills of President Barack Obama.

 

Minitier examines Obama’s quick rise to the highest office in the land and dissects Obama’s leadership, notably on some very high profile issues like debt/taxes, healthcare, and foreign policy issues like killing Bin Laden and Israel..

While the so-called “Affordable Care Act” has been labeled one of Obama’s signature first term achievements, Minitier makes the case that Obama amounts to nothing more than an absentee landlord when it came to getting the heavy lifting done on getting the bill passed. While it is the legislative branches purview to write and pass legislation, it is the President who often drives the bus on what they deem to be pet projects or legislation.

Certainly healthcare reform was front and center on the Obama agenda when he took office in 2009. Yet when it came to deliver the goods on a reform plan, Obama bailed and left the heavy lifting to then House Speaker, Nancy “we have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it” Pelosi.

If you have any working knowledge of Obama’s brief exploits in elective office where he made of habit of not taking a stand, not leading and not voting or voting present. In the Illinois state house, Obama voted present 129 times during his tenure. The folks at  govtrack.org place Obama at the mid-low point, if albeit to the far left end of the spectrum when it came to leading on legislation in his two grueling years in the U.S. Senate. Obama chose to sit back while old dog Democrats like Reid, Feinstein, Kennedy, Clinton, Biden, and Specter took the legislative lead.

A quick look at “key” votes in 2008 (according to Project Vote Smart) Obama, a man of the people who claims to care about the middle class, he did not vote on legislation ranging from; Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEP), funding for AIDS/TB/Malaria prevention, a Medicare Bill, Housing foreclosure assistance program and an economic stimulus plan, among others.  

During the 2008 Presidential campaign some pundits were critical about Obama’s lack of experience and his voting record as his desire to pursue higher office and not want to leave a trail or record to have called into question. Minitier however points to a guy not so concerned with being on the record, but the exact opposite of a leader; a guy who is disinterested, rick averse and generally believes he is above it all.

Leading From Behind paints a Barack Obama as a guy who truly believes that he was elected President and he should get everything he wants; someone who confuses Presidents with dictators. It clearly seeps through his approach to leadership, to dictate without having to do the heavy lifting of actual governing. Actual governing can and should pawned be off on others that are beneath him; hence his passing the real work off to others, mostly women. Given the tenor of his campaign’s claims that Republicans are engaging in a “war on women” it makes you wonder about Obama’s attitudes toward women when they are positioned as mere work horses.

Who's the Biggest Jizzbag?!

Not sure if it's the election inching ever closer or what, but the whack-a-mole Liberals seem to be getting nuttier by the second. Some comments they're making have me wondering who the biggest liberal jizzbag is.

Some examples for your consideration:

Joe Biden

Liberals love to pass off the nearly continuous gaffs of Vice President Joe Biden as "Joe being Joe" but the more this guys does and says the more I wonder if the soon to be 70 year old is in the early stages of dementia or just plan batshit crazy!

Recently Biden was among the contingent of President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who met with families of the victims of the terrorist attacks in Libya...let me repeat that to be perfectly clear; VICTIMS OF THE TERRORIST ATTACK IN LIBYA. Biden approached Charles Wood, the father of Tyrone Wood, who heroically tried to rescue the Ambassador to Libya, and asked Mr. Wood "did your son always have balls the size of cue balls/"

Mr. Wood recounts the story in this long, but worthwhile clip:

Seriously is that an appropriate comment ever, let alone in this somber setting? Keep in mind this joker is oen heartbeat away from being President!

Ted Turner

CNN founder, environmental wingnut, and certifiable loon Ted Turner appeared on Piers Morgan's CNN mess recently and since no one watches, I fugured you'd need to see this amazing clip of this batshit crazy Liberal commenting that he's happy that more American soldiers are commiting suicide than are dying in war.

Not sure what this ass clown is doing these days, but if he's selling something, product or service he deserves to be boycotted and put out of business! This jizz needs to be taught a lesson and treated the worst way possible and for him that is to be ignored!

Paul Krugman

New York Times columnist and alleged economist Paul Krugman recently told the Liberal Huff Po folks; “I think there’s a real chance that [Romney will] manage to pursue a policy in the first couple of years that simultaneously blows up the deficit and depresses the economy.”

Has this guy been sleeping for the past four years? Of course what would expect from the clown who said that Obama's economic stimulus plan failed, because it wasn't large enough!

Paul Krugman: Double-Dip Recession If Romney Wins

Things That Drive Me Crazy

Has we approach Election Day and the political season starts to boil, there are a huge number of things that drive me absolutely crazy! Stupid politicians, even more ignorant members of the media and generally stupid voters truly push me over the edge.

So I decided to run just a hand full down and try to explain the stupidity-

Stupidity- I just love when politicians, generally liberal, Democrat politicians say that “tax cuts cost too much” or we “we can’t afford tax cuts.”

Reality- Tax cuts do not cost the government anything. Think about it. How does the government allowing you to keep more of your money, “cost” them anything? It’s not like you give them the money, they take possession of it, then they give it back! They never have/had it. Let me explain it in simple terms, even liberals should be able to understand; this would be like me saying to you, “hey you owe me $20.” You never loaned me $20. I never did any work or gave you anything that is valued at $20. When you don’t pay me; I go around and say that you cost me $20. Much like the government in the tax cut example, I assumed that you owed me $20 so it was just like me having that money; mystical, government thinking at best!

Stupidity – “Mitt Romney wants to give tax breaks to his big business cronies.”

Reality – Let me say this as clearly and simply as possible: BUSINESSES DO NOT PAY TAXES. Yes, you read that right…BUSINESSES DO NOT PAY TAXES. If you are a business owner, yes you built that! And if you want to keep it, you know that you have to price your products and/or services to include the amount of taxes that you will have to pay to the layers of government. I don’t care if you’re making widgets, creating web pages, or selling me breakfast, you know how much the raw materials cost, the cost of the staff to make it, turning the lights on and other equipment, heck even the cost of that equipment over time, and you price your stuff accordingly, including the taxes and some margin for profit. Those costs get passed through to your customers so at the end of the day, businesses don’t pay taxes! So when politicians talking about raising taxes, adding regulations, and things like raising the minimum wage, businesses aren’t going to pay the additional costs out of their profits, they will simply re-price everything to cover those increases and pass it along to the end consumer. If they are in an extremely competitive business, they may have to absorb some or all of those costs, then they may have to dip into that profit margin and that will have an impact on things like adding staff, growing product lines or locations and salary/benefit increases. 

Stupidity – when it comes to taxes; “The rich need to pay their fair share”

Reality – I am not sure what the definition of “fair” is; given that nearly 50% of U.S. workers pay NO FEDERAL INCOME TAXES. The top 10% of earners currently pay 70% of the total tax nut! What do you think is fair? I have always been a big believer in the mile/inch example. If liberals had their way the tax base would be an inch wide and the taxes would go a mile deep. I believe that fairness calls for the opposite; that the tax base should be a mile wide and that taxes should go an inch deep. Get it? We put more people into the work force to grow that base; in the process we spread the burden over a wider range of people. That way everybody pays something and the burden isn’t left with the few.

Stupidity – As Vice President Joe Biden scoffed and snickered his way through the VP debate he chuckled that the proposed tax increase would “impact only 2.5% of small businesses.”

Reality – while the chuckleheads in the Obama administration will tell you that the 2.5% is “small potatoes” they won’t tell you that that equates to 894,000 businesses! They definitely won’t tell you that if these increases take place, based on the current economic system most businesses project that they will cut 2-4 workers to absorb the impact of the tax increase…see businesses don’t pay taxes above. Do some basic math, cutting 2-4 employees would range from 1,788,000 to 3,576,000 more of your fellow Americans on the un-employment line. Small potatoes…right? Proving once again what a dumbass Biden is.

Stupidity – “The economy is better positioned to handle higher gas prices”

Reality – While driving one day, I heard that gem escape the lips of some member of the genius media class…unfortunately, I didn’t catch who dropped that pearl of wisdom. But it got me thinking; A- Does anybody really think that the fragile (and even that term is generous) U.S. economy is in any position to “handle” higher prices at the pump? B- Where are the Liberal, Democrat members of Congress who were soooooo apoplectic about blaming “oilmen” Bush and Cheney for the high price of gas? Then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi  and the Dems held a price conference at a gas station with the price of $3.19 a gallon as the back drop, today a photo of that same station with a price of $4.45 per gallon.

 

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) issued a release that day, July 12, 2006 stating; “Oil companies are tipping American families upside down and shaking money out of their pockets and guess who is helping them? The Bush Administration and this GOP Congress. Last week, a gallon of regular gasoline averaged $2.93 nationally, which represents a $0.71 increase over prices at the same time last year, and a whopping $1.66 increase over the $1.26 charged for a gallon of regular gasoline when Bush took office.”

Yet today they only thing coming from Liberal Democrats is…the sounds of silence…insert the sound of crickets here. Seriously…the price of gas has more than doubled since Obama took office (then $1.84 or $1.79 per gallon depending on the survey you read) and has remained consistently high and yet there is not talk about investigations or protest from Democrats. The solution is simple; start to tap into the resources available in this country. While Obama continues to lie about his record on domestic oil production claiming it’s increased, the reality is he has put a road block in front of new production that isn’t taking place on private lands; the only increase is coming on private lands, like the shale oil  in North Dakota and the Marcellus Shale right here in PA. Gee wonder why North Dakota has a 3% unemployment rate and a growing economy? It’s really not brain surgery.