"Time Bomber" Book Research Funds
Donation protected
#TimeBomberBook
Thank you everybody who has contributed so far!
*********************
I am independent author, Steve Esposito, and I’ve been working on this project for over three years on my own, now I need funding assistance to get documents from the FBI. A published article of mine, related to the book, is here, and I spoke at a conference about it at length here .
I submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records in January, 2016 and they responded a few days ago. They found “approximately 29,282 pages of records potentially responsive” to my request. If they all turn out to be relevant, the bill will be $880.00 to receive them on CD. Paper is much more expensive and I prefer CD anyway.
The book and documentary are about an ingenious bank bomber who created time bombs, with seven month long timers, in 1971. He planted them in safety deposit boxes around the US and then disappeared, until 1986 when he was captured in San Francisco.
He was in Abbie Hoffman’s inner circle and served as Stew Albert’s campaign manager before going underground and leading an incredibly productive and loving life.
I now have until January 9, 2017 to tell them how much I am able to pay and see what they will send. By January 6, 2017 whatever has been raised here, up to $880 will be what I inform the FBI I can pay. If it is less, then that is what I will tell them. After they do their processing and reviewing, and excluding or including of documents, it might cost less, but I will not know until they decide to tell me.
If I raise more than what this costs, all other funds will still go toward further research and other items directly attached to the book and documentary. This is not the first FOIA for this project, my wife and I have already paid the FBI over $200 for other documents.
The cover was produced by me, no outside costs, and is not yet final. The hand-written pages are my forgeries from a copy he sent to internationally syndicated Chicago newspaper columnist, Mike Royko. I plan on self-publishing and everybody who contributes will be a part of it.
This story goes back a long way for me. I was 10 years old when the story broke, and I lived not far from Chicago, one of the cities where they found three of his bombs. It stuck with me all this time and about three years ago, a casual internet search found a good bit of news to start comprehensive research.
It was slow going at first, but I found news and magazine articles, and eventually some already released FBI documents. From there, I was able to track down and interview one of the Special Agents who identified the bomber, as well as a few of his acquaintances. One was the little brother of the woman the bomber was dating just before he went underground.
The rough blog for the book is http://TimeBomberBook.Blogspot.Com
Early drafts of chapter openings can be found there, however as I discovered more documents I knew that I could not properly complete the book without documents from the investigators.
One of the sort-of nice things about FBI documents from the early 1970s is that they appear to have been written under the impression that nobody outside the government would see them. Not all, but many. Getting that raw story is important to this story. Still, any source needs to be taken in the totality of the other information.
Those who contribute $100 or more will receive a memory-stick copy (or a download via DropBox, not sure which is best yet) of all FBI documents from this FOIA, plus all I've already received from previous FOIAs. However, I don’t know when I will be receiving anything, so please be patient.
If you contribute, I will be forever grateful for your help.
Steve Esposito
********************
1/14/2017 - Little update and clarification. No money will be withdrawn from this campaign until I get the FBI bill/demand for FOIA document copies. Additional contributions are appreciated to cover the FBI bill as well as other direct expenses for the project.
1/6/2017 - I responded to the FBI via snail mail today, but the campaign is not over. Now the wait for a response from the FBI begins. Other expenses will come up, so if you can contribute now or in the future, it will be greatly appreciated and all funds will go toward getting this book and documentary published.
Steve
Thank you everybody who has contributed so far!
*********************
I am independent author, Steve Esposito, and I’ve been working on this project for over three years on my own, now I need funding assistance to get documents from the FBI. A published article of mine, related to the book, is here, and I spoke at a conference about it at length here .
I submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records in January, 2016 and they responded a few days ago. They found “approximately 29,282 pages of records potentially responsive” to my request. If they all turn out to be relevant, the bill will be $880.00 to receive them on CD. Paper is much more expensive and I prefer CD anyway.
The book and documentary are about an ingenious bank bomber who created time bombs, with seven month long timers, in 1971. He planted them in safety deposit boxes around the US and then disappeared, until 1986 when he was captured in San Francisco.
He was in Abbie Hoffman’s inner circle and served as Stew Albert’s campaign manager before going underground and leading an incredibly productive and loving life.
I now have until January 9, 2017 to tell them how much I am able to pay and see what they will send. By January 6, 2017 whatever has been raised here, up to $880 will be what I inform the FBI I can pay. If it is less, then that is what I will tell them. After they do their processing and reviewing, and excluding or including of documents, it might cost less, but I will not know until they decide to tell me.
If I raise more than what this costs, all other funds will still go toward further research and other items directly attached to the book and documentary. This is not the first FOIA for this project, my wife and I have already paid the FBI over $200 for other documents.
The cover was produced by me, no outside costs, and is not yet final. The hand-written pages are my forgeries from a copy he sent to internationally syndicated Chicago newspaper columnist, Mike Royko. I plan on self-publishing and everybody who contributes will be a part of it.
This story goes back a long way for me. I was 10 years old when the story broke, and I lived not far from Chicago, one of the cities where they found three of his bombs. It stuck with me all this time and about three years ago, a casual internet search found a good bit of news to start comprehensive research.
It was slow going at first, but I found news and magazine articles, and eventually some already released FBI documents. From there, I was able to track down and interview one of the Special Agents who identified the bomber, as well as a few of his acquaintances. One was the little brother of the woman the bomber was dating just before he went underground.
The rough blog for the book is http://TimeBomberBook.Blogspot.Com
Early drafts of chapter openings can be found there, however as I discovered more documents I knew that I could not properly complete the book without documents from the investigators.
One of the sort-of nice things about FBI documents from the early 1970s is that they appear to have been written under the impression that nobody outside the government would see them. Not all, but many. Getting that raw story is important to this story. Still, any source needs to be taken in the totality of the other information.
Those who contribute $100 or more will receive a memory-stick copy (or a download via DropBox, not sure which is best yet) of all FBI documents from this FOIA, plus all I've already received from previous FOIAs. However, I don’t know when I will be receiving anything, so please be patient.
If you contribute, I will be forever grateful for your help.
Steve Esposito
********************
1/14/2017 - Little update and clarification. No money will be withdrawn from this campaign until I get the FBI bill/demand for FOIA document copies. Additional contributions are appreciated to cover the FBI bill as well as other direct expenses for the project.
1/6/2017 - I responded to the FBI via snail mail today, but the campaign is not over. Now the wait for a response from the FBI begins. Other expenses will come up, so if you can contribute now or in the future, it will be greatly appreciated and all funds will go toward getting this book and documentary published.
Steve
Organizer
Steve Esposito
Organizer
Knoxville, TN