BOMBINGS
DADE COUNTY FLORIDA
1-16 to 7-13 1967
[Reference:
Dade County Florida OCB file #3A-33-8]
Miami Herald July 14, 1967
Luck Keeps Target Alive
By: JIM SAVAGE
Herald Staff Writer
Greater Miami has been rocked by more than a dozen bombings
in six
months, including two this week, and lawmen fear it's just a
matter of
time before someone gets killed in the exploding wave of
terrorism.
Some of the most sophisticated – and deadly – explosives
known to
ordnance experts are in the hands of the bombers, lawmen
admit.
Dynamite, nitroglycerin, powerful plastic explosives, white
phosphorus
hand grenades and other explosive devices have blasted
homes, stores,
and autos in the unprecedented series of bombings.
Several of the blasts have been linked to a violent
underworld war for control of illegal gambling operations.
There has been an unrelated series of bombings in the Miami
Cuban
community. And officials can't offer any motive for
some of the
bombings not linked to the underworld war or Cuban group.
No one has been injured or killed in the blasts. But
lawmen
figured the next intended victim may not be as lucky as
William
Schantz, who escaped death Thursday only because the bomb
under his
auto hood was improperly wired.
"Some of the bombs, no doubt, were planted as warnings, but
the bomb
Thursday surely would have killed Schautz if it detonated,"
Sgt. Robert
Worsham of the Sheriffs bomb squad, said.
When the amateur bombers bungle the job, as they seem prone
to do, Tom
Brodie, Worsham and other members of the bomb squad have to
risk their
lives to disarm the devices.
There have been several close calls. An unexploded
bomb recovered
from the house of bookie, Mickey Zion North Bay Village
apartment
needed only a slight jar to detonate since the fuse was
activated,
Worsham said.
How do the bombers get the explosives and fuses for the
bombs?
Lawmen say that dynamite and certain detonators are
relatively easy to buy or steal from construction firms and
other sources.
But they admit they can't explain where the military-type
plastic explosives and white phosphorus hand grenades are
coming from.
Officials at Homestead Air Force Base and other local
military
installations have reported no stolen or missing explosives
for several
years.
But the powerful new plastic putty C-4 explosives were
originally
designed for easy transport, and it would be no difficult
task to bring
them into Dade County from any part of the country.
No one ever explained how three Cubans got their hands on
three aerial
bombs, three napalm bombs, 15 bombs of plastic-type
explosives and
other weapons in January.
The trio was arrested at Tamiami Airport as they prepared to
take off
in a twin-engine airplane to allegedly bomb targets in Cuba.
This is the box score for bombings since January:
JULY 13 – William Schantz of North Miami Beach escapes death
when bomb
in his auto fails to detonate. (Lawmen believe this was a
case of
mistaken identity and bomb was meant for a neighbor.)
JULY 12 – Miami Officer Gerald Saslaw and family escape
injury when a
dynamite bomb explodes outside their Southwest area home,
(Miami Mayor
Robert High wants the city to post a $1,000 reward in this
case.)
JUNE 16 – Alfie Mart's all night newsstand and bookie
hangout on Miami
Beach's Alton Rd. is blasted by bomb planted in telephone
booth.
JUNE 3 – The unoccupied auto belonging to the wife3 of
bookie Mickey Zion of North Bay Village bombed.
JUNE 1 – Enrique Market next to Alfie Mart's newsstand
bombed. (Again, believed to be a case of mistaken
location.)
JUNE 1 – Gambler Chappie Rand's cleaning store on North Dade
strip hit with two white phosphorous grenades.
MAY 30 – Bomb tossed on porch of gambler Mickey Zion's
apartment house; it failed to explode.
MAY 26 – Small bomb found behind Torch of Friendship and
disarmed.
MAY 23 – Cuban Representation in Exile office on West
Flagler bombed.
MAY 14 – Peace Center of Miami office on Flagler blasted.
MAR. 4 – Piranha Boat Co. in Hialeah owned by Cuban bombed.
JAN. 23 – Hamilton Realty office in North Dade blasted a few
days after
proprietor evicts two well-known racketeers from his
apartment house.
JAN. 16 – Downtown Greyhound Bus terminal evacuated after
bomb squad discovers two sticks of dynamite in locker.
Herald 14 July 1967
CI 3-29 (auto bombing - ZION)
CI 3a-34 (SCHANTZ auto)
CI 3-32 (SASLAW house bombing)
CI 3-31 (ALFIES bombing)
CI 3-30 (EPICURE MARKET)
CI 3-28 (RAND bombing)
CI 3a-33 (ZION unexploded bomb)
CI 3-27 (RECE bombing)
CI 3-26 (Miami Peace Center bombing)
CI 3-22 (HAMILTON REALTY bombing)
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