Friday, July 11, 1986 | 6 a.m.
Rigorous investigation Thursday by Metro Police and the FBI resulted in the arrest of a 41-year-old Colorado man, who will be charged with planting a pipe bomb in the race and sports book of Bally's Grand Hotel late Wednesday.
The FBI and Metro announced that John William Fechenbach of Evergreen, Colo., will be charged with attempting to extort $200,000 from the Las Vegas Strip resort.
The bomb, consisting of black powder from pistol or riffle ammunition in a four-inch casing of galvanized pipe and linked to a six-inch fuse that could be lit with a match, was discovered by Bally's security guards on a chair in the closed book at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.
A caller to the hotel minutes earlier had alerted security guards where to look for it.
He said the device wold be found in a white plastic grocery bag. "You will find something of interest there," he added, according to a Bally's spokesman, Tom Engleman, who recounted the incident to reporters Thursday.
After the device was found by security and removed by the Las Vegas Fire Department bomb squad, the caller phoned again, saying he wanted $200,000 and warned if his demand was not met, more bombs would be placed in the hotel and detonated, according to Engelman.
Bally's security captain John Merola, who had been connected to the unidentified caller by the hotel switchboard, reportedly told him he was not authorized to discuss money.
The extortionist said he would call back and emphasized to Merola he could and would place more of the devices in the hotel, Engleman said.
Fechenbach was arrested in a telephone booth at 3400 Las Vegas Boulevard South, but it could not be confirmed if he was galling Bally's Grand at the time. He was armed with a .357 Magnum pistol, but was arrested without incident, an FBI spokesman said.
Prior to the arrest, the hotel received no more money demands and no more bombs were found, although the hotel's vast security force was placed on a state of extreme alert and searches for more bombs were conducted throughout the 2,900-room hotel at various times Thursday.
The one device discovered was purposely detonated in a steel tank but resulted in an explosion of only firecracker intensity, according to Fire Department officials.
The FBI declined all comment on the case, but a spokesman acknowledged the agency is conducting an investigation in conjunction with Metro detectives.
Metro officers assigned to the case could not be reached but had said they were following a few clues that led to Denver.
They obtained the schedules of commercial airline flights on Thursday from McCarran International Airport to Denver and reportedly watched some departures.
The race and sports book is in a central public area of Bally's huge casino. Although it was closed at the time, anyone could have wandered in and out at will, Engleman said.
The extortionist's voice on the phone was ordinary with no hint of accent or unusual characteristics, according to Engleman. It was that of a middle-aged man, he said.
Fechenbach was taken to the FBI offices for fingerprinting and was scheduled to be arraigned before a federal magistrate at 8 a.m. Friday. He will be charged with extortion, a violation of the Hobbs Act, which is punishable by 20 years in prison and a fine of $10,000. It was believed his case would be presented to a federal grand jury, eliminating the need for a preliminary hearing before the magistrate.
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