On Nov. 23, 1976, the Spokane Police Department received a note, handwritten by some person or group calling themselves “Omega” and addressed simply to the “Citizens of Spokane.”
Omega claimed they’d acquired 100 pounds of radioactive material, now split across 10 discrete containers and secreted around the city. They’d wired each with explosives, Omega added, effectively creating a clutch of dirty bombs. Unless they received an oddly specific $560,000 in small bills, Omega would detonate the packages, bathing Spokane in a radioactive cloud.
The note gave no timeline for the threat. It only told officials to await payment instructions…