Bankers in Washington are offering $115,000 in reward money to assist authorities in putting a stop to a recent series of pipe bombings and robberies at the state's banks.
U.S. Bancorp's Washington subsidiary, twice robbed and once bombed by masked gunmen, has put up most of the money.
The reward was prompted by two robberies at the same U.S. Bancorp branch in Spokane, the first last April and the second in mid-July. In the first incident, a pipe bomb was set off at a teller window, causing extensive damage to the lobby. No one was injured.
"This is obviously an extreme situation," said Ray G. Lauer, spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Seattle.
The large reward apparently caught the attention of the perpetrators - believed to be a right-wing Christian group called the Phineas Priesthood. Last month, U.S. Bancorp received a threatening letter from Phineas, indicating that the bank would burn if the reward were not rescinded.
The Washington Bankers Association last week chose to stand by U.S. Bancorp and added $15,000 to the $100,000 offered as a reward.
"This was definitely done to support the entire financial industry here," said Sue Stone, spokesperson for the trade group. "I'm not going to say it's in response to anything, but hopefully with enough money someone is going to give some information."
Washington banks are keenly aware of the unusual violence, particularly after the second attack in July, triggering the arrival of more than 50 FBI agents to the Spokane area.
All of those bankers interviewed said they have either beefed up security in branches or have put employees through additional training.
"We're taking the situation very seriously," said Rob Gill, spokesperson for KeyBank Washington, which has $7.7 billion of assets in the state. "We did a refresher course for bomb procedures and put security officers at the branches and kept them there until the staff felt comfortable."
At Washington Mutual Inc., which has 12 branches in Spokane, the thrift's security chief met with FBI officials to learn more about the case. The FBI conducted additional training for the thrift's employees, a Washington Mutual official said.
The beleaguered employees in U.S. Bancorp's Spokane branch have all received counseling, and at least some of them have been transferred, at their request, to other locations, said Cindy E. Duryee, spokesperson for U.S. Bancorp's Washington operations.
"We're being very sensitive to our employees' needs and for those feeling uncomfortable remaining at the branch," she said.
Both of the robberies occurred just minutes after pipe bombs were detonated at other locations in Spokane, the first at a local newspaper office and the second at Planned Parenthood. FBI officials said these bombings were likely set as diversions to draw attention and police away from the robberies.
The Phineas Priesthood is believed to have ties with the right-wing militia movement, though its arguments are based on scripture rather than on constitutional issues. In the a threatening note sent last month to the bank, the group said, "Your gods are paper. $100,000 of them are no match for Yahweh."
