Four gasoline bombs were found in the famous ski resort town of Aspen on New Years Eve, shutting down plans on what is usually one of the city’s busiest nights of the year.

Two of the bombs were found in area banks, disguised as presents, while two others were located in nearby alleys.  Threatening notes were also found near the explosives, one promising “mass death” if the banks did not hand over $60,000.  All four bombs were dismantled by a bomb squad from Grand Junction, Stephanie Dasaro, a spokeswoman for the police, told The New York Times.

The suspect, James C. Blanning Jr., 72, shot himself hours after the bombs were found.  Police found his body on Thursday in a car on a rural county road, Aspen Police said.

News of the bombs forced some area hotels to evacuate, as police blocked off a 16-block area until early Thursday morning.  A fireworks display was also cancelled.

Blanning, a longtime Aspen resident, was apparently upset that he never profited from the community’s transformation from a small mining town to a luxury resort area.  He was well known among locals in the area.

“He was just a wild, crazy ladies’ man,” Mary Eshbaugh Hayes, who had known Blanning since he was a boy, told The New York Times.

Hayes went on to say that Blanning had grown up in Aspen, living with his mother and two brothers.

However, as Blanning grew older Aspen grew as well.  As the city changed from a mining community to a world renowned ski resort, Blanning apparently became increasingly bitter that he had not come across the same financial gains many of his neighbors had.

This led to numerous run-ins with the law over the past few years.  In 1994, according to local newspapers, Blanning climbed to the top of the county courthouse and threatened to hang himself before being talked down.

Despite his previous behavior, the events of the night appeared to be a shock to everyone.

“I wouldn’t have expected him to do this,” Hayes said.

OUR TAKE:

Great job by local police avoiding what could have been a catastrophic event.  If all four of those bombs had gone off in downtown Aspen on New Years Eve we would be looking at an extremely deadly situation.  Instead, the only casualty is the troubled man whose attempts to harm others, thankfully, didn’t unfold as planned.