'Slasher' Tied to Extortion, Threats

In the end, the millions of dollars worth of rare Harvard books he destroyed constituted only a fraction of the clues that led police to 42-year-old former University employee Stephen L. Womack, authorities said.

Police said yesterday that, over the past four years, Womack stole from the book collection at Northeastern, tried to extort money from that university and, in one case, threatened to blow up a bank if ransom money was not left for him at Widener Library.

Earlier this year, Womack sent letters to Widener Library and Northeastern's Snell Library saying that if they did not fire their Jewish employees, he would bomb the buildings, authorities said. The chief of Northeastern's police force also said he received a letter from Womack demanding that he fire all Jewish officers.

"This individual, the threats, and the slashings--it's all bizarre in nature," said Harvard Police Lt. John F. Rooney, the head of the criminal investigations division. "But we've got our man."

Yesterday Womack, a former Harvard library employee and part-time student at Northeastern, was arraigned in Cambridge Third District Court on multiple charges of extortion, receiving stolen property and malicious destruction. The Arlington resident pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Judge Arthur T. Sherman ordered Womack, who was arrested Wednesday, held without bail at Cambridge City Jail pending a bail hearing next week.

Harvard police say Womack is the Widener slasher, who from 1990 to 1992 terrorized Harvard library and security officials with a series of carefully planned attacks against the University's book collection.

Harvard police worked in conjunction with the FBI, the state police and Northeastern University police during a four-year investigation into the slashings.

There was no clear motive for the slashings, but many of the books were on religious subjects.

Library officials in Lexington also said last night that Womack had been mutilating books for more than a decade. Wikje Feteris, a librarian at the Lexington Public Library, said Womack had taken out hundreds of books, but only returned the covers.

'Finally Over'

The case of the Widener slasher consumed thousands of hours of police time and hundreds of thousands of dollars of University money. It was perhaps the most notorious crime in recent University history.

"It would be accurate to say that this is something which has plagued the department for years," Police Chief Paul E. Johnson said in an interview yesterday. "And it's finally over."

Authorities said they had closed in on Womack in recent months after he sent a series of extortion and bomb threat letters to police officials at Northeastern University, where he is a part-time student.

Harvard police also said Womack had sent a threatening letter to Bel- mont Savings Bank in Belmont, Mass., demanding that money be left for him at Widener Library.

Between 1991 and 1992, the slasher left notes threatening violence if anyone tried to stop him from mutilating books. One note left at Harvard said he would continue cutting out the insides of books "until the voices tell me to stop."

Northeastern police chief Joe Griffin said yesterday that Womack had sent four similarly threatening letters to the Northeastern police beginning in April of this year.

One letter claimed responsibility for a fire on campus; another threatened harm to several police officers. The others contained bomb threats, Griffin said.

"We are very delighted to have the individual in custody and that he is being held without bail because of the threat he posed to students," Griffin said.

Several hundred thousand dollars worth of books from the Northeastern University libraries were also found at Womack's home in Arlington. Police and FBI agents executed a search warrant there Wednesday.

Griffin said Womack was a part-time student at Northeastern when he was stopped by campus security guards last month for trying to leave the library with several books he did not check out.

Authorities said they found a cache of books, manuscripts, typewriters, photography equipment, cutting implements and other objects allegedly stolen from the University in Womack's Arlington home.

Johnson and Rooney, who spent much of yesterday fielding interview requests from local television and radio stations, as well as area newspapers, stressed the "tremendous amount of damage" Womack caused.

Harvard police said Womack had been photographing the pages he tore out of the books onto microfilm and then throwing the sliced pages into the trash.

Rooney said authorities recovered more than 300 rolls of microfilm, each of which contained at least 15 full texts.

Womack, who was employed for 18 months between 1990 and 1992 as a part-time book shelver in the stacks at Widener, used a knife and his hands to rip out the pages from books, including many on church history, literature and organic chemistry.

Johnson said Womack had been on the department's "short list" of the 20 most wanted suspects as early as 1991. Police said they had initially suspected that the perpetrator was a library employee because he was able to elude monitoring devices and was never seen exiting the library with stolen items.

"He was on our list, but it wasn't possible to narrow it down any further," Johnson said. "And then the slashings stopped."

University Librarian Sidney Verba '53 yesterday estimated the damage caused by the slasher at hundreds of thousands of dollars, but other library officials said a more accurate figure is "several million."

"There's no way to put a price on some of these items because they are centuries old and many are irreplaceable," Johnson said.

The Harvard News Office yesterday issued a statement about what it called "the culmination of an intense four-year investigation."

"We're very glad this disturbed individual has been caught," said Joe Wrinn, the acting director of the Harvard News Office. "We're glad it's over."

A Very Bad Apple'

"We've all spent an enormous amount of time, money, and effort trying to get this case solved and it finally has paid off," said Harvard College Librarian Richard De Gennaro. "I am absolutely delighted that we solved the case."

Despite Womack's arrest, De Gennaro said he doesn't think Harvard should require background checks for library employees.

"This person obviously has mental problems, and you don't make policy based on that," he said. "This is just one person who happened to be a very bad apple."

During his 18 months of employment, Womack "had free reign" in Widener, De Gennaro said.

"I am very relieved," Verba said. "We certainly had always been nervous about the fact that whoever was doing this seemed to have disappeared. We had never found out who it was and we remained nervous about that fact."

Neither police nor library officials could offer any explanation yesterday as to how Womack was able to take so many items out of Widener Library without being noticed by the entrance guards.

"I don't know how he was able to beat the system," Verba said. "It puzzled us way back then. I haven't heard an answer to that."

Johnson suggested that Womack may have known about the elaborate police surveillance system--including expensive closed-circuit TVs and video-recording equipment--set up in Widener in 1992 in an effort to stop the slashings.

Harvard spent more than $50,000 on the surveillance system between 1991 and 1992 in its effort to catch the slasher. The University police stationed officers in the Widener stacks 24 hours a day and required all students and faculty entering the stacks to sign in.

"There's no doubt in my mind that he was aware of the precautions we had set up," Johnson said yesterday.

De Gennaro said the suspect may have avoided detection by taking books from Widener piecemeal. "He probably took a book or two a day, and if you're careful you can get by our guards--you know that," De Gennaro said.

'Stakeouts' in the Stacks

The Harvard operation was initially criticized for its costliness and inability to turn up a suspect. Students joked about seeing officers on "stakeouts" in the stacks--not browsing the great literature on the shelves, but perusing a Boston Herald, coffee in hand.

"Mutilation of books is a terrible problem in all libraries, and this is one of the worst I've ever seen," Verba said. "I'm relieved that if this is indeed the person, he'll be off the streets."

Rooney said the investigating officers--Sgt. Kathleen Stanford, Det. Richard Mederos, Det. Richard De Cruz, and Det. Paul Westlund--were able to discover little about Womack's past.

They said he had previously worked at a nursing home in Littleton, Mass. He had spent time in the Phoenix, Arizona, area before that.

The Boston Herald reports today that Womack discovered the body after his father committed suicide 20 years ago. The Herald also said that Womack has a criminal record extending back to 1977, and that he has been arrested for stealing from town libraries.

A letter Womack reportedly sent to the president of the Belmont bank said: "You or your bank will pay me $100,000 or you and your Jew family will be killed."

Womack's phone number is unlisted and he could not be reached for comment at City Jail yesterday.

Richard Baker, the FBI special agent who assisted in the investigation, also could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Investigators said one major lead in the case developed in November at a monthly meeting of area university police officials.

During the meeting, a Northeastern University detective mentioned that police there had experienced several book thefts accompanied by threatening letters.

Harvard police Sgt. Kathleen Stanford, one of the University's most successful investigators, said she recognized similarities to the Widener slashing case.

Since that November meeting, Stanford, Rooney and the three other Harvard detectives assigned to the case worked 12-hour days for two and a half straight weeks.

"This took a tremendous amount of determination," said Rooney, the head of the Harvard police criminal investigations division.

"When I heard from Northeastern about the threatening letters and the connection to Widener Library I thought: "This has to be the guy,'" Rooney said.

Johnson said the routine practice of sharing information with other university police forces was crucial to the ultimate success of the investigation.

"It was this system of networking, of exchanging information, which did it," Johnson said.

Griffin agreed. "This shows what collaboration with other universities can do," he said. "It's very critical."

When the FBI, state and local authorities executed the search warrant at his home Wednesday, Womack "expressed shock and dismay," according to Rooney.

Womack was taken to state police barracks in Concord, Mass., where he was held before being transported to his arraignment yesterday afternoon.

Womack is due back in court on December 20 for a bail hearing.

Much of the "truckload" of evidence seized by the federal, state and local authorities has been shipped to the Northeastern University police department for identification and labeling.

Most of the Harvard material recovered is still being catalogued at the 29 Garden St. police headquarters.

Police said they may seek additional charges against Womack "as a result of evidence which was seized in his residence which belonged to Harvard University and is believed to be the property of the College Library system."

Womack may also be charged with civil rights violations because of the anti-Semitic nature of some of his letters.

Marios V. Broustas contributed to the reporting of this story.CrimsonAnne Marie L. EberThis was one of the books destroyed by the Widener book slasher. Police say he is 42-year-old Arlington resident Stephen L. Womack.

Between 1991 and 1992, the slasher left notes threatening violence if anyone tried to stop him from mutilating books. One note left at Harvard said he would continue cutting out the insides of books "until the voices tell me to stop."

Northeastern police chief Joe Griffin said yesterday that Womack had sent four similarly threatening letters to the Northeastern police beginning in April of this year.

One letter claimed responsibility for a fire on campus; another threatened harm to several police officers. The others contained bomb threats, Griffin said.

"We are very delighted to have the individual in custody and that he is being held without bail because of the threat he posed to students," Griffin said.

Several hundred thousand dollars worth of books from the Northeastern University libraries were also found at Womack's home in Arlington. Police and FBI agents executed a search warrant there Wednesday.

Griffin said Womack was a part-time student at Northeastern when he was stopped by campus security guards last month for trying to leave the library with several books he did not check out.

Authorities said they found a cache of books, manuscripts, typewriters, photography equipment, cutting implements and other objects allegedly stolen from the University in Womack's Arlington home.

Johnson and Rooney, who spent much of yesterday fielding interview requests from local television and radio stations, as well as area newspapers, stressed the "tremendous amount of damage" Womack caused.

Harvard police said Womack had been photographing the pages he tore out of the books onto microfilm and then throwing the sliced pages into the trash.

Rooney said authorities recovered more than 300 rolls of microfilm, each of which contained at least 15 full texts.

Womack, who was employed for 18 months between 1990 and 1992 as a part-time book shelver in the stacks at Widener, used a knife and his hands to rip out the pages from books, including many on church history, literature and organic chemistry.

Johnson said Womack had been on the department's "short list" of the 20 most wanted suspects as early as 1991. Police said they had initially suspected that the perpetrator was a library employee because he was able to elude monitoring devices and was never seen exiting the library with stolen items.

"He was on our list, but it wasn't possible to narrow it down any further," Johnson said. "And then the slashings stopped."

University Librarian Sidney Verba '53 yesterday estimated the damage caused by the slasher at hundreds of thousands of dollars, but other library officials said a more accurate figure is "several million."

"There's no way to put a price on some of these items because they are centuries old and many are irreplaceable," Johnson said.

The Harvard News Office yesterday issued a statement about what it called "the culmination of an intense four-year investigation."

"We're very glad this disturbed individual has been caught," said Joe Wrinn, the acting director of the Harvard News Office. "We're glad it's over."

A Very Bad Apple'

"We've all spent an enormous amount of time, money, and effort trying to get this case solved and it finally has paid off," said Harvard College Librarian Richard De Gennaro. "I am absolutely delighted that we solved the case."

Despite Womack's arrest, De Gennaro said he doesn't think Harvard should require background checks for library employees.

"This person obviously has mental problems, and you don't make policy based on that," he said. "This is just one person who happened to be a very bad apple."

During his 18 months of employment, Womack "had free reign" in Widener, De Gennaro said.

"I am very relieved," Verba said. "We certainly had always been nervous about the fact that whoever was doing this seemed to have disappeared. We had never found out who it was and we remained nervous about that fact."

Neither police nor library officials could offer any explanation yesterday as to how Womack was able to take so many items out of Widener Library without being noticed by the entrance guards.

"I don't know how he was able to beat the system," Verba said. "It puzzled us way back then. I haven't heard an answer to that."

Johnson suggested that Womack may have known about the elaborate police surveillance system--including expensive closed-circuit TVs and video-recording equipment--set up in Widener in 1992 in an effort to stop the slashings.

Harvard spent more than $50,000 on the surveillance system between 1991 and 1992 in its effort to catch the slasher. The University police stationed officers in the Widener stacks 24 hours a day and required all students and faculty entering the stacks to sign in.

"There's no doubt in my mind that he was aware of the precautions we had set up," Johnson said yesterday.

De Gennaro said the suspect may have avoided detection by taking books from Widener piecemeal. "He probably took a book or two a day, and if you're careful you can get by our guards--you know that," De Gennaro said.

'Stakeouts' in the Stacks

The Harvard operation was initially criticized for its costliness and inability to turn up a suspect. Students joked about seeing officers on "stakeouts" in the stacks--not browsing the great literature on the shelves, but perusing a Boston Herald, coffee in hand.

"Mutilation of books is a terrible problem in all libraries, and this is one of the worst I've ever seen," Verba said. "I'm relieved that if this is indeed the person, he'll be off the streets."

Rooney said the investigating officers--Sgt. Kathleen Stanford, Det. Richard Mederos, Det. Richard De Cruz, and Det. Paul Westlund--were able to discover little about Womack's past.

They said he had previously worked at a nursing home in Littleton, Mass. He had spent time in the Phoenix, Arizona, area before that.

The Boston Herald reports today that Womack discovered the body after his father committed suicide 20 years ago. The Herald also said that Womack has a criminal record extending back to 1977, and that he has been arrested for stealing from town libraries.

A letter Womack reportedly sent to the president of the Belmont bank said: "You or your bank will pay me $100,000 or you and your Jew family will be killed."

Womack's phone number is unlisted and he could not be reached for comment at City Jail yesterday.

Richard Baker, the FBI special agent who assisted in the investigation, also could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Investigators said one major lead in the case developed in November at a monthly meeting of area university police officials.

During the meeting, a Northeastern University detective mentioned that police there had experienced several book thefts accompanied by threatening letters.

Harvard police Sgt. Kathleen Stanford, one of the University's most successful investigators, said she recognized similarities to the Widener slashing case.

Since that November meeting, Stanford, Rooney and the three other Harvard detectives assigned to the case worked 12-hour days for two and a half straight weeks.

"This took a tremendous amount of determination," said Rooney, the head of the Harvard police criminal investigations division.

"When I heard from Northeastern about the threatening letters and the connection to Widener Library I thought: "This has to be the guy,'" Rooney said.

Johnson said the routine practice of sharing information with other university police forces was crucial to the ultimate success of the investigation.

"It was this system of networking, of exchanging information, which did it," Johnson said.

Griffin agreed. "This shows what collaboration with other universities can do," he said. "It's very critical."

When the FBI, state and local authorities executed the search warrant at his home Wednesday, Womack "expressed shock and dismay," according to Rooney.

Womack was taken to state police barracks in Concord, Mass., where he was held before being transported to his arraignment yesterday afternoon.

Womack is due back in court on December 20 for a bail hearing.

Much of the "truckload" of evidence seized by the federal, state and local authorities has been shipped to the Northeastern University police department for identification and labeling.

Most of the Harvard material recovered is still being catalogued at the 29 Garden St. police headquarters.

Police said they may seek additional charges against Womack "as a result of evidence which was seized in his residence which belonged to Harvard University and is believed to be the property of the College Library system."

Womack may also be charged with civil rights violations because of the anti-Semitic nature of some of his letters.

Marios V. Broustas contributed to the reporting of this story.CrimsonAnne Marie L. EberThis was one of the books destroyed by the Widener book slasher. Police say he is 42-year-old Arlington resident Stephen L. Womack.