'Pizza bomber' case still unsolved

A year later, the bizarre bank robbery killing yields more questions than clues.
ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- Nearly a year ago, pizza deliveryman Brian Wells was killed when a pipe bomb attached to a collar around his neck exploded after he had robbed a bank.
Today, the mystery remains.
Was Wells duped into committing the bank robbery after his last delivery, as he claimed in the moments before his death? Or was he a willing participant?
His family insists he's innocent and wants his name cleared -- something authorities aren't ready to do.
State police apprehended Wells on Aug. 28, 2003, shortly after he had robbed a PNC Bank branch in Summit Towne Centre, just south of Erie. He was stopped in an eyeglass shop parking lot, apparently to follow instructions in a nine-page note investigators recovered along with a cane gun from his car. The bomb exploded as Wells, 46, sat handcuffed in front of his Geo Metro while police waited for the bomb squad.
Family's claims
"Pretty much, we're looking forward to the day when everyone responsible for Brian's death is brought to justice," said Wells' brother, John Wells, in a telephone interview last week from his home in Glendale, Ariz.
The family says that Brian Wells could not have had anything to do with the scheme and wants the FBI to clear him.
Special Agent Bob Rudge, the lead investigator, said he understands the family's frustrations, but Wells can't be ruled out until the perpetrator or perpetrators are found.
"We are conducting the investigation as if he were a homicide victim ... but we can't say with certainty" that Wells was a victim, said Rudge, now also second-in-command of the FBI's Pittsburgh office.
The FBI says the case remains a high priority, though the agency hasn't released any new information since February, when portions of the note were released. The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward.
"We're still with the 100 percent feeling that through perseverance and the dedication of those working on this case that we will solve this," Rudge said. "There hasn't been one day that has gone by that we haven't had agents going over records, interviewing people [or] conducting surveillance."
Investigation
Two FBI agents are assigned full time to the case, which is also being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Pennsylvania State Police, Rudge said. Investigators have pored over nearly 1,000 tips. Though most of them came soon after Wells' death, investigators continue to receive one or two tips a week.
Several tips provided "significant information" that continues to be followed, Rudge said.
Lyell Cook, the Erie County coroner, ruled Wells' death a homicide in February, waiting until then to see if any more evidence might warrant a different finding. He based the ruling on the definition that homicide is death at the hands of another.
That doesn't mean that Wells wasn't involved, he said.
Cook's belief -- though he emphasizes it's based only on his gut feeling and not evidence -- is that Wells may have been involved.
Portions of the note the FBI released in February reveal a controlling personality whose main motive may have been revenge, not money, the FBI has said. The FBI also thinks the note's author constructed the bomb and cane gun.
Cook said the note was gamelike in that Wells was instructed to travel to different locations and complete a series of tasks whereupon he'd be able to disarm the bomb.
But authorities said there wasn't enough time to make all the stops. According to the coroner's report, Wells was given 55 minutes to complete the robbery and disarm the bomb. The first 911 call of the bank robbery was recorded at 2:38 p.m.; the bomb detonated 40 minutes later.
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