R. Budd Dwyer

From 1979 to 1981, before Dwyer was state treasurer, public employees of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania overpaid millions of dollars in Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes (FICA).[4][17] As a result, the state required an accounting firm to determine refunds for its employees.[17] Dwyer awarded the no-bid US$4.6 million contract to Computer Technology Associates (CTA), a California-based firm, owned by John Torquato Jr., a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1984.[17]

In early 1984, Dennis Schatzman, deputy controller of the Pittsburgh school district, noticed financial discrepancies in the CTA contract, and wrote to Pittsburgh school officials regarding these.[18][19] Schatzman later contacted officials at the accounting firm Arthur Young and Associates, who confirmed that the no-bid CTA contract was overpriced by millions of dollars.[20] In late July 1984, Janice R. Kincaid, a former CTA employee, released a sworn statement claiming that Dwyer awarded the contract to CTA because he was promised a $300,000 kickback by the company.[21][22] In June 1984 the Office of the Pennsylvania Auditor General informed the FBI of bribery that occurred during the awarding of the contract.[23]

An investigation into Dwyer's awarding of the CTA contract was undertaken by federal prosecutors. Upon learning of this investigation, Dwyer rescinded the contract with CTA on July 11, 1984.[17] Subsequently, Dwyer repeatedly attempted to stop, divert and forestall the investigation, stating that the US attorney had neither the authority nor evidence to pursue prosecution.[24][25] Dwyer later admitted to telling his staff to withhold request for proposal (RFP) information from the U.S. Attorney and the FBI during the investigation.[26] After being indicted by a federal grand Jury, Dwyer was finally charged with agreeing to receive a kickback of $300,000 in return for awarding CTA the contract.

Prior to Dwyer's indictment, on October 22, 1984, a grand jury indicted Torquato, Torquato's attorney William T. Smith, Judy Smith, Alan R. Stoneman, and David Herbert.[27][28] At Smith's 1985 trial, Smith, who was a friend of Dwyer's, testified that Torquato offered Dwyer a campaign contribution in return for the CTA contract, yet Dwyer rejected Torquato's offer. In contrast, Torquato testified that it was Smith who offered Dwyer $300,000 in return for the CTA contract. Dwyer, acting as a defense witness for Smith at Smith's trial, denied that he was offered any contribution at all. However, prior to Smith's trial, on October 27, 1984 (four days after Smith's indictment), Smith confessed to offering Dwyer a bribe, and stated that Dwyer accepted this offer.[29][5]

I met with Dwyer in his office and at the insistence of Torquato offered to give him $300,000 if he signed a contract with CTA LTD. Dwyer talked about $100,000 to him personally--$100,000 to his campaign committee--$100,000 to Republican State Committee. [Dwyer] was going to see Robert Asher in Montgomery County that weekend to talk to him about how this should be done.[30]

However, Bob Asher, the then Republican Party Chairman for the State of Pennsylvania, objected to this, and requested that the $300 000 be directed entirely to the Republican State Committee, since Asher "did not want Dwyer to go to jail".[30]

Asher indicated that he had had a conversation with Mr. Dwyer, and he knew that I had made an offer to him of a $300,000 contribution, and then he was very angry when he began to talk about that, angry with me. Said he thought I knew better than to offer a contribution to Mr. Dwyer, and he said if there was going to be a contribution, it was going to go to Republican State Committee.[30]

Dwyer, along with Asher, were indicted by a federal grand jury on May 13, 1986.[31] In the hopes of reducing his twelve year sentence stemming from his 1985 conviction, Smith testified on behalf of the federal government against Dwyer and Asher at their 1986 trial. Ultimately, Smith did not receive any reduction in his sentence for testifying against Dwyer (although his wife, Judy Smith, was granted immunity from prosecution).[32]

It was revealed at Dwyer's trial that he sought and won approval for special legislation—Act 38 of 1984 (House Bill 1397)—that authorized him to recover the FICA overpayments, and that coded computer tape seized from CTA's office in July 6, 1984 showed that Dwyer was to receive a $300,000 pay-off for awarding CTA the contract.[33] Moreover, Smith and Torquato's claims about Dwyer being bribed were corroborated by four independent and impartial witnesses.[34][35] and Smith's testimony against Dwyer was virtually identical to written statements Smith made long before entering into a plea agreement.[36] Additionally, FBI agents testified that Dwyer attempted to conceal his involvement in the scheme when, after learning of the FBI investigation, he erased the entry in his appointment book of the March 2, 1984 meeting with Torquato and Smith in which he was first offered a bribe.[23][37] Dwyer maintained that he awarded CTA the contract on the basis of his treasury task force recommendation, yet this conflicted with the fact that Dwyer personally handled all matters relating to the contract six days prior to awarding it to CTA. Furthermore, his task force's contribution merely consisted in the making of a single phone call to David I. Herbert (the former State Director for Social Security, who controlled FICA recovery for Pennsylvania's public employees, and who was subsequently convicted for conspiring with CTA).[38][26][39]

Dwyer awarded the contract to CTA—an obscure California firm with three employees, little equipment, and little experience—despite being informed in April 1984 by the major Pennsylvania-based accounting firm Arthur Young and Associates (who had two hundred and fifty employees and submitted a proposal on April 13, 1984, at least fourteen days prior to CTA's proposal) that they could perform the FICA recovery as fast as CTA for half the cost.[38][40][41] Charles Collins, Arthur Young's former director of Management Consulting in Pittsburgh, testified at Dwyer's trial that Arthur Young and Associates, who, unlike CTA, had experience in identical tax recovery work, was prepared to negotiate the FICA recovery contract (that was half the cost of the CTA contract) and that Dwyer was clearly aware of Arthur Young's position before committing the contract to CTA. Additionally, sixteen other competitors were willing to be considered for the FICA recovery contract and many had communicated with Treasurer Dwyer's office to request an opportunity to bid on the contract, yet Dwyer did not respond.[30][42] Dwyer repeatedly stated that he awarded the contract to CTA (via his task force's recommendation) on the basis of CTA's providing "immediate credit", yet the contract between CTA and Dwyer contained no information regarding CTA's ability to provide such credit. Moreover, Dwyer admitted that he did not mention the concept of "immediate credit" to Arthur Young and Associates when officials from the firm asked why CTA was chosen over them.[23][43][41] In contradiction to Dwyer's statements about awarding CTA the contract on the basis of their providing "immediate credit", Arthur Young and Associates were told that CTA got the contract since they first recognized that the overpayments could be recovered, and that they supported legislation that gave Dwyer the sole power to award said contract.[42]

Nevertheless, Dwyer denied any wrongdoing, stating that after the CTA contract was signed, Smith merely made a "generic" offer to help him with his campaign.[26] Dwyer's lawyer spoke to the prosecutor, acting U.S. Attorney West, asking him if he would drop all charges against Dwyer if Dwyer resigned as state treasurer. West declined the offer. He instead offered to let Dwyer plead guilty to a single charge of bribe receiving, which would have meant up to a maximum of five years' imprisonment, as long as he resigned from his office as Treasurer of Pennsylvania and cooperated fully with the government's investigation, but Dwyer refused and went to trial. At his trial, Dwyer did not take the stand, and his lawyer, Paul Killion, presented no defense witnesses[40] since he thought that the government did not sufficiently prove its case.[35] It is possible that Dwyer did not testify in his own defense since he did not want to be questioned regarding his involvement in a 1980 conspiracy involving his wife's business "Poli-Ed," and two Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) employees. One of these employees was Dwyer's close friend and campaign manager Fred Mckillop, who was subsequently fired by the PSEA for his involvement in the scheme, and who later featured in a 2010 documentary about Dwyer.[44] In this conspiracy, which was investigated by the office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General, Dwyer allegedly siphoned money from his campaign into his personal funds.[24][45][20]

On December 18, 1986, Dwyer was found guilty on 11 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, perjury and interstate transportation in aid of racketeering, and consequently faced a sentence of up to 55 years imprisonment and a $300,000 fine.[46][47] His sentencing was scheduled for January 23, 1987, to be performed by U.S. District Court Judge Malcolm Muir.[46] One mail-fraud charge against Dwyer was dismissed by Judge Muir.[48] One juror, Carolyn Edwards of Williamsport, found it emotionally difficult to convict Dwyer (and Asher) since they were men of "very high integrity ... they just made a mistake".[49] Bob Asher, Dwyer's co-defendant, was sentenced to one year in jail. He later returned to politics and served as a Republican national committeeman for Pennsylvania.[50]

The FICA recovery work was ultimately completed by the accounting firm Levin-Horwath, for $1,300,000 with a possibility of up to thirty-five percent being rebated. If CTA were to have performed the recovery work, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would have lost $6,000,000.[51]

Pennsylvania law stated that Dwyer could not officially be removed from office until his sentencing in January.[4] Given this, Dwyer stated that until his legal appeal was resolved, he would stay on as Treasurer under leave of absence without pay and would not resign before having the opportunity to appeal his conviction.[4] In the interim, the treasury department would be run by Deputy Treasurer Donald L. Johnson.[46]

Dwyer continued to profess his innocence after being convicted, and on December 23 wrote a letter to President Ronald Reagan seeking a presidential pardon,[52] and to Senator Arlen Specter seeking support in this effort.[53]

The week of Dwyer's sentencing, Pennsylvania State Attorney General LeRoy Zimmerman and state prosecutors were investigating a provision of the Pennsylvania state constitution where removal of a civil worker from office who has been convicted of a crime is "self-executing", thus, automatic upon that person's sentencing. A decision confirming this constitutional point was expected on January 22, the day before Dwyer's sentencing hearing.[46][54]

The next morning, Dwyer went to his press conference as planned. Appearing nervous and agitated, he again professed his innocence and began reading from a 21-page prepared text later described as a "rambling polemic about the criminal justice system".[62] It singled out former Governor Thornburgh, Acting U.S. Attorney West, agents in the FBI, Judge Muir, and others for tarnishing the justice system and ruining him.[53] Dwyer stated that Attorney West purposely had Dwyer's trial not in Harrisburg but in Williamsport, since in Williamsport the jury pool was the most uneducated in the state of Pennsylvania.[63] Dwyer spoke out against the death penalty and expressed regret for voting in favor of it while he was in the Pennsylvania assembly. This speech lasted nearly 30 minutes, and approximately halfway into it, with no apparent end in sight, some of the gathered press began to pack up and leave. Dwyer spotted this and interrupted himself to say, "Those of you who are putting your cameras away, I think you ought to stay because we're not, we're not finished yet."[60]

Given the sensitive nature of portions of Dwyer's text, press secretary Horshock had considered interrupting him outright to stop him but concluded that he would hold his own press conference after Dwyer's. "I had to make it known that I was not aware of the content of the statement. I didn't want it to be thought that I wrote that for him."[55]

Upon reaching the final page of his statement, which had not been distributed to the press nor press secretary Horshock in advance, Dwyer paused. "...and I'm on the last page now, and I don't have enough to pass out, but Duke [Horshock], I'll leave this here, and you can make copies for the people; there's a few extra copies here right now."[64] Dwyer continued,

I thank the good Lord for giving me 47 years of exciting challenges, stimulating experiences, many happy occasions and most of all[,] the finest wife and children any man could ever desire.

Now my life has changed for no apparent reason. People who call and write are exasperated and feel helpless. They know I am innocent and want to help, but in this nation, the worlds [sic] greatest democracy, there is nothing they can do to prevent me from being punished for a crime they know I did not commit. Some who have called have said that I am a modern day Job.

Judge Muir is also noted for his medieval sentences. I face a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison and a $305,000 fine for being innocent. Judge Muir has already told the press that he felt "invigorated" when we were found guilty and that he plans to imprison me as a "deterrant" to other public officials. But it wouldn't be a deterrant [sic] because every public official who knows me knows that I am innocent. It wouldn't be legitimate punishment because I've done nothing wrong. Since I'm a victim of political persecution, my prison would simply be an American Gulag.

I ask those that believe in me to continue to extend friendship and prayer to my family, to work untiringly for the creation of a true justice system here in the United States, and to press on with the efforts to vindicate me, so that my family and their future families are not tainted by this injustice that has been perpetrated on me.

We were confident that right and truth would prevail and I would be acquitted and we would devote the rest of our lives working to create a justice system here in the United States. The guilty verdict has strengthened that resolve. But as we've discussed our plans to expose the warts of our legal system[,] people have said, 'Why bother? No one cares, you'll look foolish, 60 Minutes, 20/20, the American Civil Liberties Union, Jack Anderson, and others have been publicizing cases like yours for years and it doesn't bother anyone.'

At this point, Dwyer stopped reading from his prepared remarks, with the gathered press still waiting on his expected resignation. There was still a significant portion remaining, which detailed what he was actually planning to do, and it read as follows:

I've repeatedly said that I'm not going to resign as State Treasurer. After many hours of thought and meditation I've made a decision that should not be an example to anyone because it is unique to my situation. Last May I told you that after the trial, I would give you the story of the decade. To those of you who are shallow, the events of this morning will be that story. But to those of you with depth and concern the real story will be what I hope and pray results from this morning–in the coming months and years[,] the development of a true justice system here in the United States. I am going to die in office in an effort to ' ... see if the shame[-ful] facts, spread out in all their shame, will not burn through our civic shamelessness and set fire to American pride.' Please tell my story on every radio and television station and in every newspaper and magazine in the U.S. Please leave immediately if you have a weak stomach or mind since I don't want to cause physical or mental distress. Joanne, Rob, DeeDee [sic] - I love you! Thank you for making my life so happy. Good bye to you all on the count of 3. Please make sure that the sacrifice of my life is not in vain.

After deciding to break from his speech, Dwyer called to three of his staffers, giving each a sealed envelope with the insignia of the treasury department.[55] The first envelope, given to Bob Holste, contained a letter addressed to then-Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey, who had taken office just two days earlier. The second, given to deputy press secretary Gregory Penny, contained an organ donor card and other related materials. The last, given to Deputy Treasurer Don Johnson, contained materials intended for Dwyer's family, including three letters: one for his wife Joanne, and one for each of his children, Rob and DeeDee (Dyan),[65] and suggested funeral arrangements.[55][4]

Freelance photographer Gary Miller, one of the reporters in attendance, described the scene at this point, stating: "It was just kind of a long-winded, sad event."[62]

A video still showing Dwyer holding a .357 Magnum revolver, a few seconds before the shooting

After he had finished speaking and handing out the notes to his staffers, Dwyer then produced a manila envelope with either a Smith & Wesson Model 27 or Model 19 .357 Magnum revolver in it. When the crowd in the room saw what Dwyer had pulled out of the envelope, the mood changed immediately from one of waiting to see whether he would resign his office to one of panic as nobody knew what he was planning to do with the gun. People gasped, and Dwyer backed up against the wall, holding the weapon close to his body. Dwyer calmly stated to his audience, "Please, please leave the room if this will ... if this will affect you."[66]

Some people in the room left to call for help. Among those who stayed, some pleaded with Dwyer to surrender the gun while others tried to approach him and seize the weapon. Dwyer warned against either action, exclaiming in his final words, "Don't, don't, don't, this will hurt someone. Sit down."[67] A moment later, Dwyer quickly fired one shot through the roof of his mouth and into his brain, and collapsed to the floor, dead.[68] Five news cameras recorded the events. One of the cameras remained focused on Dwyer and captured close up footage of the aftermath of the shooting; as his body slumped, blood streamed from the exit wound in the back of his head as well as from his nostrils and mouth.[69] Horshock took the podium and asked the media to leave and for someone to call for medical assistance and the police.

Dwyer died instantly from the gunshot shortly before 11:00 a.m. EST but was not pronounced dead until 11:31 a.m.[67] An aide later stated that Dwyer's corneas were made available for transplant per his organ donation wishes, but that no other organs were usable by the time his body reached a hospital.[60]

Many television stations throughout Pennsylvania broadcast taped footage of Dwyer's suicide to a midday audience. Philadelphia station WPVI (Channel 6) showed Dwyer pulling the trigger and falling backwards, but did not show the bullet path.[70] Over the next several hours, news editors had to decide how much of the graphic footage to air. Many chose not to air the final moments of the suicide and WPVI also chose not to show the gunshot a second time.[71]

Many stations, including WCAU and Pennsylvania's Group W stations KYW and KDKA, froze the action just before the gunshot. However, the latter two allowed the audio of the shooting to continue under the frozen image. Group W's news cameraman William L. "Bill" Martin and reporter David Sollenberger had a camera set up at the conference. They chose to air the audio with a freeze-frame of the gun in Dwyer's mouth. Only a handful aired the unedited press conference. WPVI in Philadelphia re-broadcast the suicide footage in full on their 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Action News broadcast without warning the viewers. That station's broadcast is a source for copies circulating on the Internet. WPXI in Pittsburgh is reported by the Associated Press to have broadcast the footage uncensored on an early newscast. In explaining the decision to air, WPXI operations manager By Williams said, "It's an important event [about] an important man." Williams avoided airing the footage in the evening newscasts, explaining, "Everyone knows by then that he did it. There are children out of school."[72] However, in central Pennsylvania, many children were home from school during the day of Dwyer's suicide due to a snowstorm.[4] Harrisburg TV station WHTM-TV opted to broadcast uncut video of the suicide twice that day, defending the decision (despite hundreds of viewer complaints afterward) due to the important nature of the story.

Many older students reacted to the event by creating black comedy jokes similar to those that circulated after the Challenger disaster. A study of the incidence of the jokes showed that they were told only in areas where stations showed uncensored footage of the press conference.[73] At least one reporter present at Dwyer's suicide suffered from being a witness. Tony Romeo, a radio reporter, was standing a few feet from Dwyer. After the suicide, Romeo developed depression and took a break from journalism.[74]

Dwyer's deep mistrust of outgoing Republican Governor Thornburgh was spelled out in detail in his press conference statement.[63] The timing of Dwyer's press conference and suicide meant that Thornburgh was not empowered to appoint a Treasurer to replace him. Instead, this fell to Thornburgh's successor, Democrat Bob Casey, who had taken office on January 20.[75]

The letter Dwyer had sent to Casey stated, among other things, "By the time you receive this letter ... the office of State Treasurer of Pennsylvania will be vacant. I stress to you that I did not resign but was State Treasurer of Pennsylvania to the end." It also stated that Casey "will be the great Governor that Pennsylvania needs at this time in our history." He suggested his wife Joanne as his successor, describing her as "very talented, personable, organized and hard-working."[76]

Governor Casey did not take Dwyer's suggestion. Regardless of the events of January 22, the governor and legislature of Pennsylvania already expected Dwyer to either resign or be removed from office. As such, a deal had already been brokered wherein the next treasurer, a Democrat, would serve out Dwyer's term and step down at its end. This was G. Davis Greene Jr., who was appointed as the 31st Treasurer of Pennsylvania on January 23, 1987, the day after Dwyer's suicide.[77]

Following Dwyer's public suicide, the National Association of State Treasurers called for Dwyer's allegations (contained in his final press statement) to be reviewed by the United States Department of Justice. After a thorough investigation, the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility cleared attorney James West and everyone else involved in Dwyer's investigation and prosecution, of any wrongdoing. The FBI also investigated Dwyer's claims regarding impropriety on behalf of FBI personnel. They ultimately found Dwyer's claims to be "lacking in substance and specificity" and warranting no further action.[23]

Since Dwyer died in office, his widow Joanne was able to collect full survivor benefits totaling over $1.28 million, which at the time was the largest death benefit payment ever made by the state system. If Dwyer had been sentenced, state law would have prohibited the payment of his state-provided pension benefits.[4][78] A spokesman for Dwyer suggested that he may have killed himself to preserve the pension benefits for his family, whose finances had been ruined by legal defense costs.[79] Other statements made by friends and family also suggest that this was Dwyer's motivation.[4]