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on January 22nd, 1987, republican politician R. Budd Dwyer took his own life in a gruesome public display while at a press conference revolving around his career. This thread will offer some backstory to the situation
#truecrime
#truecrime
Robert Budd Dwyer, born November 21st, 1939, in St. Charles, Missouri, was raised on a hobby farm. He had a Bachelors in political science and a masters in Education, working as a teacher before shifting into politics
At the time of his death, Dwyer held office as the state treasurer for Pennsylvania, under Governor Richard Thornburgh (pictured together below). Dwyer was in his second term as treasurer
During Dwyers time as treasurer it was discovered that state workers had been paying much more in taxes than they should have been, and required re-compensation. An accounting firm was needed to handle the tax return, thus a contract was opened and the selection process began
A small company called CTA began vying for the contract. Its founder, John Torquato Jr. Intended to secure the contract by bribing the treasury department. He allegedly asked his attorney William Smith (pictured), to approach Dwyer with a 300,000 dollar bribe
While hesitant at first, Smith agreed after Torquato (pictured) involved his wife, expecting Dwyer to take refuse the offer. While Smith initially denied that this meeting occurred, he later changed this story and testified in court that Dwyer had accepted the bribe.
Around this time Torquato was alleged to have drunkenly bragged about having Dwyer in his pocket, leading to a raid of CTA offices. Documents detailing his plans were found. He, Smith, and Dwyer were brought to court. This cartoon was published in response
Initially, Dwyer was offered a plea deal wherein he would be forced to resign, would lose his pension and spend 5 years in jail. Deals were also offered to other defendants. Dwyer was the only one who did not accept, believing that his innocence would be proven by a jury
Dwyer took the case to a jury trial, where he was found guilty of 11 counts including conspiracy, racketeering, mail fraud and perjury. He faced up to 55 years in prison and a 300,000 dollar fine. The date of his sentence hearing was set for January 23rd, 1987
Before facing sentencing, Dwyer called for a press conference, to be held on January 22nd, the day before his sentencing. His briefcase contained a manila envelop which concealed a loaded .357 magnum. He warned "stay back, this will hurt somebody", before turning it on himself
There is a common misconception that this was being aired live as it happened, in reality there was much controversy surrounding whether or not the footage should be aired. Station WHTM-TV aired uncut footage, in line with his final wish for his story be shared with the nation
While Dwyer faced 55 years for his crimes, his alleged co-conspirators (who took plea deals) faced only arround 5 years. His innocence is still debated, and many of those who knew him speak incredibly fondly of Robert Budd Dwyer
Lots has been left out of this recounting for the sake of space, like Governor Thornburghs direct involvement or the dubious background of the Torquato family. I would encourage anyone interested to watch Honest Man: The Life of R. Budd Dwyer
http://www.dwyermovie.com/
http://www.dwyermovie.com/
