R. Budd Dwyer, American educator and politician, 30th Treasurer of Pennsylvania (b. 1939)
Robert Budd Dwyer (November 21, 1939 – January 22, 1987) was an American politician who served as the 30th state treasurer of Pennsylvania. He served from 1965 to 1971 as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and from 1971 to 1981 as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate representing the state's 50th district. Dwyer then served as the 30th treasurer of Pennsylvania from January 20, 1981, to January 22, 1987, when he committed suicide during a live press conference.
In the early 1980s, Pennsylvania discovered that its state workers had overpaid federal taxes due to errors in state withholding prior to Dwyer's administration. A multi-million-dollar recovery contract was required to determine the compensation to be given to each employee. In 1986, Dwyer was convicted for accepting a bribe from the California firm that won the contract. He was found guilty on 11 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, perjury, and interstate transportation in aid of racketeering, and was scheduled to be sentenced on January 23, 1987. On January 22, Dwyer called a news conference in the Pennsylvania state capital of Harrisburg, during which he fatally shot himself with a .357 Magnum revolver in front of reporters. Dwyer's suicide was broadcast later that day to a wide television audience across Pennsylvania.
Throughout Dwyer's trial and after his conviction, Dwyer maintained that he was not guilty of the charges for which he was convicted, and that his conviction resulted from political persecution. In 2010, former U.S. attorney James West, who prosecuted Dwyer, affirmed Dwyer's guilt, stating that "the evidence against Dwyer was overwhelming and indisputable". All posthumous appeals made by Dwyer's lawyers on Dwyer's behalf were denied, and his convictions were upheld. Along with Barbara Hafer and Rob McCord, Dwyer is one of three former Pennsylvania State treasurers to be convicted of corruption since the 1980s.