davoseaworthing:Virtue, Liberty and Independence: The Suicide of Budd Dwyer: January 22, 1987.Alrigh
davoseaworthing:Virtue, Liberty and Independence: The Suicide of Budd Dwyer: January 22, 1987.Alright, I’m gonna start to shift to much smaller posts over my longer ones as the school year begins. But as a Pennsylvanian, I think it’s high time we talk about one of the most infamous events in Pennsylvania’s history, the suicide of Pennsylvania’s former treasurer Robert Budd Dwyer.Robert Budd Dwyer, while born in Saint Charles, Missouri on November 21, 1939, was raised and lived mostly in Pennsylvania, graduating from Allegheny College in Meadville, teaching social studies and coaching football at nearby Cambridge Spring High School. A Republican, Dwyer began working into the political field in the early 1960′s, eventually earning a spot in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, then later Senator and then becoming the 30th Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for most of the 1980′s.During the 1980′s, it was revealed that a number of Pennsylvania workers were overpaying for their Federal Insurance Contribution Act tax, around millions of dollars in money in fact. The state then began soliciting bids for an accounting firm to help settle the refunds, and eventually a company from California named Computer Technology Associates. Helmed by a Harrisburg native, John Torquato Jr, something felt off about the whole ordeal. The Governor of the time, Dick Thornburgh then received an anonymous memo saying that bribery had occurred.An investigation followed, and linked Budd Dwyer to agreeing to terms of receiving around $300,000 in kickbacks if they helped turn the solicitation to CTA. They also indicted John Torquato, his attorney William Smith, fellow RNC politician Bob Asher and even Smith’s wife to the ordeal, but all decided to plea guilty and provide information and plea against Dwyer and Asher.Dwyer was given the ability to take one charge of bribe receiving as well as allowing him to leave his position as Treasurer as well as full cooperation with the investigation but he refused. He went to trial, with his defense being held back by a number of other co-conspirators not being indicted, later guessed to be members of the Dauphin County Republican Party. The charge was set at 11 charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, perjury and interstate transportation in aid of racketeering, a 55 year jail sentence and a $300,000 dollar fine with the sentencing date set at January 23, 1987.From there, Dwyer attempted to get out of the ordeal, but ended up deciding to hold a press conference the day before. The conference, held in the PA State Capital in Harrisburg, was a mess. Dwyer showed a lack of real cohesion, one audience member saying that one of his speeches was like a “rambling polemic about the criminal justice system”. He blamed everything, the governor, the FBI, US Attorney James West. He then went onto a much longer speech, one he said without any paper ,that involved a lot of really obvious clue-ins to what was going to occur. He asked anyone who was of “weak stomach” to leave, handing out letters to staffers revealed to be his organ donor card, letters to his family and funeral arrangements.The final bit he pulled out was a large manila folder, within it a Smith And Wesson Model 27 revolver. While many pleaded for him to put the gun down, he simply shoved the muzzle into his mouth and fired, killing him instantly. This went down in infamy, as many TV shows and radios were rolling during the event and either caught it live, or edited it out later, freezing the image just before, leaving the audio trail on.Following Dwyer’s suicide, the case ended up charging Bob Asher with similar charges, though he got a lighter sentencing than Dwyer. Following this, Dwyer was buried in Blooming Valley Cemetery. Later on, William Smith was found to have lied about Dwyer to get him a shorter sentence and regrets his choices, but the deed is done. Robert Budd Dwyer’s suicide serves as a grim event in both Pennsylvanian Politics but Politics abroad and whether it be the butt of dark humor jokes or documentaries on him, the ending stays the same. A folder, a magnum and a bang. -- source link
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