R. Budd Dwyer

Robert Budd Dwyer
Press photo of Dwyer warning others to stay back moments before shooting himself
30th Treasurer of Pennsylvania
In office January 20, 1981 – January 12, 1987
Preceded by	Robert E. Casey
Succeeded by	G. Davis Greene, Jr.
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 50th district
In office January 5, 1971 – January 20, 1981
Preceded by	James Willard
Succeeded by	Roy Wilt
Constituency	Parts of Mercer, Crawford, and Erie Counties
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 6th district
In office January 7, 1969 – November 30, 1970
Preceded by	District Created
Succeeded by	Harrison Haskell
Constituency	Parts of Crawford County
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the Crawford County district
In office January 5, 1965 – November 30, 1968
Personal details
Born	Robert Budd Dwyer (1939-11-21)November 21, 1939 Saint Charles, Missouri, U.S.
Died	January 22, 1987(1987-01-22) (aged 47) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Cause of death	Gunshot suicide
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Joanne Dwyer (deceased) (m. 1963–1987; his death)
Relations	Robert Malcolm Dwyer and Alice Mary Budd Dwyer (parents) (deceased); Ross Dwyer, Logan Seaburg (grandchildren)
Children	2
Alma mater	Allegheny College
Profession	Teacher, politician

Robert Budd Dwyer (November 21, 1939 – January 22, 1987) was an American politician in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He served from 1971 to 1981 as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate representing the state's 50th district. He served as the 30th Treasurer of Pennsylvania from January 20, 1981, until his death. On that day, Dwyer called a news conference in the Pennsylvania state capital of Harrisburg where he killed himself in front of the gathered reporters with a .357 Magnum revolver. Dwyer's suicide was broadcast later that day to a wide television audience across Pennsylvania.

In the early 1980s, Pennsylvania discovered its state workers had overpaid federal taxes due to errors in state withholding. Many accounting firms competed for a multimillion-dollar contract to determine compensation to each employee. In 1986, Dwyer was convicted of receiving a bribe from the California firm that ultimately won the contract. He was scheduled to be sentenced on those charges on January 23, 1987, the day after his suicide.

Throughout Dwyer's trial and after his conviction, he maintained that he was innocent of the charges levied against him, and that he had been framed. Decades later, it was reported that the prosecution's primary witness, William T. Smith, whose testimony was largely used to obtain Dwyer's conviction, admitted in a documentary about Dwyer that he had lied under oath about Dwyer taking a bribe in order to receive a reduced sentence. In fact, Smith acknowledges, as he did at Dwyer's trial, that he had lied in his own earlier trial when he testified that he had not offered Dwyer a bribe. He admitted that he testified against Dwyer in hopes of receiving a reduced sentence and to spare his wife from being prosecuted for her role in the conspiracy, and expressed his regret for that decision and the role it played in Dwyer's death.

Dwyer graduated from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the Beta Chi chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity. After earning a master's degree in education, he taught social studies and coached football at Cambridge Springs High School.