In December 1986, Pennsylvania State Treasurer Robert Budd Dwyer was convicted of accepting a $300,000 kickback in exchange for awarding a $4.6 million contract to Computer Technology Associates, a California firm hired to manage payroll tax overpayment refunds for state employees.
On January 22, 1987, the day before his sentencing, Dwyer held a press conference, during which he was expected to announce his resignation.
Instead, facing a potential 55-year prison sentence and a $300,000 fine, Dwyer used the platform to declare his innocence and criticize a judicial system he believed had wronged him.
He claimed he had been framed by political rivals and that witnesses had been coerced to testify against him.
In his speech, Dwyer emotionally detailed the injustice he believed he had suffered and described the immense strain the ordeal had placed on his family.
As the room sat in stunned silence, Dwyer suddenly pulled out a revolver, ignored desperate pleas to stop, and fatally shot himself.
Several Pennsylvania TV stations, including WHTM-TV in Harrisburg, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, and KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, attended the press conference and aired portions of it live or in later broadcasts, reaching millions of viewers.
Before taking his own life, Dwyer handed letters to his staff addressed to his family and then-Governor Bob Casey.
In his letter to his wife, Dwyer wrote that he chose suicide to serve as a dramatic statement about what he saw as a failed justice system.
After his death, Dwyer’s wife received a $1.2 million pension, as he had never formally resigned from his position.
Despite the conviction, Dwyer’s supporters highlight that the primary testimony against Dwyer came from individuals who had negotiated reduced sentences in exchange for their cooperation, potentially compromising their credibility.
Dwyer also offered to undergo a polygraph test on the condition that, if he passed, he would not be indicted but the offer was declined by the state.
