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Suicide of R. Budd Dwyer

1987 suicidesDeath conspiracy theoriesDeaths by person in PennsylvaniaFilmed deaths in the United StatesFilmed suicides
Harv and Sfn no-target errorsJanuary 1987 in the United StatesMale suicidesPages with non-numeric formatnum argumentsR. Budd DwyerSuicides by firearm in PennsylvaniaUse mdy dates from July 2026
Budd Dwyer holding a gun
Budd Dwyer holding a gun

On January 22, 1987, R. Budd Dwyer, the 70th Treasurer of Pennsylvania, committed suicide during a press conference in his office in the Pennsylvania Finance Building. His suicide was broadcast to many television viewers throughout Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley. While serving as state treasurer in 1984, Dwyer awarded a $4.6 million contract to data processing company Computer Technology Associates (CTA) to help compensate Pennsylvania employees who overpaid federal taxes because of errors in state withholding. An investigation determined Dwyer accepted a bribe to give CTA the contract over more experienced and less expensive competitors, which would have resulted in Pennsylvania losing $6 million if the scheme was successful. In December 1986, he was found guilty on counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, perjury, and interstate transportation in aid of racketeering, and was scheduled to be sentenced on January 23, 1987, facing 55 years in prison and a fine of up to $300,000. The day before his sentencing, Dwyer arranged a press conference in his office in the Pennsylvania Finance Building, where he pulled out a .357 Magnum revolver and shot himself through the roof of his mouth in the presence of reporters. His lawyers made posthumous appeals on his behalf, but all were denied, and his convictions were sustained.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Suicide of R. Budd Dwyer (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Suicide of R. Budd Dwyer
Fisher Plaza, Harrisburg South Harrisburg

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N 40.266349563854 ° E -76.880995716839 °
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Finance Building

Fisher Plaza
17121 Harrisburg, South Harrisburg
Pennsylvania, United States
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Budd Dwyer holding a gun
Budd Dwyer holding a gun
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Pennsylvania State Capitol
Pennsylvania State Capitol

The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania located in downtown Harrisburg which was designed by architect Joseph Miller Huston in 1902 and completed in 1906 in a Beaux-Arts style with decorative Renaissance themes throughout. The capitol houses the legislative chambers for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Harrisburg chambers for the Supreme and Superior Courts of Pennsylvania, as well as the offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor. It is also the main building of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex. The seat of government for the state was initially in Philadelphia, then was relocated to Lancaster in 1799 and finally to Harrisburg in 1812. The current capitol, known as the Huston Capitol, is the third state capitol building built in Harrisburg. The first, the Hills Capitol, was destroyed in 1897 by a fire. The second, the Cobb Capitol, was left unfinished when funding was discontinued in 1899. President Theodore Roosevelt attended the building's dedication in 1906. After its completion, the capitol project was the subject of a graft scandal. The construction and subsequent furnishing cost three times more than the General Assembly had appropriated for the design and construction; architect Joseph Huston and four others were convicted of graft for price gouging. The Pennsylvania State Capitol is often referred to as a "palace of art" because of its many sculptures, murals, and stained-glass windows, most of which are Pennsylvania-themed or Pennsylvanian-made. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006; the boundaries of the designation were expanded to include the Capitol Complex in 2013 with the capitol as a contributing property.