He ‘Gave Up Hope,’ Son Says of Suicide of Convicted Official
The son of Pennsylvania Treasurer R. Budd Dwyer said his father committed suicide at a crowded news conference Thursday because he “gave up hope” after his conviction in a state fraud and bribery scandal.
Friends, neighbors and political colleagues were shocked by Dwyer’s death. Former Gov. Dick Thornburgh called the suicide “a personal tragedy,” and Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.) described it as “a terribly sad ending.”
“He was innocent. That’s why he didn’t resign,” said Robert Dwyer, 21, after reading a letter his father had left at the family home in Hershey.
“But he gave up hope, that’s why he took the gun into work this morning,” Robert Dwyer said. “He said he’d given up hope in a country that didn’t believe an innocent man, a country that could send an innocent man to prison.”
Gov. Robert P. Casey said he was “profoundly shocked and saddened.”
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