The Final Days of Budd Dwyer (1)

8/17/2019 The Final Days of Budd Dwyer (1)

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My Thoughts:After this ordeal, I feel like I!m a pawn or tug rope between the attorneys.

I wish defendants could more actively participate.

Monday Dec 15th, 1986The weekend was difficult. Since the summations lasted until 5pm Friday, Jo (Budd ! s wife ), Mary (Budd ! s sister ), and I didn!t get home until about 9pm after stopping to eat in Selinsgrove. During thenight Mary woke us up in tears because she was sick with stomach cramps, vomiting, etc.

I laid awake most of the rest of the night and felt worse about the eventual outcome. James West (James West, Acting US Prosecuting Attorney. The prosecutor in the CTA case ) was much better inhis closing than people thought he!d be and Paul Killion (Budd ! s attorney ) wasn!t nearly as good ashe could have been. When he needed to be at his best he wasn!t. His delivery was flat and he left outa lot of crucial points, some of which are in the margins on the preceding pages.

On Saturday, Mary was so sick that Jo had to pack for her but she insisted on leaving for BWI. Sheslept all the way and we got her on the plane (to Germany where her husband was stationed ).

In the morning, Mark (Phenicie, a Treasury employee) had called from the Pennsylvania SocietyDinner to say that they weren!t going to appoint West as U.S. Attorney. Phil Friday stopped out to saythank you for us not voting to fire he, Bill Fogarty, & Karl Smith from the PHFH staff which theThornburgh (Richard Thornburgh , the Governor of Pennsylvania, who Dwyer had several run-inswith ) administration was trying to do. Jo & I stopped in Cockeysville for dinner.

On Sunday, we!d hoped to have lunch with Rob (Budd ! s Son ) at State College, but we had car troubleand had to go to Carlisle to switch cars with Don (Don Johnson, Executive Deputy Treasurer ). We got

to Williamsport (The town where Budd ! s trial was being held) in the late afternoon and had dinner andrelaxed in the evening. We!re very tense.

Judge Muir (US District Court Judge, Malcolm Muir, who was presiding over Dwyer ! s trial ) gave the jury instructions and they were much better than we originally expected, but some of the jurors didn!tpay much attention especially juror number 5 who has slept thru most of the trial.

10am- Judge Muir gives instructions:

Credibility of Witnesses

Motive for not telling the truthInnocent mis-recollection3 have motive to testify falselySmith* – viewed cautiously & with great care. Can conclude he lied about other matters

(*William T. Smith, Sr., a previously convicted prosecution witness, who was testifying in a pleabargain )


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The jury got the case about 2pm. It was too much for Jo and she broke down which almost causedme to too. She left and I hated to see her go but we!d both break down if she was here when theverdict comes in and it will be hard enough for me to escape (the press ) by myself.

Jo!s been a great support and I!m fortunate to have her as my wife. We waited at the hotel and werecalled up once for a jury question and again when they adjourned at 4:30pm. Every minute of waitingis like an hour. Bob Asher (Robert Asher, Republican Party Chairman, was also on trial with Dwyer ) isin the clear I!m sure. Three jurors smiled at him at adjournment and none at me and Duke (James“Duke” Horshock, Treasury Dept. Press Secretary) said from his reporter days that!s a sign. Mo(unclear who that is ) puts our chances at 20% and Paul (Paul Killion, Budd ! s attorney ) at 40%, whichisn!t good. Paul was pleased that the juror he hoped would be foreman is the foreman. Paul alsoraised the prospect of a hung jury, which would be awful. We !d have to go thru this again, don!t havethe money, and West would prepare a better case.

DD (Dyan, or DD for short, Budd ! s Daughter ) called tonight. I called Rob (Budd ! s Son ) to try toencourage and reassure him. This is Murphy!s Law operating in overdrive. It!s the week of the kids! finals and the week before Christmas.

Sam Simmons (Treasury Dept. Personnel Director) is here to drive my escape (from the press ) car.Roger Richards (family friend ) is here and will go to Harrisburg tomorrow. I talked to Jo tonight andshe!d really like to be here. Don said things are ok at the office and Mark (Phenicie, a Treasuryemployee) said there are lots of questions at the society dinner. Roger had also had a lot of CTAconversations. Talked to Joanne later tonight and she!s very upset and wants to be here.

Tuesday Dec 16th, 1986Went to courthouse at 9:45am. Mrs. Edwards, one of the jurors, reported that someone had told herPhenicie had taken the 5th and Asher tried to plea-bargain. It doesn!t sound good because I!m sure allthe other jurors have had similar conversations and aren!t as forthright as Mrs. Edwards. Paul and

Hundley (Robert Asher ! s attorney ) decided to leave her on because Muir would go on with 11 jurorsanyway and it!s better that her honesty be represented on the jury. An article is in the paper that theSupreme Court refused to hear Smith!s appeal which means verdicts by 11 member juries is OK.

Joanne was written up in both papers –Harrisburg and Philly- for leaving the courtroom cryingyesterday. Fred Cusick (a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer ) said it could be an unfavorable signfrom our side although both Asher and I were confident.

I called Jo when I got back at 10:30 am, and she!s really upset.

Wednesday Dec 17th, 1986The rest of yesterday was agony. Time has never passed so slowly. I haven!t felt this scared sinceRob had open-heart surgery in 1974 and we didn!t know whether he!d come out of the operating roomdead or alive. An hour passes and I look at the clock and it!s only been 10 or 15 minutes.

The jury left at 4:30 last night to come in at 9:30 this morning. Bill, Duke, and I went to a differentplace to eat tonight, the Triangle, and I spent a lot of the night on the telephone. Rep. Charles


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Laughlin, a Dem from Beaver County, called to wish me well in the evening. I talked to Joanne, Rob,DD, and Don Johnson. Mark Phenicie and Steve McNett also called.

I slept from about 11 til 2 and from 3 to 5 and laid awake the rest of the time. There are twelve TVstations here plus radio and print media. If nothing else, this trial has certainly helped the economy ofWilliamsport.

This morning started out with a shock when Judge Muir said he thought there might be a verdict todayand if there was a guilty verdict, he would have to decide whether the guilty party would be remandedto prison in the custody of the U.S. Marshals. I !d never counted on having to report to prison rightaway. That would really be a blow to Jo and the kids, especially during the kids ! finals and atChristmas time. Paul is very concerned about Judge Muir!s statement and says he!s likely to do it.West was cute with Paul and says he won!t tell him whether or not I!ll be incarcerated right away ornot.

We had just got back to the room at the Sheraton when we were called back for a jury question. Theywanted a copy of the transcript of John Wellington!s (Treasury Dept. General Counsel, part ofDwyer ! s Treasury Dept. Task Force ), testimony which doesn!t exist (Note: It wasn ! t printed up

because the court reporter was in another courtroom in Tunkhannock ). The Judge said that maybethe court reporter could read from her notes tomorrow if they wished, but as of noon they hadn !t givenan indication. (Note: The jury never followed up on this request and made their decision without it)

I called Jo at noon and she feels she!s over the flu, but is of course worried. Rob called and is worriedand I!m worried because he has two Economics finals this PM.

Please, Lord, let me be acquitted soon … please.

Thursday Dec 18th, 1986

It!s just after 9:30 am and I!m writing this in the courtroom. Early this morning Paul thought therewould be a verdict today, as did many others. It !s raining, which thrills Joanne because rain hasalways been a good luck sign for us in our personal lives. I !m scared to death. Apparently, West (Theprosecutor in the CTA case ) is going to try to have me jailed right away and expects a bad verdictbecause he!s got all kinds of legal research on his desk. He wouldn !t speak to either Asher or me thismorning.

Everyone is trying to read the leaves. At the restaurant last night, I was recognized and the guy said aPoker Club of 8 Williamsport businessmen had concluded the night before that I was innocent. JohnDeLorean was acquitted in Detroit yesterday and some people think that !s a good sign. The staff guy

at the Sheraton was wrong. On Tues PM he had said I had two good jurors, all I needed was one, so Iwould be acquitted yesterday.

Duke also heard that the CTA Press Corps has decided that we are both not guilty and will beacquitted. Duke and Bill Hundley take good hope from the fact that the jury is laughing and smilingand talking when they come into the courtroom. They say a convicting jury acts grim and a smiling

jury is an acquittal jury. Rob & Dee have more finals today. Rob is calling all the time.


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Paul heard a rumor this morning that there wouldn!t be a verdict until next week. One week fromtoday is Christmas. I don!t know how much closer they want to take it. I !m afraid if I!m convicted andespecially if I!m jailed right away that Jo won!t be able to withstand it. Mrs. Grappy and Sandi (Jo ! smother and sister ) are with her and Jolly (a friend ) sometimes. I saw Sally Hayes in the parking lotyesterday and she extended good wishes. Bill Sanko called last night and was full of his usual B.S.but it was good talk to him anyway.

At least it!s better being here in the courthouse where there are other people around than being alonedown at the Sheraton. Time seems to go a little faster but not much. No one can understand how onefeels in Bob!s and my position unless they!ve experienced it. Of course Bob (Asher ) is practicallyassured of acquittal and takes nerve pills, which really makes him jubilant and personable. He!sgranting lengthy interviews to all the media and they!re after me to do so too but Paul (Killion ) andDuke (Horshock ) won!t let me.

Dec 24th, 1986This is the first time I!ve been able to write anything since I wrote the above in the Courthouse thatThurs morning. We waited in the courthouse in the morning and in the hotel in the afternoon. About

4pm we went up to the courthouse because the jury had been quitting about 4:30 or 5. As weanxiously waited in the Attorneys room 5 o!clock approached and there was still no word from the

jury. Finally checked in with them and they said they wanted to keep working.

Suddenly about 5:35 pm, word came they had a verdict. At 5:40 pm we were all in the courtroom. Weall thought we!d be acquitted. Even Jay Lloyd of the KYW Radio station had told Duke that it was theconsensus of the Press Corps that Bob and I would be acquitted.

Muir got the verdicts or jury slips from Weidow, the Jury foreman, and Muir directed that I stand. Ican!t express the shock, dismay or whatever I felt as Muir read “Count one: GUILTY.”

There were 10 more guiltys, which were all a blur.

Then he sat me down and told Asher to stand. (Since ) I!d had a lot more to do with the case since I!mTreasurer and it was a Treasury Dept contract, everyone thought it was silly for Asher to even be ontrial because he!d had no involvement other than a few discussions & correspondence with Smith andTorquato (John Torquato, Owner of CTA, who testified against Dwyer in exchange for a plea deal) ,all initialed by them. You can!t imagine the shock in the courtroom when Muir called off eleven guiltysagainst Asher too.

All the jury had done was rubber stamp the entire indictment. Although Muir had given almost three

hours of complicated instructions, the jury hadn!t sent out one question. A juror, Mrs. Edwards, latertold the media they!d tried very hard to find me innocent but couldn!t.

In other words, the jury had violated their oath of office, the judge !s instructions, and the basicfoundation of the American Justice system that defendants have the presumption of innocence.According to Mrs. Edwards, the jury had begun its deliberations with a presumption of guilt. Another

juror reported that it took Mon PM, Tues, & Wed to find me guilty, but then it was easy to find Asherguilty.


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Anyway Muir was not done humiliating me. He had told the media he !d read the verdict quickly andthen let them run for the telephones. He kept them after the verdicts though because he had “oneother thing to do” before he let them run for the phones. He had me stand again and disbarred mefrom practicing law in the Federal courts, which I!d never done anyway. Then he let the press run forthe telephones while he re-read the verdicts in full and then we went through a bond hearing.

West and Thornburgh apparently had it set up to force me to resign - Because West didn !t want mereleased on bond because I was a “danger to society” because I was still Treasurer. Fortunately Paulhad anticipated this and he, Duke, and I had a letter ready for me to read from the stand declaringmyself disabled from doing the duties of Treasurer temporarily and naming Don Johnson (ExecutiveDeputy Treasurer ) to do them. In fact, Bill Beuchat had already called the letter in to Don and Don ofcourse had called Joanne to give her the bad news. The letter stymied West and Muir, and Muir letme go on $100,000 non-secured bail as long as I wouldn!t participate in Treasury decisions or breakany laws. Asher was released too.

Duke, Paul, and I went into the Attorneys room and prepared to meet the press. Wes Settle said theywere all in a row in the courthouse lobby. We went down the elevator and when it opened, there theywere about 3 feet away. I made a brief statement about shock and innocence, wished them a Merry

Christmas & went out the door to where Sam was waiting to drive me home. Duke & Paul stayedbehind to answer questions & then Bob (Asher ) and his attorneys would be coming down. As Sam leftWilliamsport, I stopped to call Jo again. She said she was O.K. and Rob was coming home. When Igot off the phone, I noticed that the phone booth was beside the sign to the Allenwood Federal PrisonCamp – how ironic.

As we rode toward Hershey, I thought of all the plans I !d made that wouldn!t take place. The nightafter my acquittal I!d planned to take the family to Vacante!s, our favorite restaurant in Hershey, andmake arrangements for all of us to go to the Fiesta Bowl as a “Thank You” to the family for all the griefand suffering they!d been through. I!d looked forward in a few years to Joanne and I doing a lot oftraveling and camping, which we enjoy so much. Now the family will have to struggle to exist. I know

what fate awaits me too.

When we got home, Jo was in tears. Sandi, Mrs. Grappy and Fred & Jolly (McKillop, Family Friends )were there. Jo!s reaction had alarmed Mrs. Grappy and she!d called the paramedics who came andwere basically thrown out by Jo. Fortunately, Bonnie Heir!s father, a Hershey policeman, came andrestored order. Rob had postponed his Friday final until Monday and Rob was on his way to Hershey.DD had gotten thru her last final that night without knowing and Rob called her as she walked into theroom. She was staying in Mont Alto being comforted by friends and would come home Friday. Fred &Jolly, Sandi & Mrs. Grappy left after Rob got home and the three of us sat in total shock and disbelief.Rob was in surprisingly good shape, Jo alternately OK and devastated, and I was just numb. We

finally went to bed and didn!t sleep much.

The first call last Friday morning was a reporter from a Pittsburgh station who was rude to Jo & Ifinally got her to hang up. Calls came in from shocked people all day long. DD got home in theafternoon. Paul called and said the lady from the Probation office wanted to meet with me to begin mypre-sentence report, but he put her off to Monday. Jane Smith, called from the Meadville Tribune, myloyal friend, and interviewed me.


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Rob was great and set in motion his transfer from the Main Campus to Capital Campus so he canstay with Jo and help her get the house ready for sale because they can!t afford to stay here. Therewere many calls all day long with many people in tears.

DD!s friends at Mont Alto had been wonderful and stayed with her all night so that she was teary butnot in too bad a shape when she got home. Friday night and most of Sat, I spent going thru files, andcleaning things out both to help cut down Jo!s task and to look for some of the information theProbation Dept. lady wants.

It!s tough going thru things, especially my old desk because it has lots of cards Jo & the kids sent mewhen I was in law school. I!ll be sentenced and probably imprisoned in five weeks. This will be my lastChristmas and the family!s last Christmas in this home.

Saturday many more calls and cards and letters and so far not one nasty one. I can !t talk to the officebecause of the bond terms. I!ve lost my state car and won!t be paid from Friday on, which was about70% of our income. Thank goodness Mom and Dad left some money for the kids ! education.

DD is the only one of the four of us who wants a Christmas tree so we put it up on Sunday. It !s a

beautiful tree in spite of everything. DD is the best of all of us and carries on life even though shehurts. Her friends in Hershey are a wonderful support group. Our friends are great too. Six fruitbaskets arrive, several flower assortments and other gifts. Sunday afternoon, Rob and DD go to PennState where Rob will take his postponed final and DD will help him clean out his apt. that he !s enjoyedso much.

I forgot to mention that on Friday AM, Roger Richards, Bill Beuchat, and Bob Holste came out. Rogerhas been a wonderful friend thru! this. Sam & Duke have both remarked that they wish they had afriend like Roger.

On Sunday evening Jo & I went on a brief ride to look at Christmas lights. It !s the first time she!s been

out of the house in four or five days and the first time for me since Thurs. night. We don !t mention it,but we know this is our 25th and last Christmas Season together (counting our first one in 1962 whenwe began dating). Christmas has always been our season.

On Monday morning we go into Paul!s to meet with him in the (unclear ) and then go to the Probationoffice.

My Last ChristmasAt Paul!s, he told us that we don!t have much worth appealing, but Asher has more. He also said he

has over 3,000 hours of work in the case and will handle it thru my sentencing and then he says I!llhave to get another attorney to handle the appeal. Paul thinks I ought to say in the Defendant !s

version of the case that Smith did discuss contributions with me even though that !s not why thecontract was awarded. He thinks Muir would give me a lighter sentence if I admit guilt.

I refuse because I!ve done nothing wrong and because it would end what little hope I have onappeal, plus with another attorney, one of my appeals may be on incompetent counsel since Pauldidn!t put in any defense and this would moot that opportunity too. Paul leaves Jo & I alone and wehave several emotional moments because all Jo can think of is having my sentence reduced from the


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expected fifteen to twenty years from Medieval Muir. Jo is very upset when I refuse to go along withPaul!s strategy.

Paul had gone to see Bill Smith in the hospital on Saturday and Smith refused to recant his testimonyand tell the truth. Claims he!s never telling the truth, the bastard. Paul says he looks bad, but isn !t incritical condition or hasn!t had a relapse like the rumors say.

Paul talks about and requests me to send him the $23,000 in our savings account that I !d kept to tideJo over. Paul also wants to put a $60,000 lien on our house. At 1pm we go over to the Probationoffice for a demeaning session with a girl, Mary Foreman. She asks us all kinds of personal questionsand wants to come and see us at our house, which is set for Monday, finally.

After we leave Paul!s, Jo goes into my Treasury Office to thank my staff and Bureau Directors for theirsupport, which takes a lot of courage. I remain in the car because I don !t want someone telling Muirthat I!m in the Treasury Dept and have him use that as an excuse to say I broke my bond terms and

jail me for Christmas. When we get home, there!s a lot of mail, gifts, etc from Elmer & Pat Steinbrookand others.

I forgot to mention that on Sat, Rob & Jo spent much of the day looking at apartments in the area.They came home discouraged because the three bedroom apartments are more expensive than ourtotal house payment, but of course, there are no maintenance charges.

Jo is going to work tomorrow for the first time in five weeks and really dreads it. Monday night I draft aletter to President Reagan asking for a Presidential pardon.

Jo gets up at 5:30 Tuesday morning to get ready for school. About 8am Doc Sanky, an old friend fromGreenville who I haven!t heard from in three or four years, calls and says he !s on the way to thehouse with donuts. Doc and friend arrive with donuts, coffee, fruit basket, etc. Doc tells me there!s anarticle in the paper that the IRS is going to tax me on the salary I !m not receiving. Doc stays until

about 9:30 am.

Many more calls come in and Rob is working on transferring to Capital Campus to be with Jo the nextfew years of his school. Scott Baker calls & I ask him to do something to help because he sayseveryone knows I!ve done nothing wrong. At 11am, Tom Castelli, Mark, and Don come from Treasurywith a lot of cards, gifts, etc. It!s good to see them, but a little clumsy too. They leave about 12:30.

I spend the PM wrapping Jo!s last Christmas gifts from me and talking on the phone. DD gets homeand is with friends. Rob comes back from Capitol Campus and is pleased with the treatment he!sreceiving. Jo comes home from school and is exhausted, but overwhelmed with the support she!s

received from the faculty & staff. She goes to bed about 5:30 and I spend the night finishing my letterto Reagan and writing for help to Drew Lewis, Senator Specter, and Gordon Woodrow.

Dec 24th, 1986

Rob & I go to the post office and bank and store. Mark calls and says my Christmas present from theHarrisburg Patriot is an Editorial saying I should resign. He says it!s not as bad as the yellow-

journalism editorial in Sunday!s Philadelphia Inquirer.


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During the afternoon, we proceed with Christmas preparations. Some of DD!s friends, who have beenso great, stop by. Jo & I have another talk about my saying I !m guilty in order to get a reducedsentence. In the evening, Bill, Sandi, & Mrs. Grappy come over. We had debated about it but decidedto go ahead as usual, at Dee!s insistence, but to forego the usual Christmas Eve devotional. This willbe my last Christmas Eve and it!s tough, but we all manage to pretend we!re enjoying it. It!s gray andpouring rain, which goes with our mood and largely unspoken thoughts. They leave early.

Jo had gotten up in the middle of the night since she!d gone to bed so early. At 5am, she!d calledMary in Germany who she says is in worse shape than she is. I talked to Killion in the morning whosays he!ll talk to me Friday. I also call Bob Asher and talk to him for the first time since the trial. BobAsher is in a good mood. Paul Killion has said he has a good chance on appeal. Muir will onlysentence him to a few months and he!s a multi-millionaire (Note: Asher owns the lucrative candycompany, Asher ! s Chocolates, which has been in his family for generations ) so he doesn!t need toworry about his family!s well-being like I do. He has spent four hrs with the probation guy fromWilliamsport. His interviewer asked him a lot of questions about Thornburgh & me, which my girlnever mentioned.

Drew Lewis has called Bob who said he!s sorry, but there!s nothing he can do. During the day, we got

a lot more calls of sympathy, floral arrangements, etc. It!s like a death occurred in the family, which

almost has. The most unusual call was one DD answered Sunday morning and there was only awoman crying on the other end, unable to speak, who finally hung up. Thus far, we !ve not receivedany hate calls or crank calls, which is amazing.

Christmas DayI!ve resolved to treat this as normally as possible. Joanne puts out the gifts, puts Christmas music onthe stereo and I put a fire in the stove and we enjoy opening our gifts. The kids are pleased with theirgifts and realize it!s their last big Christmas. I!ve cut way down on gifts for Jo, but fortunately I won apretty diamond necklace for Jo from the Sportsmen club, which is her big gift. I told them not to get

me anything, but they got me a typewriter which they think I !ll be able to use, but of course won!t.Hopefully, Jo can use it or they can take it back at the end of January since it !s very expensive. Mary& Mike (Budd ! s sister & brother-in-law ) call and sound pretty good.

Jo has a great dinner with a filet from Virtues, my favorite baked beans, etc. We !d decided not to havedinner with Bill & Sandi and Mrs. Grappy (Jo ! s mother ) but join them in the afternoon where we canopen gifts, for the rest of them to pass time playing cards and me to watch football & write this whichI!ve brought up to date as of 3:30 PM. Amazing I have only four weeks from this morning and have somuch to do.

Jan 1st, 1987Happy New Year, my last, if it can be called happy at all. We !re at Bill & Sandi!s again. Not a lot hashappened in the last week. We had a full day at Bob and Sandi!s and didn!t come home until about11:30 Christmas night. I watched whatever poor quality games were on while they all played cards. Inthe evening I played a couple of games of Trivial Pursuit and then they played cards again.

On Friday we put gifts away and I went in to see Paul Killion. He had drafted a Defendant !s Version ofthe Offense for me, which stated that although the CTA contract was not awarded because of a bribe,


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that Smith had offered me a bribe and I had lied about it to the Grand Jury & at Smith!s trial. I wasoutraged, but Paul said I should “confess” so Judge Muir would lighten my sentence. I said no way. –I!ve done nothing wrong—it!s Thornburgh & West and the system that!s corrupt and not me. I took adraft home to rewrite and express the true story. I can!t reform the system if I lie in order for Muirto give me a lighter sentence.

Jo and I went on some drives during the weekend to look at lights. It !s a big change for Jo becausewe!re used to going out to dinner and Christmas has always been a very meaningful season to us. Ispent a lot of time rewriting and typing Paul !s draft statement. Jo and Rob agree that all we have leftis principle and we!re going to stand by it. The calls & cards & letters have dropped off, but Virtuesstopped in to call on us Sunday. The kids spent some time with their friends. Jo !s emotions vary fromsadness to bitterness.

Sunday Bob and Sandi & Mrs. G came over and helped clean up the downstairs. I cleaned a fewmore things out too. Sunday or Monday night we stopped over at Jolly & Fred!s for an hour or soduring our ride. Fred says he!s still getting calls and no one can believe what !s happening to me.

On Monday morning I went in to see Paul. He was unhappy that I !d changed his statement. He said

Muir will give me a long sentence & Asher a very short one. He said if he!s going to do my appeal he

will want $25,000 to $30,000 up front and if I !m going to use another attorney I should line one upsoon. I don!t have any idea where we!d get the $25,000 or who else I!d use unless it would beRoger!s friend in Erie. He doesn!t think we stand much of a chance on appeal since the mistakeswere the jury!s, which can!t be appealed rather than reversible legal errors, which are all that can beappealed.

In the afternoon, Mary Foreman, the girl from the Probation Office came to see “how we lived.” Allthis still seems like a nightmare or twilight zone, which will end at any time. We still can!t believe it andsince I!m still around, it doesn!t dawn on us what will really be our situation in three weeks. Rob hasmade transfer arrangements, which is a big sacrifice but Jo needs him. The Foremen girl seems to be

trying to do a thorough job, but I don!t think Muir will pay any attention to her anyway. He!s alreadytold the press he!s going to incarcerate me and wants me to resign which isn !t any of his businesssince he!s a Federal Judge and I!m a state official. Paul thinks I should resign which plays into myplan of having a dramatic press briefing on Jan 22 before the pre-sentence conference.

The Foreman girl left about 5pm & in the evening Jo & I went on a ride. On Tuesday I was in badshape with an earache, sore throat, etc. The only main event was the listing of our house for sale. Idid work on my awards, committee assignments, service organizations list for the Foreman girl. Thatnight Jo & I went for a ride, and Loren Mitchell called - my old 4-H Club Leader. He wanted to help soI had him write a letter to Muir. He said there was a great article in the (Meadville) Tribune about me.

Wed. morning Rob & I went to Penn State and cleaned out his apt. It was a sad event for me, but hedidn!t show much emotion. I!m real proud of the way both kids have handled this. DD!s still havingphysical problems over it, but seems to be O.K. emotionally. Rob & I got back about 2:30, and Jo hadhad a bad day. She!d tried to clean out the trailer and broke down because of all the memories of allour trips

We!d planned to go to have our traditional family New Year !s Eve dinner at the Steak & Ale atCockeysville, MD because I won!t go out anywhere around here. Jo didn!t want to go, Rob didn!t want


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to go, but DD came through again, like she had with the Christmas tree, and we went. It was an hourand a half each way plus the dinner and we all enjoyed it as much as possible and no one brokedown emotionally. It was so sad for me because it !s my last one. We got home about 8:30 since ourreservations were at 5:15. We watched the Times Square Big Apple drop, but it was too much for Joemotionally, she cried a lot of the night saying she couldn !t live without me around.It!s so sad, so unjust, so unfair.

Today we came here (to Sandi & Bill ! s ) for a traditional dinner at noon. DD, Jo, Sandi & Mrs. G aredownstairs playing cards, Rob & Bill are outside burning brush and I !m working on this and watchingthe Citrus Bowl & Cotton Bowl. Snow is forecast & Jo hopes we get snowed in here tonight and haseven brought along some extra clothes.

Three weeks from today is it, unless something unforeseen like a miracle happens. I still can!t believethat this can happen in the US.

Jan 9th, 1987It did snow and we stayed overnight. In fact, it snowed more and later than was forecast. We barely

got up the hill from Bill & Sandi!s and after stopping at a store, etc we didn

!t get home until afternoon.

Jo really enjoyed it though. It was a special treat for her. In the PM the gas line on the snow blowerbroke & Rob & I fixed that. There was about 8 inches of snow.

Vince Yakowicz (Treasury Dept. Counsel ) had invited us over to watch the Penn State-Miami FiestaBowl and we went because Vince said it would be just a few friends & family who still “loved” us. Itwas nice of Vince and we had a good time. It was a good game and great to see PSU win theNational Championship.

On Sat. my cold had turned to flu and Jo had it too, so we didn!t do too much. I did start writing mystatement for the 22nd and watched some football playoffs. Sunday was more of the same thing. The

kids were busy with their friends. We still get occasional letters and calls from shocked and sadpeople.

On Monday, I went in to see Killion with my rewritten version of the “offense.” He!d had the flu whilehe was in Boston. He said I was stubborn and didn !t like the fact that I asked Muir to vacate theverdict rather than saying I did something wrong. He thinks that if I say I did something wrong Muirwill give me a lighter sentence which I think is B.S. and I !m not going to violate my principles anyway.Jo & the kids agree even though my being away longer if Killion happened to be right about“Madman” Muir.

On Tues. Roger & Bill Beuchat were here at 6:30 am. Roger went over a bunch of stuff about thepension, the attitude of the Senate, etc. Roger has been a wonderful, wonderful friend and it !sgenuine because there!s no other reason for him to be such a wonderful friend. I just did more writingin the afternoon and Jo & I went for a little ride in the evening.

Wed. I wrote more. Rob & I took a broken storm door to be fixed. About 25 realtors had come thru thehouse Tues and it would be better to fix the storm door. At the glass place in Palmyra, Rob got hisfirst hassling about me. Roger sent a car down from Erie for me to use – a 1985 Lincoln Town car,which is ironic because that!s what Torquato always rented. Rob took it for a ride right away.


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On Thursdays, I went to see Killion again. He wanted me to rewrite a couple of paragraphs. In theafternoon I cleaned out my bedroom closet and threw out all the boxes of notes and things from lawschool. The kids and I went to Long John!s drive in to eat and Jo went to Vacantes with Patty & KayArmstrong. They!d invited me too, but I won!t go out anywhere in public. Jo has to get used to beingalone, but she says she!ll be single, but won!t be a widow or divorcee, which makes her feel funny. Ialso started typing my statement.

Thursday marks 2 weeks until “the resignation.”

On Friday I went in to see Killion briefly with my rewrite of what he!ll use as a cover letter to my“statement.” I typed more, took calls, and declined some dinner invitations. I forgot to mention that onTues, Elsie Hillman (wife of Billionaire Henry Hillman and a cousin of Barbara Bush ) called. She wassad and bewildered.

On Wed. my last hope was squashed when Jeff Lord called from the White House in response to myletter requesting a Presidential Pardon. Jeff was wonderful, but discouraging when he explained thatpardons take a minimum of 7 years. I!m realizing now what a phony profession politician is. The

reason for the 7 years is so no one who applies for a pardon under one President will get it untilanother President is in office so the first one won !t be criticized. It doesn!t make any difference thatsomeone, like me, was wrongfully convicted and committed no crime.

Pardons are granted after a person has served their prison term and paid their fine, been disbarred,etc. for a crime they didn!t commit and in the meantime the politician President has “protected”himself from any criticism he might receive from the cynical press for pardoning an innocent person.Amazing – and just another example of the unfairness and lack of justice in this country of ours.

I!ll ask Roger to work on the pardon and tell Rob to keep after it, even if it takes 25 or 30 yearsbecause it!s important to my children, grandchildren, etc. that I am vindicated and declared innocent

no matter how long it takes. Friday afternoon I continued to type and in the evening, Jo & I went overto McKillops for a couple of hours.

(Written on) Jan 16th, 1987On Sat (Jan 10 th ) Jo & the kids did grocery shopping and I continued to work around here. We wentfor a ride Sat night again and ate at a fast food place as usual.

Sunday we took DD back to Mont Alto. We ate at Gettysburg on the way. We tried our favorite place,the Dutch Cupboard, but it was closed so we ate at a place Jo & I like –the Farnsworth House. Rob &

Dee had never been there. Jo, Rob & Dee got her unloaded at Mt. Alto. She was in a good mood forthe circumstances when she left. I had tears in my eyes realizing it!s probably the last time I!ll see Mt.Alto. We stopped at Bill & Sandi!s and Mrs. G!s on the way home. Bill cut my hair and Jo & Robplayed cards with Sandi and Mrs. G. I also watched football.

Monday or Tues Roger & Steve McNatt came to the house to try to talk me into resigning. Mycolleagues in the legislature are fighting over who can be first to go after me, but some who are my“friends” want me to resign. They don!t like doing unpopular or unpleasant things. I told them Iwouldn!t! resign until my appeals were exhausted and that upset them.


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Mon & Tues I also worked on my statement for next Thurs. I went into Killion !s Tues PM, Wed. &Thurs and am going in this morning. We don!t accomplish much. We always argue about him wantingme to tell the judge I did something wrong for a lighter sentence. But for two years, he !s said that Muirwill sentence me to fifteen to twenty years no matter what.

Wed afternoon Paul came out to try to convince Jo & me together that I should do that and then at5pm Don & Vince came out. Vince (Treasury Dept. Counsel ) had always said that there would be noproblem with my pension, but now he!s changed his story and we could wind up with nothing or about1/3 of it. Jo has been pretty good, but that really upset her because she !d been counting on pensionmoney to help subsidize what she makes. Vince said it could be a two or three year court fight toeven get the small amount, if successful.

Paul was here from 4 to 5pm and Vince & Don from 5 to 8pm. Jo was really upset over me toobecause I didn!t know the whole thing would be lost and had believed Vince when he said it wouldn !tbe in jeopardy. Jay Wetzel & his wife invited us out to dinner Sat. night, which is nice, but we !replanning on going away with the kids one last time.

On Thursday, I again went in to see Paul and nothing was accomplished other than another argumentabout the Smith statement. Don & Duke came out afterwards to discuss my press conference nextThursday. Everyone tried to cover their butts and they had all kinds of reasons why I shouldn !t have itin my office (Don even suggested I do it in Meadville). I couldn !t limit it and on and on. I finally gotmad and told them I!d do it myself and then we finally worked out some details. They !re stillapprehensive. Paul is getting into the act, etc.

The mail brought more bad news. Miss Shipley is retiring and will leave (our rented ) apartment inMeadville on April 1st. This is another headache for Jo, plus the expenses…

When Jo got home, it turned out Killion had met with her in the afternoon to have her put pressure on

me to say I!d done something wrong. Jo & I talked in the evening and I began writing a statement forThurs for Jo & Paul to review. Friday morning, I worked on the statement some more then went in tosee Paul. He had Mary Foreman!s pre-sentence report, which was all positive about Jo, the kids andme, except her aggravating circumstances statement about me violating the public trust, (unclear). --

I couldn!t get through the letters Jo, Rob, & D had written and broke down. I never realized how muchthey missed me when I was away in the legislature and law school. There was more bad news. As aresult of the !84 Federal Crime bill, the perjury fine, which was in May of 85, is up to $250,000 insteadof $10,000. That means my fine exposure is $305,000 instead of $65,000.

Paul!s still debating whether to ask Muir to recuse himself and I told him not to. It will be mootanyway. Killian said Asher & Hundley were in town and that West is interviewing Asher regarding

Mark Phenicie, Shumaker, etc.

Today is the first payday I!ve ever missed since I started working in September of 1962.


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(Written on) Jan 21st, 1987 - Final Entry

Sat. & Sun. were great. We picked up DD at Mount Alto (a campus of Penn State ) and the four of ushad a great time at Hagerstown for our last time together on a mini-vacation even though I was upsetbecause we had some car trouble. DD bowled a 205, which is the highest any of us have ever done.We played Yahzee, Trouble etc. in the room, ate a big Chinese dinner, did some outlet shopping – itwas wonderful and my heart aches because we!ll never do it again.

Ironically, if it wasn!t for my conviction, we wouldn!t have done it now. This has forced us to do a lot ofenjoyable things we wouldn!t have done otherwise over the last two years. Ironic. We all had a ball –Even Rob enjoyed bowling, he said. We stopped at Bill and Sandi !s and Mrs. G!s after we left DD atMt Alto.

Monday, Jim Allyn took Jo & me to lunch at the Upper Deck. It was the first time I went out in publicaround Hershey since before the trial in November. Paul Killion called in the afternoon and then

Harvey and Uta came, and we had a nice talk. Harvey said even Judge (name unclear ) was enragedover what happened to me. Monday night Troy & Wayne (friends of DeeDee) stopped in.

Tuesday – I spent a couple hours with Killion. We got in a big argument over Smith !s statement, etc.He wants me to say Smith offered me contributions in exchange for the contract, but I won !tcompromise my principles. West is going to ask for a stiff sentence for me because I won!t say I didanything wrong in my version of the “Offense”.

It just proves once again the unfair, unjust coercive power of the US Attorney !s office.

At 4pm, I took Jo to meet the accountant, Bill Holsberg. In the evening, Jim and Diane stopped in with

Wine and Lasagna. This was a bad day emotionally. It!s the day I should have resigned as Treasurerand took my oath of office as Lt. Governor, if it wouldn !t have been for the Thornburgh-West CTAconspiracy against me.

I finished work on my project for Thursday morning.

Wed. morning, Jo went to the Dr!s and came home instead of going to school, so I had to rush aroundand complete things while she was at the Dr!s. We took my letter to Muir into Paul and had our lastargument with him. Then we took Mrs. Grappy to lunch and when we got to Hershey we took our lastride in Chocolate World and I got my last cookie there.

I so wish we could have enjoyed the rest of our lives. I enjoy being with Jo so much and the next 20years or more would have been wonderful.

Tomorrow is going to be so difficult and I hope I can go through with it…

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Additional ReadingThe Dwyer Case by Lorraine Yuhasz - DwyerMovie.com

The Sins of Our Fathers by William Keisling -Yardbird.comAn American Tragedy by Gregory M. Waples - DwyerMovie.com

Additional WebsiteDwyerMovie.com - Office website for “Honest Man”en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Budd_Dwyer - Wiki Entry

http://futureisnow.atspace.com/rbudd.html - R.Budd Dwyer Tribute Site

“The Final Days of R.Budd Dwyer” © 2011 Mary Kun and Eighty Four Films, LLCAll rights reserved.

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The Final Days of Budd Dwyer (1)