A political tragedy, part 4

In 1980, Pennsylvania voters elected Budd Dwyer to the office of state treasurer. At the age of 40 with 16 years’ experience in the state legislature, Dwyer was a rising star in the state’s Republican ranks.

As the first member of his party to be Pennsylvania’s treasurer in 20 years, Dwyer promised the state’s citizens that he would reform the office by modernizing its outdated operations.

The previous occupants of the state treasurer’s office, Dwyer said, had created a “financial antique” that had resulted in, among other things, state employees paying more money into the nation’s social secu...