FROM 1981 TO 1987, R. Budd Dwyer served as the state treasurer of Pennsylvania. The Republican had been in his post for six years when he was convicted of accepting bribes from a computer company and awarding them a multi-million-dollar government contract. The day before his sentencing, he hosted a press conference where he refused to resign and proclaimed his love for his family… then shot himself, in public and on camera.
Footage of Dwyer’s death was broadcast across Pennsylvania, and recordings of it became a mainstay of the 80s and 90s’ most depraved tapetrading circles. Audio samples showed up in Faith No More and Kreator songs, while Neurosis’s reissue of their debut album, featured a still of his last moment on the cover. Richard Patrick was 22 years old when he accidentally viewed the clip, and at the time was the guitarist for industrial institution Nine Inch Nails
