Background:
R.Budd Dwyer was the state treasurer of Pennsylvania during the
1980?s. During this time he was caught up in a major political
scandal. He was eventually found guilty but before he could be
sentenced he committed suicide.

In 1983 it was discovered that millions of dollars had been
mistakenly paid in Social Security taxes, part of the Federal
Insurance Contribution Act, or FICA, on the sick pay of Pennsylvania
public employees for the previous three years. Treasurer Dwyer
appointed a task force comprised of several of his key staff members
and headed by John Wellington to research and investigate suitable
companies to be awarded the FICA recovery contract.  After working
extensively, the task force presented Dwyer with their findings: they
found that the best company for the job appeared to be CTA, or
Computer Technology Associates. Trusting his task force, Budd Dwyer
awarded CTA with the FICA contract. His decision was the mistake
that would destroy him.

For more information on Budd Dwyer visit: 
http://members.fortunecity.com/budd3/index.htm


Question:
Can you name the other task force members (aside from John Wellington)?


Thanks,
JD

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 11 Oct 2005 19:58 PDT

jdfilms,

Me again...I'm the guy who answered your earlier question on the Budd Dwyer jury.

On this one, though, I'm really drawing a blank.  I don't know if the
task force simply wasn't covered in the press at the time, of if the
coverage just didn't make the databases that are now available.

Anyway, are there any other details you can provide.  A formal name
for the task force, perhaps?  Anything else that might help in
tracking this down?

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by jdfilms-ga on 18 Oct 2005 12:45 PDT

Unfortunately there wasn?t a formal name for the task force. As far as
John Wellington, I?ve read treasury documents and court transcripts
that confirm that Wellington was the head of the task force. These
documents fail to name any other task force members. Due to the fact
that there is little information available I may have to cancel the
question. Let me know if you have any other options.

---

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 18 Oct 2005 20:15 PDT

Hi there.

I agree with welte-ga's comment (below) -- plenty of articles mention
Wellington as heading the Task Force, but none mention the other
members by name.

One thought though.  I'm not sure how vigorously you want to pursue
this, but Wellington was interviewed by the FBI, and quite possibly,
those interview files could be obtained via a Freedom of Information
Act request to the FBI.

Might be worth a shot...though you'll have to be patient.  FOIA's can
take ages, especially from the FBI.

Good luck,

paf

How sure are you that John Wellington was a member of the task force ?
  The link below states that he was the managing editor of the Record
Herald during that time period?

http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/chapter4.html

As evidence of this new sensitivity, Kochersberger cited two editors.
"Jess Garber, managing editor of the Record Herald, Waynesboro, PA.,
wrote, 'I believe in the public's right to know but am not sure that
carries to seeing a distraught person blowing his brains out' " (p.
8). "John Wellington, managing editor of the Meadville Tribune,
published in Dwyer's home town, wrote . . . 'Would anyone with half a
whit of common sense want graphic suicide pictures imposed on his or
her children? I would not' " (p. 9).

In response to previous comment, I have found multiple articles that
state that John Wellington was the leader of the task force. 
Unfortunately, none of the articles detail the other members.

         -welte-ga