William Trickett Smith
William Trickett Smith Sr. (August 16, 1937 – March 20, 2021) was an American lawyer and the former chairman of the Dauphin County Republican Committee.[2] In 1985, he was disbarred and imprisoned for bid rigging and convicted of theft by unlawful taking and deception in 2010.[3][4] He was the father of William Trickett Smith II, convicted in 2011 of murdering his wife and dismembering her while in Peru.
William Trickett Smith | |
---|---|
Born | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. | August 16, 1937
Died | March 20, 2021 83) Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged
Nationality | American |
Children | William Trickett Smith II (c. 1981)[1] |
Conviction(s) | Bid rigging (1985) Theft by unlawful taking and deception (2010) |
In 2012, Trickett Sr. was convicted of arson and insurance fraud while facing disbarment and investigation for taking funds from his clients estates.[5] In 2014, he was again sentenced for conspiring to help his son escape by filing a false criminal complaint to have him temporarily extradited from Peru back to Pennsylvania.[6]
Smith was one of the main prosecution witnesses in the trial of Pennsylvania Treasurer R. Budd Dwyer. Smith later admitted in an interview shown in Honest Man: The Life of R. Budd Dwyer that he had lied under oath in his own 1985 trial when he denied offering Dwyer a bribe. In the documentary, he maintained that his testimony at Dwyer's 1986 trial—that he offered Dwyer a bribe and that Dwyer accepted this offer—was truthful.[7]
Smith died March 20, 2021, in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.[8]
References
- Miller, Matt (November 23, 2010). "State prison term ordered for William Trickett Smith in fraud case". The Patriot-News. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
- "Pa. man held after death of wife in Peru". USA Today. Associated Press. September 9, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
- Miller, Matt (August 31, 2010). "William Trickett Smith pleads guilty in investment con case". The Patriot-News. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
- Corbett, Tom (August 27, 2009). "Attorney General Corbett announces charges against former Harrisburg attorney and Allentown businessman in theft & investment fraud case". Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
- Campisi, Jon (November 9, 2012). "Pa. lawyer once tied to 'Budd' Dwyer sentenced to state prison for arson". Penn Record. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- Miller, Matt (September 16, 2014). "Ex-Dauphin County GOP Chairman William Trickett Smith pleads guilty in prison break plot case". Penn Live. PA Media Group. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- EightyFourFilms (May 27, 2013), Honest Man: The Life of R.Budd Dwyer (Directors Cut), retrieved March 3, 2016
- "Former Dauphin County GOP Chairman William Trickett Smith Sr. Left a legacy of criminal convictions". March 24, 2021.