In 1986, Dwyer was wrongly convicted of receiving a bribe from a California firm that had been awarded a lucrative State contract.

Throughout Dwyer's trial and after his conviction, he maintained that he was innocent of the charges levied against him, he insisted that he had been framed. He was one of two who stood accused yet whilst his colleague, Asher, was being offered 1 year of incarceration – Dwyer faced 55 years and $300,000 + of fines.

Decades later, the prosecution's primary witness, William T. Smith, whose testimony was largely used to obtain Dwyer's conviction, admitted that he had lied under oath about Dwyer taking a bribe in order to receive a reduced sentence.

Dwyer was on the brink of uncovering a longstanding sex scandal at Penn State university, the very same college his son attended.

(Just a reminder that the political persecution of honest Republicans has been rife for decades)