William Trickett Smith

William Trickett Smith
Born(1937-08-16)August 16, 1937
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMarch 20, 2021(2021-03-20) (aged 83)
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, U.S.
ChildrenWilliam Trickett Smith II (c. 1981)[1]
Conviction(s)Bid rigging (1985)
Theft by unlawful taking and deception (2010)

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.

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]

  1. ^ Miller, Matt (November 23, 2010). "State prison term ordered for William Trickett Smith in fraud case". The Patriot-News. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  2. ^ "Pa. man held after death of wife in Peru". USA Today. Associated Press. September 9, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
  3. ^ Miller, Matt (August 31, 2010). "William Trickett Smith pleads guilty in investment con case". The Patriot-News. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Campisi, Jon (November 9, 2012). "Pa. lawyer once tied to 'Budd' Dwyer sentenced to state prison for arson". Penn Record. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ EightyFourFilms (May 27, 2013), Honest Man: The Life of R.Budd Dwyer (Directors Cut), retrieved March 3, 2016[dead YouTube link]
  8. ^ "Former Dauphin County GOP Chairman William Trickett Smith Sr. Left a legacy of criminal convictions". March 24, 2021.