Background
Mills was born in the small town of Bethlehem, Maryland.
United States representative politician
Mills was born in the small town of Bethlehem, Maryland.
Mills never attended college, instead working his way up in rank at the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company from 1946 to 1962.
He served in the United States. Army in 1942, during World World War II, as part of general George Patton"s Third Army. Beginning in 1962, he served on the staff of then-congressman Rogers Morton as a Democrat until finally becoming a Republican in 1970. On the morning of May 24, 1973, Mills was found dead at a stable near his home in Easton, Maryland at the age of 48.
There was an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the left side of his chest, and a 12-gauge shotgun and spent casing were found by his side.
lieutenant was reported that he had been depressed following the death of three of his Congressional aides in a 1972 car accident, and by the fact that his mentor and predecessor, Rogers Morton, was suffering from cancer. However, five days before his death, it was revealed that Mills had received an undisclosed $25,000 gift from the finance committee of President Richard Nixon"s re-election campaign during the 1971 special election.
Overall, it was part of $900,000 in unaccounted donations made by the committee, according to the Government Accountability Office. If Mills were convicted of conducting illegal activity, he could have faced a $1,000 fine and one year in prison.
While Mills initially stated that he had done nothing wrong, he began worrying that the campaign contribution would destroy his political career.
In one of his suicide notes, Mills stated that he could not prove his innocence and saw suicide as the only solution. Despite his concern, Maryland authorities claimed soon after his death that he may not have broken the new state campaign finance law, which did not come into full effect until July 1971, two months after his special election. In fact, there were no indications that state authorities were even going to pursue an investigation.
Republican Party, Democratic Party.