Scandal inside Washington DC is nothing unusual and Congressman Wilber Mills made his own one of the most flamboyant. Mills represented Arkansas’s 2nd district and had held elective office since 1939. He had become chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in 1958 and considered one of the most powerful American politicians. He entered a few of the presidential primaries in 1972 before decisive losses within several southern states prompted him to quit.

During the summer of 1973, he was introduced to 38-year-old stripper Annabel Villagra through a mutual friend. She performed at the local Silver Slipper club as the Argentine Firecracker and was better known as Fanne Foxe. The pair lived in the same Crystal Towers condominium complex with their spouses and even played bridge together.

Over the next months, Mills and Foxe entered into a sexual relationship that appeared comical to observers. His drinking worsened and their public behavior continued to spiral wildly out of control. On October 6, 1974, the couple was pulled over by police following an intense argument. The friend’s car they entered was speeding, swerving and operating without headlights. Once stopped, Foxe panicked screaming epitaphs in English and Spanish. She dove into the Tidal basin to evade capture, a man made reservoir between the Potomac River and Washington Channel.

The publicity and farce eventually subsided. Mills gave up his Ways and Means position and was narrowly reelected. He opted not to run in 1976. He went through rehab and then afterwards counseled others undergoing alcohol abuse. Foxe milked her exposure with an autobiography and eventually re-surfaced as a dive master for the University of South Florida. Both Mills and Foxe would die in their 80s. Mill’s wife remained with him after the scandal until his death in 1992.

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