A Timeline of Crime and Controversy

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Summary

Last election, Paul Milde concealed his criminal past until he got caught. Local media revealed that he had a felony drug conviction for dealing cocaine and another conviction as an accessory to burglary. 

Mr. Milde played the victim and told people his crimes were a “youthful indiscretion” (Washington Post  9/15/05) resulting from his drug abuse. He claimed that he had turned his life around and now ran a “successful business” (Paul Milde campaign mailing 11/4/2005).

Mr. Milde was not telling the truth. In reality, Paul Milde hasn’t stopped breaking the law his entire adult life; he’s just breaking different laws now.

Milde’s record of financial irresponsibility is perhaps the most disturbing for taxpayers. While he was failing to pay his own bills and taxes, Paul Milde spent over $86,000 of his own money promoting himself in his first campaign. Since being elected Supervisor, he has had a major say in setting tax rates and determining how taxpayer dollars will be spent. Yet at the same time, he has repeatedly failed to pay his taxes on time and has accumulated thousands of dollars in penalties and interests as a result.  He has also brought his divisive behaviors to the office of Supervisor, sparking political fighting and controversies.

Voters deserve to have more facts about Mr. Milde.  The following timeline is a partial list of Paul Milde’s criminal activities, court judgments, and public controversies.  The violations are so numerous that it’s difficult to keep count, but the timeline includes

• 1 felony conviction

• 7 misdemeanor convictions

• 11 IRS liens for unpaid federal taxes

• 8 years in a row (2002-2009) of late payments for Stafford County real estate property taxes, with corresponding   penalties and interest (We have a sneaking suspicion that he will pay on time in December 2009)

• 5 judgments for unpaid debt

• 6 mechanic's liens by contractors and subcontractors for unpaid labor and material for Milde's condominium development project

• and a lawsuit for $157,500, still open in Stafford Circuit Court, in which Mr. Milde has already admitted to owing $140,000

Explanation of Terms

FELONY is a major, serious crime punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary while MISDEMEANOR indicates a crime less serious than a felony.  Mr. Milde has one felony conviction but was charged on two other occasions with felonies. He also has several misdemeanor convictions. Offense are listed in the year of the offense, which may differ from the year of the disposition.

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES Mr. Milde routinely fails to pay his County real estate and property taxes on time, even after being elected Supervisor.  Two types of entries are listed under this heading. 

1) “Penalties and interest” indicate the additional amount he was penalized because of his earlier failure to pay taxes on time. 

2) “End-of-year” indicates the amount of “real estate taxes” (house, land, etc) or “property taxes” (boats, etc) Mr. Milde still had not paid as of the end of the calendar year.

UNPAID FEDERAL TAXES Mr. Milde has also repeatedly failed to pay his federal taxes.  This has resulted in a large number of IRS liens entered against him.

UNPAID DEBT JUDGMENT indicates civil court judgments against Mr. Milde for bills he failed to pay.

MECHANIC'S LIENS  are recorded against a property by a contractor or subcontractor has not received payment for work done on that property. Contractors and subcontractors entered mechanic's liens against Mr. Milde's condominium project for unpaid work.

CAMPAIGN VIOLATION indicates a violation of the state Campaign Finance Disclosure Act as ruled by the Stafford County Electoral Board.

CITATION indicates a traffic violation handled in General District Court. Citations are listed in the year of the offense, which may differ from the year of the court disposition.

Controversies  These are not illegal activities per se—though some may have entailed breaking the law.  Instead, they are key controversies during Mr. Milde’s brief tenure as Supervisor, most of which are linked to developers.

2009

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. Penalties and interests for late payment of taxes: $2,616.

CAMPAIGN VIOLATION. Campaign Finance Act violation for failure to properly disclose the authorization for an email soliciting votes, sent to Stafford fire and rescue volunteers.

“SPCA” Controversy. Paul Milde managed to turn caring for unwanted pets into a scheme. 

• Milde voted against improvements to the County’s animal shelters. 

• Then he promoted a plan for a private shelter that would insert a commercial project in the midst of a residential neighborhood, even though his own constituents in the area opposed the project. That plan required that the property for the private shelter be granted a conditional use permit. 

• The property for the proposed shelter is owned by a for-profit LLC, "Muddy Dogs." The sole member of that LLC made two large donations totaling $700 to Mr. Milde's campaign fund. Mr. Milde proposed that the County waive $10,000 in  fees and give this contributor special favors by having the County become the applicant on this project.

• At the time of the application, the property owner had not paid the property taxes on the property, and had not incorporated as a non-profit "SPCA."

2008

 UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County real estate taxes still unpaid: $9,449.

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. Penalties and interests for late payment of taxes: $551.

CITATION.  Expired registration (3/11/08)

In reality, the doctored petition collected voter contact information that was later used to send Milde’s mailings.  Just as he had done four years earlier in collecting voter information under the copied “Save Crow’s Nest” name (see below), Mr. Milde used dubious means to acquire voters’ personal contact information.  As the news accounts summarized: “Opponents of the idea contend that voters were misled—they did not actually sign an official state petition form, but a slightly doctored look-alike. […] Milde has admitted that many of the poll workers were hired, and some came from outside the county” (Stafford supervisors vote against at-large chair, Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 12/18/09).  When Milde apparently pretended to be a fictitious “Jane Stafford” supporting his latest scheme, even Clay Jones, the Free Lance-Star editorial cartoonist, took note. 

2007

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County real estate taxes still unpaid: $6461.

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. Penalties and interests for late payment of taxes: $1,273.

UNPAID FEDERAL TAXES. IRS lien entered against Closet Interiors Plus (a Milde-owned business) for non-payment of taxes $10,647 (9/21/07). The debt is paid.

UNPAID FEDERAL TAXES. IRS lien entered against Closet Interiors Plus (a Milde-owned business) for non-payment of taxes $2,557 (8/7/07). The debt is paid.

UNPAID FEDERAL TAXES. IRS lien entered against Closet Interiors Plus (a Milde-owned business) for non-payment of taxes $3,360 (8/3/07). The debt is paid.

SUV Controversy.  Mr. Milde drives his SUV off the road, claiming to be avoiding another vehicle that was never found.  Could this be related to a long history of speeding and reckless driving violations? (“Stafford Supervisor flips SUV over bank” , Free Lance-Star 5/12/07). 

UNPAID FEDERAL TAXES. IRS lien entered against Closet Interiors Plus (a Milde-owned business) for non-payment of taxes $7,377 (2/14/07). The debt is paid.

CAMPAIGN VIOLATION. Campaign Finance Act Disclosure violation for failure to file campaign finance report on time. 

2006

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County real estate taxes still unpaid: $5477.

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. Penalties and interests for late payment of taxes: $419.

MECHANIC'S LIEN. Recorded against 505 Garrison Woods (owned by McMillion & Milde LLC, now known as Milde LLC)  for $1,989 in unpaid carpeting and vinyl work (9/28/06). 

MECHANIC'S LIEN. Recorded against 505 Garrison Woods (owned by McMillion & Milde LLC) for $6332 in unpaid construction work (9/27/06). The debt is paid.

MECHANIC'S LIEN. Recorded against 505 Garrison Woods (owned by McMillion & Milde LLC)  for $53,739 in unpaid fire sprinkler work (8/18/06). The debt is paid.

MECHANIC'S LIEN. Recorded against 505 Garrison Woods (owned by McMillion & Milde LLC) for $37,647 in unpaid painting and building materials (7/19/06). The debt is paid.

MECHANIC'S LIEN. Recorded against 505 Garrison Woods (owned by McMillion & Milde LLC) for $14,512 in unpaid insulation and building materials (7/19/06). The debt is paid.

LAWSUIT. Lawsuit initiated against McMillion & Milde LLC and Paul Milde individually for non-payment of debt $157,500 (1/5/06) . Milde admits owing $140,000 but disputes the remaining $17,000. The case is still open in Stafford Circuit Court (as of 10/22/09).

Foreclosure initiated on Mr. Milde’s waterfront home for non-payment of $50,000 line of credit secured by the home. The mortgage is released two months later.

2005

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County real estate taxes still unpaid: $5,034.

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County property taxes still unpaid: $164.

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. Penalties and interests for late payment of taxes: $1,307.

Paul Milde elected Aquia Supervisor (11/8/05) 

Paul Milde “loans” his campaign $87,920, but still doesn’t pay his taxes.

Campaign Controversy.  In his first election campaign, Paul Milde devoted an entire mailing to criticizing his opponent for having accepted a $500 contribution from a developer. Ironic from a candidate that is a developer and has taken thousands of dollars in campaign donations from the development industry.

Republican Nomination Controversy.  In running for the nomination of the Republican Party, Paul Milde withheld his criminal past.  The deception—and the rift it caused within the Republican Party—even caught the attention of the Washington Post (9/15/05), bringing Stafford unwanted notoriety. 

2004

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County real estate taxes still unpaid: $5,026.

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County property taxes still unpaid: $116.

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. Penalties and interests for late payment of property taxes: $356.

UNPAID FEDERAL TAXES. IRS lien entered against Paul Milde for non-payment of taxes $3,520 (12/4/04). The debt is paid.

CITATION. Cited for speeding (4/30/04).

Crow’s Nest Controversy, 2004-2009.  Paul Milde managed to turn a citizen-led effort to save all of Crow’s Nest from development into another chance to benefit developers and advance his own political career.  

• Mr. Milde copied the name of an existing citizen’s group “Save Crow’s Nest” (savecrowsnest.org) and created his own website (savecrowsnest.com) with an on-line “petition” that was actually used to collect names for his election campaign, creating controversy and confusion ("Crow's Nest Name Frays Some Feathers."  Free Lance-Star  5/2/04).  He declared himself “chairman” of this “group” which never held a single public event.

• Despite his repeated claims that he supported saving Crow’s Nest, Mr. Milde opposed legislation that would have protected areas like Crow’s Nest with steep slopes that lead to fragile waterways, without costing taxpayers a dime.

• Instead, Mr. Milde promoted a deal that paid the corporate land speculators who owned Crow’s Nest millions of taxpayer dollars above market-value.  As the Save Crow’s Nest web site notes of the “deal” that was reached, “taxpayers are paying higher than fair market value for the land, making this is a sweetheart deal for developers.” Amazingly, at the dedication ceremony for the second land purchase, Mr. Milde admitted that the landowners didn’t want "the parts we wanted" and it was a "good deal" for the property owners in this "economic" environment. Ironically, during his campaign, Mr. Milde had sent out a mailer promising “…you will never see me make sweetheart deals with developers…”  

2003

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County real estate taxes still unpaid: $1,256.

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County property taxes still unpaid: $170.

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. Penalties and interests for late payment of property taxes: $324.

2002

2001

UNPAID DEBT JUDGMENT. Court judgment entered against Paul Milde for non-payment of debt $5,169 (6/25/01). The debt gets paid.

2000

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County property taxes still unpaid: $376.

1998

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County property taxes still unpaid: $50.

UNPAID DEBT JUDGMENT. Court judgment entered in Maryland District Court against Paul Milde for non-payment of debt $5500 (9/23/98). The debt gets paid.

UNPAID DEBT JUDGMENT. Court judgment entered against Paul Milde for non-payment of debt $386 (7/28/98).

UNPAID DEBT JUDGMENT. Court judgment entered in Fairfax against Closet Interiors (Milde-owned business) for non-payment of debt $461 (4/22/98). The debt gets paid.

1997

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County property taxes still unpaid: $102

UNPAID FEDERAL TAXES. IRS lien entered against Closet Interiors for non-payment of taxes $17,228 (3/6/97).

UNPAID FEDERAL TAXES. IRS lien  entered against Closet Interiors (Milde-owned business) for non-payment of taxes $5,520 (1/7/97).

1996

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County property taxes still unpaid: $122

MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION. Convicted in Arlington of misdemeanor for speeding and possession of a radar detector (10/29/96)

UNPAID FEDERAL TAXES. IRS lien entered against Closet Interiors (Milde’s business) for non-payment of taxes $573 (9/28/96)

UNPAID FEDERAL TAXES. IRS lien entered against Closet Interiors (Milde’s business) for non-payment of taxes $1,103 (9/25/96)

MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION. Convicted for possession of a suspended license (6/15/96)

CITATION.  Cited for driving with defective equipment (6/15/96)

UNPAID FEDERAL TAXES. IRS lien entered in Fairfax against Closet Interiors (Milde’s business) for non-payment of taxes $8,566 (5/6/96)

UNPAID COURT COSTS. Court issues notice to seize tax refund to recover unpaid court costs from 1994 burglary conviction (4/10/96).

1995

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County property taxes still unpaid: $121.

CITATION.  Cited for speeding (8/27/95). 

MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION. Convicted of misdemeanor for speeding (4/4/95).

CITATION. Three citations for (1) no inspection sticker, (2) no registration, and (3) no safety chains (2/22/95).

1994

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County property taxes still unpaid: $133.

MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION. Convicted for speeding (12/12/94).

CITATION.  Cited for speeding (9/13/94).

UNPAID FEDERAL TAXES. IRS lien entered against Closet Interiors (Milde’s business) for non-payment of taxes $14,629 (8/23/94). The debt gets paid.

UNPAID DEBT JUDGMENT. Court judgment entered in Spotsylvania against Paul Milde for non-payment of debt $912 (5/25/94). The debt gets paid.

MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION. Convicted for rail fare evasion (4/14/94).

FELONY INDICTMENT/ MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION. Arrested  for attempting to break and enter in Fairfax, while armed with a deadly weapon, with the intent to commit larceny, and for possession of burglary tools (2/26/94)

• Indicted for the felonies of attempted statutory burglary, possession of burglary tools, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

• Plea bargain down to misdemeanor conviction for accessory after the fact

Sentenced to one year in jail, with 340 days suspended; to 12 months of supervised probation; and ordered to pay the court costs for the case. (View more documents from the court record.)

1993

UNPAID STAFFORD TAXES. End-of-year Stafford County property taxes still unpaid: $327.

MISDEMEANOR CHARGE/CITATION. Charged in Fredericksburg for misdemeanor reckless driving; cited for (1) speeding, (2) not having proper County deal, and (3) “unauthorized use of crossover” (8/19/93).

CITATION.  Cited for not having proper County decal (8/16/93).

FELONY ARREST. Arrested and charged with felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Full court record with details no longer available; exact meaning of court disposition of "other" unknown (8/6/93).

1986

FELONY. Arrested and pled guilty in Prince William County Circuit Court to felony possession of cocaine with intent to distribute (8/6/86).

• Sentenced to six years in state penitentiary with five years suspended, and to five years of supervised probation, and ordered to complete a substance abuse rehabilitation program.

• Served 1 year in a state penitentiary.

(View more documents from the court record.)

    Photo of drug dealing paraphernalia used as evidence, card with Mr. Milde’s fingerprints used to match the prints on the scale,, and lab results from test of the "white powder".

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