But to his neighbors in a #RhodeIsland beachfront enclave, he is better known as the #PrimeSuspect in the #NarragansettRunestoneAffair.

A hulking boulder once positioned just offshore in #NarragansettBay, the #runestone bears inscriptions that some believe were left by #Viking #explorers. It was the stuff of local lore & attracted visitors at low tide — to the consternation of #Mellon, the pedigreed businessman whose home looked out on the rock.

And then one day it was gone.

#criminal #law

A #criminal investigation yielded a #witness who had heard sounds of heavy machinery at night. Mellon refused to talk & hired a former state AG as his lawyer. Nearly a year later, the matter was resolved quietly: Mellon agreed to return the stone, & prosecutors agreed not to bring charges.

#archaeology #anthropology #history #criminal #law

All told, he has given $227M in contributions to federal candidates & political committees since 2020, nearly all to #Republicans — a sum that puts him in the top echelon of the party’s donors, alongside far better-known megadonors like #MiriamAdelson & her husband, Sheldon, who died in 2021, & Liz & Dick #Uihlein.

Yet for all his financial #influence, #Mellon & his interests — & what exactly is motivating his largess — have remained largely a mystery.

#DarkMoney #USPol #criminal #law