The Man Who Exposed the Watergate Break-In

Frank Wills: Forgotten Hero

The Man Who Exposed the Watergate Break-In

During the early 1970's, President Richard M. Nixon and his administration were obsessed with political opponents, as well as with the unauthorized release of sensitive information. In response to those problems, the President's staff established a 5- man crew nicknamed the "Plumbers." This group was tasked with investigating and covering up White House leaks, spying, placing illegal wiretaps on phone lines, and disclosing damaging information on anyone opposing the administration. The Plumbers operated covertly until they were caught inside the Democratic National Party offices, located in the Watergate Office complex, by an alert security guard name Frank Wills.

Frank Wills, a native of Savannah, GA, grew up poor and eventually dropped out of high school. Woo (2000) wrote, "even though he didn't graduate from high school, he eventually earned an equivalency degree through Job Corps." During the spring of 1971, Wills was visiting friends in Washington D.C. and decided to stay and try to earn a living. Wills was subsequently hired by GSS Security Services and was responsible for patrolling eleven floors in the Watergate Office Complex. He was assigned the midnight to seven a.m. shift and earned $80 per week.

In the early morning hours of June 17, 1972, Wills was performing a routine check of the complex when he detected strips of tape covering the locking apparatus on a sixth floor door. Taping the door in this fashion prevented it from locking. Syndicated columnist George Curry (2005) noted, "In an interview years later with the Augusta Chronicle, Wills recalled, 'A piece of tape was on the door; the catch on the door was taped back. I removed the tape because at that time it really wasn't unusual'" (as cited in Curry, 2005, para. 2).

After a brief break, Wills returned to the sixth floor and noticed the door lock had been taped over again. Curry (2005) further wrote, "'There, the same door had been retaped the same way,' Wills told the newspaper. 'Something sort of alerted me about that. Just a feeling you know'" (as cited in Curry, 2005, para. 2). Wills called the D.C. Metro police. When the officers arrived, they stopped service to the elevators and blocked access doors. Wills and the officers ascended the stairs to the sixth floor to investigate. When the group reached the door that had been re-taped, they discovered the door had been forced open with a crowbar or similar type of device. The group also noticed that the door led directly into the office of the Democratic National Committee.

Five men emerged from the DNC office after being ordered by the police to do so. Among the items the men had in their possession were electronic listening devices. Unbeknownst