Christy Mihos
Christy Mihos, owner of a chain of convenience stores, smiles as he is introduced prior to facing off against Charles Baker, former president of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, prior to their Massachusetts Republican Gubernatorial debate in Hyannis, Mass., Friday, March 26, 2010.(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
(Charles Krupa)
Christy Mihos, a former two-time Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate and convenience store magnate, has died at the age of 67, according to family members.
Mihos, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2006 and 2010, died in Florida hospice care Saturday after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February, his sister Marlene Bucuvalas told the Cape Cod Times.
The former owner of the Christy's convenience store chain chose not to undergo treatment as the cancer had already spread to his bladder and liver, Bucuvalas said. He had previously been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007.
Mihos, a Brockton native, gained statewide attention in the early 2000s for speaking out against the so-called "Big Dig" transportation project while serving as as a member of the Turnpike Authority board -- a position from which he was fired and later reinstated.
He remained critical of the transportation project over the next decade, publishing a 2012 book entitled: "Rotten to the Core: The Real Dirt on Boston's Big Dig."
Despite the attention he garnered over the Big Dig, Mihos' gubernatorial bids fell flat. He waged an unsuccessful run as an independent in 2006 and failed to make the primary election ballot as a Republican in 2010.
After his 2010 run, the state's Office of Campaign and Political Finance fined Mihos a record $70,000 for using personal and business accounts in campaign spending, according to the Associated Press.
Mihos returned to the headlines in 2014 after he was placed on probation in relation to a domestic assault case.
His former wife, Andrea Mihos, had accused him of threatening and pushing her during an argument at their Yarmouth home. He pleaded not guilty.
Christy Mihos spent 10 days in the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in January 2017 for failing to pay his ex-wife nearly $79,000 as part of a divorce decree, the Cape Cod Times reported.
Mihos' sister told the newspaper that he regretted the "lies and exaggerations" that had damaged his reputation and basically estranged him from his children, Ashley and Christy.
"I do know his biggest regret was that his children did believe the lies that were brought forward," she reportedly said.
Mihos' funeral will take place Thursday at noon at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Fort Pierce, Florida. It will be preceded by an 11 a.m. wake.