Port Richey Mayor Resigns

PORT RICHEY, Fla. (AP) _ The mayor of Port Richey resigned from the office he’s held for five years, saying the IRS plans to pursue legal action against him for under-reporting his income.

Richard Rober made the announcement Wednesday, with his wife Averill by his side.

He says the resignation takes effect Saturday.

The Tampa Bay Times (http://bit.ly/H3onUT ) reports that 52-year-old Rober said the IRS informed him of the action about two weeks ago.

The newspaper reports an IRS audit began about two year ago, stemming from a 2009 civil lawsuit brought by Florida Utility Group, which bought the Rober’s business in 2007.

The lawsuit claims Rober funneled about a half million dollars of company money into a personal fund he hid from accountants, the utility and the IRS.
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