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Ex-boat dealer is jailed in tax case

The former owner of Dorado Marine in Ozona is accused of keeping more than $100,000 in sales taxes.

By NICOLE JOHNSON
Published December 21, 2005

A former Ozona boat dealer has been arrested on charges that he failed to pay more than $100,000 in state sales taxes, authorities said.

Robert H. Lickert had owned and operated Dorado Marine Inc., at 270 Hedden Court, since 1998, according to an affidavit of the Florida Department of Revenue.

In 2001, the 61-year-old started sporadically filing and paying sales tax to the department, investigators said. By law, business owners are required every month to file and pay the department a portion of the sales tax they collect on purchases.

By 2004, Lickert had accumulated a $137,546 bill with the department, according to the Department of Revenue's investigator.

Lickert was charged with felony theft of state funds and misdemeanor refusal to file returns and pay sales tax. He pleaded not guilty and was held Tuesday in lieu of $1,000 bail.

Lickert's company, Dorado Marine Inc., specialized in selling the high-end fiberglass brand of boats. Lickert's company constructed the boats on site, according to the company's Web site.

Lickert has not been formally affiliated with the company since December 2004, according to reports.

But he remained a company consultant,advising the crew on how to build the boats, said Renee Ranaufe, a friend and his roommate for the past three months. "Bob is a generous man and I can't see him violating anything like this," she said.

Revenue Department representatives contacted Lickert in person regarding the delinquent taxes three times and sent several letters, records show. He promised to file the returns and pay the sales tax, but didn't.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Lickert at his home at 200 South St. on Monday morning, according to a report.

[Last modified December 21, 2005, 01:14:08]