The owner of a South Tampa restaurant has been charged with failing to pay state taxes.
Rodney Lopez, owner of Uncle Rodney's Rib House, 5712 S. MacDill Ave., was arrested Tuesday by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. He could face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted of felony and misdemeanor tax charges, according to the Florida Department of Revenue.
Although Lopez routinely collected sales tax from customers, he failed to file state tax returns as far back as 2006, the department said.
Lopez could not be reached for comment.
This is not Lopez's first experience with controversy.
In 2005, he was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and six months of probation for refusing to allow a blind woman and her guide dog in his restaurant, which was then on Gandy Boulevard.
The following year, after neighbors complained, he was cited for having too much smoke coming from his restaurant, which had relocated to South MacDill Avenue.
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