State emergency management chief resigns

By The Associated Press
Published: January 04, 2010
Updated: January 04, 2010 - 5:42 PM

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TALLAHASSEE --

Florida's top emergency official is resigning.

Interim emergency management director Ruben Almaguer submitted his resignation letter today, saying he wanted to stay in his job while allegations against him were investigated, but that he wasn't given that opportunity.

In the letter to Gov. Charlie Crist, Almaguer said, "My conscience is clean."

Almaguer was appointed in May after his predecessor, Craig Fugate, was picked by President Barack Obama to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Almaguer was the agency's second in command under Fugate and previously was the administrative operations chief of the Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Department.