Weekly 5: Florida politician, marina owner charged with tax fraud
The BI Weekly 5 is a collection of tips, news and data affecting the boating industry this week. Be sure to look for the BI Weekly 5 every Tuesday on BoatingIndustry.com.
1. Florida politician, marina owner charged with tax fraud
Michael Reckwerdt, the former mayor of Islamorada, Fla., and owner of Robbie’s Marina, has been charged with conspiracy to commit tax fraud.
Reckwerdt is accused of intentionally under-reporting salaries paid to employees of several companies he controls in order to reduce payments to the Internal Revenue Service.
He faces five years in federal prison if convicted.
2. SkipperLiner assets on auction block
Once the nation’s largest builder of luxury houseboats, SkipperLiner is now being broken up for parts in an online auction Tuesday.
The company first closed in the midst of the recession in 2010 before reopening under new ownership that same year. It shut down for good last year.
3. NMMA: Powerboat shipments up 6.6 percent for February
Wholesale shipments of traditional powerboats were up 6.6 percent in units and 1.6 percent in dollars through February for NMMA’s control group of manufacturers, the association reported.
4. Mercedes, Cigarette offer matching set
Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing are collaborating on a matching set of high-performance boat and car: A $1.2 million Cigarette Racing 50 Marauder GT S and a $130,000 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT S, with both painted in AMG Solarbeam Yellow and matte black.
5. Manitoba using detection dog in zebra mussel efforts
Government officials in Manitoba are turning to detection dogs to help detect Zebra mussels in area lakes.
The dog can detect the presence of mollusks on watercraft and water-related equipment.
