Ailing ex-restaurateur gets house arrest in tax evasion case

SEATTLE — A former restaurant owner who admitted to tax evasion will spend the next eight months under house arrest.

William Robertson, 67, of Everett, owned the Hot Rod Cafe in Mountlake Terrace and Mukilteo. He tried to avoid paying nearly $500,000 in taxes by filing false tax returns and lying to IRS agents.

Robertson was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle. He pleaded guilty in June to tax evasion.

“You started a restaurant business and got in a tight squeeze and rather than dealing with it, tried to cover it up,” U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones said during Friday’s hearing.

Because of Robertson’s failing health, Jones declined to send the Everett man to prison. Instead, Robertson is under house arrest and must pay $491,902 in restitution.

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