Robert Beale (entrepreneur)
Robert Beale is a Minnesota entrepreneur, founder and former CEO of Comtrol, fugitive, tax protestor and convicted felon who was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for tax evasion. Beale served briefly as his own attorney at his trial.
Beale was the Minnesota campaign manager for televangelist Pat Robertson during Robertson's failed run for president in 1988. Beale also reported that he was once a major contributor and board member of Living Word Christian Center, a Brooklyn Park church which would later come under the scrutinty of the IRS as well. Beale's problems with the IRS began in the 1990s over a dispute involving a computer software firm Beale founded called Artist Graphics. Beale was also later charged with threatening the life of the federal judge who prosecuted him and was given 11 additional months of prison time. He is also a former shareholder and board of directors member of WorldNetDaily. Beale is the father of political columnist Theodore Beale.