OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Former State Representative Mike Horner resigned from the Osceola County Chamber of Commerce on Friday after being connected to a prostitution scandal in Orange County.
Horner dropped out of the District 42 seat race last month after his named appeared on a list of clients that surfaced during a prostitution investigation into an Orange County brothel. He hasn't been arrested or charged.
Horner was the president of the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber for more than 15 years. He spoke to Local 6 for the first time publicly since the brothel scandals.
"Right now my focus is on my family and really just trying to rebuild my family and make amends to the community," Horner said Friday. "I just wanted to apologize to my family, most importantly my wife for the pain that I've caused that she certainly does not deserve."
Horner said he resigned from his position so he wouldn't become a distraction to the chamber's duties.
"I resigned as president because I did not want to distract from the important mission of the Kissimmee/Osceola chamber of commerce," Horner said.
The man accused of running the brothel, Mark Risner, has been arrested and charged with prostitution and racketeering. He has pled not guilty.
Investigators say Risner was the mastermind behind a brothel that listed State Rep. Mike Horner and former Maitland Vice Mayor Phil Bonus as clients.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.