A Florida appeals court has overturned former Port Richey Mayor Dale Massad's conspiracy to obstruct justice conviction, finding that prosecutors lacked key evidence in the case.

The conviction stemmed from allegations that Massad plotted with another former mayor to obtain information on an officer who had previously been involved in Massad's arrest a few years earlier for practicing medicine without a license. That case, however, resulted in Massad pleading guilty in March 2021 to aggravated assault after he fired a weapon at Pasco County authorities, who had been raiding his home in February 2019 to investigate the claim about illegally practicing medicine.