A new receiver has been assigned to manage day-to-day operations of Petro Acquisitions Inc., the parent company for AmeriStop convenience stores, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Leonard Z. Eppel, president of Financial Resource Associates in Blue Ash, stepped down on Tuesday as the court-appointed receiver for Petro Acquisitions Inc., and franchises about 140 gas stations and convenience stores in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Richard

Nelson of the Cincinnati law firm Cohen, Todd, Kite & Stanford, will replace Eppel.Petro declared that it would begin filing Chapter 11 proceedings in federal bankruptcy court Tuesday, according to Hamilton County court documents. Eppel said he stepped aside after it "became apparent" that lenders involved in the case did not want to work with him, according to the newspaper.

"I don't think it had anything to do with us. I think they simply wanted to control the process," he said.