STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

ZEMOUR, INC., )

t/a LA BONNE MAISON, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 77-453

)

STATE OF FLORIDA, )

DIVISION OF BEVERAGE, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice a hearing was held before Charles C. Adams, a Hearing Officer with the Division of Administrative Hearings, at the Conference Room of the State of Florida, Department of Business Regulation, the Johns Building, Tallahassee, Florida, February 16, 1977.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Sy Chadroff, Esquire

120 Biscayne Boulevard North, Suite 2806 Miami, Florida 33132

For Respondent: Charles F. Tunnicliff, Esquire

Division of Beverage 725 Bronough Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32304

ISSUE

Whether or not, the Petitioner, Zemour, Inc., t/a La Bonne Maison should be granted a license by the State of Florida, Division of Beverage, the license no. 23-2612-SRX series 4-COP.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Petitioner, Zemour, Inc., through its owner Edgard Zemour, purchased the restaurant known as Left Guard Restaurant located at 7444 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida. After making the purchase the Petitioner made application to transfer the beverage license held by the Left Guard Restaurant, which license is no. 23-2612-SRX series 4-COP. In addition application was made to change the name of the restaurant from Left Guard Restaurant to La Bonne Maison. These applications to transfer the license and change the name were filed with the State of Florida, Division of Beverage. By letter of February 15, 1977, the Director of the Division of Beverage has denied the transfer and the change of name applications. The denial was premised upon the statement that the application corporate officer, Edgard Zemour was not believed to be of good moral character, as required by Section 561.15, F.S.

2. In addressing the question of his moral character, the owner and President of Zemour, Inc., Edgard Zemour filed a personal data sheet with the State of Florida, Division of Beverage. This data sheet lists arrests and/or inquiries made by the French Government against Edgard Zemour. Edgard Zemour gave testimony in the subject hearing on the application for transfer and change of name of the licensed premises, which augmented the personal data sheet.

   
   

3. In 1956, Edgard Zemour was charged by the French Authorities with car theft or using the car without the permission of the owner. At the time, Edgard Zemour was 18 years of age and he and a friend decided to go dancing and stole someone's car and went to a discotheque to dance. He was arrested and sent to jail for two weeks, followed by four months probation.

   
   

4. During this same year, 1956, Edgard Zemour was arrested for assault and battery for a fight which he had with an American sailor in a bar in Brest, France. Edgard Zemour was fined approximately $25.00 for that incident.

   
   

5. From 1953 thru 1963, Edgard Zemour was in the wine business as a salesman, until the French Police told him to not operate in such a capacity, and Edgard Zemour responded by ceasing his activities. In 1958, while in the wine business, as a salesman "door to door", Edgard Zemour was charged with wine fraud. This incident involved his company placing approximately 30 gallons of wine in a cask when a customer wanted 25 gallons, and the customer being charged for the full 30 gallons. Zemour was not convicted of this charge. In 1959 Zemour was charged with abuse of trust while operating the wine business, due to the late arrival of wine which had been purchased by customers. He was not convicted of this offense. In 1960, he was charged on two separate occasions for wine fraud, in that Zemour was allegedly responsible for the customer paying for 30 gallons of wine when in fact only 25 gallons had been ordered. Edgard Zemour was found not guilty on those two occasions.

   
   

6. In 1960, Edgard Zemour was charged with indecent conduct with a female for an incident which occurred with a girl in an automobile. This case did not go to court. Edgard Zemour was released from the charge. (This incident relates to the no's 6 and 7 found in his personal data sheet answers.)

   
   

7. In December 1961, Edgard Zemour was charged with possession of weapons, but was not responsible since this weapon belonged to his father who served in World War I. This charge had been placed by the French Authorities.

   
   

8. During May 1967, Edgard Zemour was charged with fraud while operating in the textile business. The textile business would mean the clothing business. This charge was placed by the French Authorities and pertained to the activities of one of the salesmen working for a company in which Edgard Zemour was part owner. The salesman had lied about the type of materials used in the clothing and the clothing did not properly fit the customers to whom he had sold the clothing. Zemour, as owner of the corporation for whom the salesman worked, was charged with complicity which is apparently some form of conspiracy. Edgard Zemour had a trial on the issue and the judge found him guilty and placed him on two years probation. Zemour appealed the sentence and the appellate court upheld the conviction and sentenced Zemour to two years in prison. Edgard Zemour learned of the actual sentence before going back to court to face the sentence and fled France until 1972. When Edgard Zemour left France, he went to Israel.

9. While in Israel, Edgard Zemour was in the restaurant business. On one occasion while Zemour was in the restaurant business, a homicide occurred in his restaurant and the Israeli police took him to jail and kept him there for 23 to

   25 days, after which time he was released when the police found the actual assailant. On one other occasion while living in Israel Zemour tried to stop a fight in his restaurant and the police took him to the police station as a part of their investigation of the fighting incident, but subsequently released Zemour from charges.

   
   

10. In 1973, Edgard Zemour's father became ill and Edgard Zemour left Israel by way of Frankfurt, Germany to return to France to see his father who was thought to be dying. Zemour took the passport of one of the employees in the restaurant in Israel, and had someone in Frankfurt, Germany place Zemour's picture on the French passport belonging to the restaurant employee. This was done to avoid detection by the French authorities who would arrest Zemour to serve the two year sentence for the fraud case in 1969. When Zemour arrived in France he was arrested for having a false identification and for showing the false identification passport to the French Authorities. He went to court and was given a one month sentence for having a false identification and a one month sentence for showing a false passport to the French Police, in addition to the two year sentence which was pending on the fraud case of 1969. Zemour served between 8 and 9 months on these cases and was placed on probation.

    
    

11. Edgard was with his brother and uncle and some friends in a bar in France between 4:00 p.m. and 4:15 p.m., during the year 1975. At this time Zemour was on probation and did not wish the police to see him in the bar, although he felt his probation would allow him to be in that bar. A group of policemen entered the bar and shot and killed his brother and uncle and one friend. The police also shot Zemour five times. Zemour claims that this incident involved some political dispute in France. Zemour was charged with fighting with the police. Before standing such charge, he spent one year in the hospital most of which time was spent in the prison hospital. Zemour was acquitted of the offense of fighting with the police and left France.

    
    

12. In March 1976, Edgard Zemour went to Brussels, Belgium for one week and from there to Martinque for two weeks and subsequently to Miami, Florida, in April of 1976, and has remained in Miami, Florida since that time.

    
    

    CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

    
    

13. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction in this cause.

    
    

14. Based upon the facts as shown in this cause, it is concluded as a matter of law that Edgard Zemour, the President and owner of Zemour, Inc., is not of good moral character, and the application by Zemour, Inc. to transfer the license no. 23-2612-SRX series 4-COP and to change the name from Left Guard Restaurant to La Bonne Maison should be denied.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the application for transfer and change of name as filed by Zemour, Inc., t/a La Bonne Maison, concerning the license no. 23-2612- SRX, 4-COP, be denied.

DONE AND ENTERED this 8th day of March, 1977, in Tallahassee, Florida.

CHARLES C. ADAMS

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings

530 Carlton Building Tallahassee, Florida 32304 (904) 488-9675

COPIES FURNISHED:

Cy Chadroff, Esquire Charles F. Tunnicliff, Esquire

Suite 2806 Division of Beverage

120 Biscayne Boulevard, North The Johns Building Miami, Florida 33132 725 Bronough Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32304

Docket for Case No: 77-000453

Orders for Case No: 77-000453