STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

FRANCISCO PALAFOX, JR., )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 79-1918S

)

DIVISION OF LICENSING, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

This case was heard pursuant to notice on December 11, 1979, in Miami, Florida, by Stephen F. Dean, assigned Hearing Officer of the Division of Administrative Hearings. This case arose on the denial of the Petitioner's application for licensure as a Class "F" unarmed guard and a Class "G" armed guard on the grounds that the Petitioner concealed on his application his arrest and conviction in California.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Mr. Francisco Palafox, Jr.

1551 Michigan Avenue, Apartment 12A Miami Beach, Florida 33139

For Respondent: W. J. Gladwin, Jr., Esquire

Assistant General Counsel Department of State

The Capitol

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Prior to the commencement of the hearing, the parties stipulated that the Petitioner had filed the applications marked Exhibit 2 in the record, and that the Petitioner was qualified except for the grounds stated in the he letter of denial. The sole issue is whether the Petitioner concealed the fact that he was arrested and convicted in California.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Petitioner, Francisco Palafox, Jr., made applications for licensure as an unarmed guard and an armed guard. In both applications he answered that he had never been arrested.

   
   

2. The Petitioner's fingerprints were checked by the Respondent Division through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a record of arrest in San Francisco, California, was revealed for Frank Madrano Palafox, Social Security #560-96-6038, born January 14, 1953, in Arizona. Correspondence with the authorities resulted in receipt of records from San Francisco, California (Exhibit 1), which reveal that Frank Madrano Palafox was arrested and charged on August 21, 1973, with possession of a prohibited weapon, but later the charge

   was dropped to prohibited loitering while carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor. Palafox's occupation on these records is given as Army.

   
   

3. The Petitioner produced his military records of discharge (DD 214), on which Petitioner's name, birth date, social security number and birth place were the same as that on the FBI report. Petitioner said that at the time of his arrest he had loaned his identification to another soldier. However, his DD 214 show that he was on leave at the time the arrest occurred, and that he was charged for excessive unearned military leave for the same number of days the arrest record shows that Palafox was jailed. The Petitioner then remembered he was arrested for "aiding and abetting prostitution."

   
   

4. The Petitioner did not report the arrest for aiding and abetting on his application.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

5. The Department of State, Division of Licensing, may deny a license for failure to answer all questions truthfully and for misrepresenting facts on the application. See Section 493.14(1)(a), Florida Statutes. The evidence shows that the Petitioner willfully denied his arrest and conviction for a misdemeanor in California in 1973. While this arrest and conviction would not have been disqualifying, his intentional failure to report it constitutes a misrepresentation that reflects adversely on the character of the Petitioner. Therefore, the agency had good cause to deny the Petitioner's application.

RECOMMENDATION

Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, the Hearing Officer recommends that the Petitioner's applications for licensure as an unarmed guard and an armed guard be denied.

DONE and ORDERED this 9th day of January, 1980, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

STEPHEN F. DEAN, Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings Room 101, Collins Building Tallahassee, Florida 32301

(904) 488-9675

COPIES FURNISHED:

W. J. Gladwin, Jr., Esquire Assistant General Counsel Department of State

The Capitol

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Mr. Francisco Palafox, Jr. 1551 Michigan Avenue, Apt. 12A Miami Beach, Florida 33139

Docket for Case No: 79-001918

Orders for Case No: 79-001918