STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

ALFRED L. HISS, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 82-371

)

DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONAL )

REGULATION, FLORIDA REAL )

ESTATE COMMISSION (formerly ) Board of Real Estate), )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, a formal administrative hearing was conducted in this matter on May 11, 1982, in Orlando, Florida. The following appearances were entered: the Petitioner, Alfred L. Hiss, appeared on his own behalf; and Linda

A. Lawson, Tallahassee, Florida, appeared on behalf of the Respondent, Florida Real Estate Commission.

The Petitioner filed an application for licensure as a real estate salesman with the Florida Real Estate Commission. The Commission denied the application and advised the Petitioner of his right to request a hearing in accordance with Chapter 120, Florida Statutes. Petitioner requested a hearing, and on February 9, 1982, the matter was forwarded to the Division of Administrative Hearings for the assignment of a Hearing Officer and the scheduling of a hearing. The final hearing was scheduled as set out above by notice dated March 16, 1982. At the hearing, the Petitioner testified as a witness on his own behalf and called the following additional witnesses: Kirk Taylor Banks, an Orlando businessman; John

1. Curry, a longtime business associate and personal friend of the Petitioner; and Stafford Anthony Bell, a real estate broker who is licensed by the Florida Real Estate Commission. Petitioner's Exhibits 1 through 8 and Respondent's Exhibit 1 were offered into evidence and received. A transcript of the hearing was ordered by the parties and was filed on June 17, 1982. Neither party has filed a post-hearing legal memorandum.

   
   

   ISSUE

   
   

   The issue in this proceeding is whether the Petitioner meets the qualifications for licensure as a real estate salesman and should be allowed to sit for the examination for licensure which is administered by the Florida Real Estate Commission.

   
   

   FINDINGS OF FACT

   
   

   1. The Petitioner is a natural person over eighteen years of age and is a bona fide resident of the State of Florida. Except for issues raised with respect to Petitioner's being convicted of a crime in 1972, there is no issue as

      to Petitioner's eligibility to take the examination for licensure as a real estate salesman.

      
      

   2. During July, 1972, Petitioner was convicted in Federal Court in Virginia of mail fraud. The conviction was based upon a guilty plea. A three- year prison sentence was imposed with all but sixty days of the sentence suspended. Petitioner served sixty days in a maximum security federal penitentiary. Petitioner's civil rights in the State of Virginia were restored in 1976. Petitioner has not been convicted of any other crimes.

      
      

   3. Prior to his conviction, Petitioner was an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Virginia. The Petitioner's conviction related to the trust account that the Petitioner maintained in connection with his law practice. Petitioner resigned from the Bar in Virginia after his conviction. Petitioner has been licensed to practice as a real estate salesman in the State of Virginia for the past thirty years. Officials in Virginia made an effort to suspend or revoke his license, but the Petitioner was successful in pursuing judicial remedies until sufficient time had lapsed after his conviction, and under Virginia law he was eligible for licensure. The Petitioner has practiced real estate in Virginia since his conviction.

      
      

   4. The Petitioner enjoys a very good reputation for honesty, truthfulness, and trustworthiness in business communities in Virginia and Orlando, Florida.

      He has the reputation amongst business and personal associates of being of good character, and he enjoys a good reputation for fair dealing. It appears that the interests of the public and of investors would not be likely to be endangered if the Petitioner is licensed as a real estate salesman in Florida. A licensed broker is prepared to hire the Petitioner as a salesman if the Petitioner is licensed, and it appears that the Petitioner would faithfully and honestly represent clients.

      
      

   5. The Petitioner neither denies nor minimizes the significance of his criminal conviction. He forthrightly advised the Real Estate Commission of the conviction in his application for licensure. He was candid in discussing details about it at the hearing. The Petitioner realizes the magnitude of the offense and is remorseful. The Petitioner has fully rehabilitated himself, as evidenced by the passage of a long period of time and the fact that he now enjoys a very good reputation in business and professional communities in Virginia and Florida.

      
      

      CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

      
      

   6. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter of this proceeding. Sections 120.57(1), 120.60, Florida Statutes.

      
      

   7. Section 475.17(1), Florida Statutes, provides in pertinent part:

      
      

      An applicant for licensure who is a natural person shall be 18 years of age, a bona fide resident of the state, honest, truthful, trustworthy, and of good character and shall have a good reputation for fair dealing.

      If the applicant has been denied registration for a license or has been disbarred, or his registration or

      license to practice or conduct any regulated profession, business, or vocation has been revoked or suspended, by this or any other state, any nation, possession, or district of the United States, or any court or lawful agency thereof, because of any conduct or practices which would have warranted

      a like result under this chapter, or if the applicant has been guilty of conduct or practices in this state or

      elsewhere which would have been grounds for revoking or suspending his license under this chapter had the applicant been registered, the applicant shall

      be deemed not to be qualified, unless, because of lapse of time and subsequent good conduct and reputation, or other reason being sufficient, it shall appear to the board that the interest of the public and investors will not likely, be endangered by the granting of registration.

      
      

      Under Section 475.25(1)(f), the Commission is authorized to deny an application for licensure if the applicant has been found guilty of a crime against the laws of the United States which involves moral turpitude or fraudulent or dishonest dealing. The Petitioner's mail fraud conviction, standing alone, would constitute good grounds for denying his application for licensure. More than ten years have lapsed, however, since the conviction. During that period, the Petitioner has fully rehabilitated himself and has shown by years of good conduct and by the reputation that he enjoys that the interests of the public and investors would not likely be endangered by his licensure as a real estate salesman.

      
      

   8. The Petitioner meets all of the qualifications to sit for the examination administered by the Florida Real Estate Commission for licensure as a real estate salesman.

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED:

That a final order be entered by the Florida Real Estate Commission admitting the Petitioner to the examination for licensure as a real estate salesman, and upon satisfactory completion of the examination, that the Petitioner be issued a real estate salesman's license.

RECOMMENDED this 19th day of July, 1982, in Tallahassee, Florida.

G. STEVEN PFEIFFER Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings Department of Administration

2009 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 19th day of July, 1982.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Mr. Alfred L. Hiss

1935 South Conway Road, C-6 Orlando, Florida 32806

Linda A. Lawson, Esquire Assistant Attorney General Department of Legal Affairs The Capitol

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Mr. Samuel R. Shorstein Secretary

Department of Professional Regulation

130 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Mr. Carlos B. Stafford Executive Director Florida Real Estate Commission

Post Office Box 1900 Orlando, Florida 32802

Frederick H. Wilsen, Esquire Department of Professional Regulation

130 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Docket for Case No: 82-000371

Orders for Case No: 82-000371