5D05-3781 Romano v. Dept. or Business

State: Florida

Court: Florida Fifth District Court

Docket No: 5D05-3781

Case Date: 02/12/2007

Preview:IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FIFTH DISTRICT JANUARY TERM 2007

ALEXANDER PAUL ROMANO, Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL, ETC., Appellee. ________________________________/ Opinion filed February 16, 2007 Administrative Appeal from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Nancy P. Campiglia, of Akerman Senterfitt, Orlando, for Appellant. James Harwood, of Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Orlando, for Appellee. CASE NO. 5D05-3781

LAWSON, J. Alexander Paul Romano appeals from a final order of the Florida Real Estate Commission, (the "Commission"), which found him guilty of violating section 475.25, Florida Statutes, suspended his real estate license for five years, fined him, and ordered him to attend future Commission meetings as a sanction. For the reasons explained below, we affirm the final order in all respects except for imposition of the last sanction.

Romano obtained his real estate license in 1998.

It is undisputed that on

November 4, 1999, Romano entered guilty pleas to three felony charges and one misdemeanor charge in Dade County, Florida. The charges all arise from the same set of circumstances which, according to Romano, also involved an unnamed friend. Romano explains that he leased a BMW vehicle for this friend, because the person had poor credit and could not qualify for the lease. When the friend could no longer afford to make the payments, or tired of the car, he set the car on fire and then told Romano about his misdeed. Romano then falsely reported the car as having been stolen, both to police and to his insurance company. After investigation, the State charged Romano with second degree grand theft (a second degree felony); 1 burning to defraud an insurer (a third degree felony),2 filing a false insurance claim (a third degree felony); 3 and giving false information to a law enforcement officer (a first degree misdemeanor).4 As previously indicated, Romano entered pleas of guilty to all charges on November 4, 1999. The trial court accepted the pleas, entered a written finding of guilt as to all charges, withheld adjudication, and placed Romano on felony probation for five years. Romano's conduct while on probation was apparently exemplary. He paid back the entire amount of restitution ordered ($38,000), and never violated probation. It is also undisputed, however, that Romano never reported his convictions to the Commission. Ultimately, however, an anonymous source registered a complaint to the Commission regarding Romano's unreported convictions. The Commission

investigated and filed a formal complaint in the action below, alleging three violations of
1 2

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