Title: The Florida Bar v. Roman

State: florida

Issuer: Florida Supreme Court

Document:

526 So. 2d 60 (1988)
THE FLORIDA BAR, Complainant/Cross-Respondent,
v.
Peter T. ROMAN, Respondent/Cross-Petitioner.
No. 69358.

Supreme Court of Florida.
June 2, 1988.
John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director and John T. Berry, Staff Counsel, Tallahassee, and Stephen Rushing, Branch Staff Counsel and Bonnie L. Mahon, Bar Counsel, Tampa, for complainant/cross-respondent.
Joseph G. Donahey, Jr. and Sondra Goldenfarb of Tanney, Forde, Donahey, Eno & Tanney, P.A., Clearwater, for respondent/cross-petitioner.
PER CURIAM.
This disciplinary proceeding is before us on a complaint of the Florida Bar and the report of the referee. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 15, Fla. Const.
The Florida Bar filed a complaint alleging:
The referee made the following findings and recommendations:
The Florida Bar and the respondent accept the referee's findings, but challenge the recommended discipline. Roman concedes that his misconduct warrants suspension, but argues that the recommended three year period is excessive, relying on The Florida Bar v. Tunsil, 503 So. 2d 1230 (Fla. 1986); The Florida Bar v. Dietrich, 469 So. 2d 1377 (Fla. 1985); and The Florida Bar v. Anderson, 395 So. 2d 551 (Fla. 1981). Each of these cases involved an attorney's misappropriation of funds and suspension for a period of less than three years based on the particular circumstances of each case. Roman's misconduct, however, is especially egregious in that he deceitfully used the court to effectuate the theft. He filed false statements containing the forged signature of a fictitious beneficiary. He furthered the fraud by deceiving the court into believing that estate assets were distributed to the fictitious beneficiary, when in fact Roman had converted them to his own use.
The Bar argues that this conduct warrants disbarment regardless of the mitigating factors found by the referee. We agree. We recognized in The Florida Bar v. Breed, 378 So. 2d 783 (Fla. 1979), that theft of client funds is one of the most serious offenses an attorney can commit. We warned the legal profession that henceforth we would not be reluctant to disbar an attorney for such misconduct. This case involves not only theft, but fraud on the court which strikes at the very heart of a lawyer's ethical responsibility. Either offense is sufficiently grave to justify disbarment. The mitigating factors in this case are insufficient to lessen the enormity of Roman's misconduct.
Accordingly, we adopt the referee's findings and recommendations of guilt, but reject the recommended three-year suspension. Roman voluntarily withdrew from practice November 1, 1986, and was suspended from the practice of law on June 19, 1987, in connection with a determination of guilt as to the grand theft charge. Peter T. Roman is hereby disbarred from the practice of law in the State of Florida, retroactive to November 1, 1986. Costs in the amount of $1,083.56 are hereby taxed against the respondent for which sum let execution issue.
It is so ordered.
McDONALD, C.J., and OVERTON, EHRLICH, SHAW, BARKETT, GRIMES and KOGAN, JJ., concur.