HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 02.26.2020e7064bf4-9b10-48bc-8c9d-7ce7cfde98cbElectronically signed by Karen M. Bellemare (301-293-169-3900)
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St. Lucie County Contractor Licensing
Board Special Meeting
February 26, 2020
Time: 8:30
LOCATION: The Commission Chambers
of the Roger Poitras Administration Annex
2300 Virginia Avenue
Fort Pierce, Florida
PRESENT: Doug Davis - General Contractor At-Large
Michael Pride- Electrical Contractor At-Large
Chris Langel - AC or Mechanical Contractor
At-Large
Tony Jerger - Consumer Rep.
Dennis Parker - Consumer Rep.
Dan Zrallack- Engineer
Michael DiFrancesco - Res. Contractor
James "Travis" Leonard - Res. Contractor
COURT REPORTERS, INC.
736 Delaware Avenue
Fort Pierce, FL 34950
info@court-reporters.com
772-464-2664
e7064bf4-9b10-48bc-8c9d-7ce7cfde98cbElectronically signed by Karen M. Bellemare (301-293-169-3900)
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1 INDEX
2
3 Page
4 ROLL CALL 4
5 ELECTION OF OFFICERS 5
6 PUBLIC COMMENT 8
7 OPENING ARGUMENTS
By Ms. Falce 13
8 By Mr. Miranda 16
9 EXHIBITS & INVESTIGATION CONCLUSIONS
By Mr. Cicio 24
10
WITNESS: Michael Cicio
11 Direct Examination by Ms. Falce 32
Cross Examination by Mr. Miranda 36
12
CASE PRESENTATION BY MR. and MRS. LAWSON 40
13 Questions by Mr. Chairman 67
Examination by Ms. Falce 70
14 Examination by Mr. Miranda 73
15 WITNESS: MIA QUINTERO
Direct Examination by Ms. Falce 90
16 Cross Examination by Mr. Miranda 95
17 STAFF RESTS: 97
18 MICHAEL MIRANDA PRESENT CASE 98
19 MICHAEL MIRANDA RESTS 107
20 BOARD QUESTIONS 107
21 CLOSING STATEMENT
By Ms. Falce 139
22
MOTION TO ACCEPT STAFF RECOMMENDATION 142
23
AMENDMENT TO STAFF MOTION 142
24
25
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1 EXHIBITS
2 Exhibit Description
3 A Copy of a disciplinary letter
along with the memorandum.
4 B Copies of the certified notices
that were mailed to three different
5 locations that Mr. Miranda has
previously disclosed to be his mailing
6 address.
C Photo of a posting of the Notice to
7 Appear at his business location on
February 14, 2020.
8 D Email confirmation that the Notice to
Appear was emailed to Mr. Miranda on
9 February 14, 2020 and February 21, 2020.
E Public record request received by
10 Mr. Miranda via email on February 21, 2020.
F Email confirmation on February 21, 2020
11 from Staff responding to a public records
request.
12 G Copy of the complaints filed by Jerry
and Sylvia Lawson against Michael Miranda
13 doing business as Group One Construction.
H Construction agreement between Mr. and
14 Mrs. Lawson and Group One Construction.
I Copy of a draw schedule.
15 J Proof of 10 percent down payment in the
amount of $24,800 via check.
16 K Copy of a check made by the Lawsons for
a second draw.
17 L Recorded lien, along with invoices from
Stuart Paint & Supply, Inc. for an unpaid
18 balance of $25,614.90.
M Recorded lien and proposal from
19 Blosser Electric, Inc. for an unpaid
balance of $9,513.85.
20 N Recorded lien and invoice from an unpaid
balance of $4,831.64.
21 O Copy of a check to Nustar from Group One
Construction in the amount of $4,831.64
22 that was returned for insufficient funds.
P Recorded Satisfaction of Lien of release
23 of funds, in the amount of $4,831.64.
Q Photos taken of the residence on 9/19 of '19
24
25
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1 P-R-O-C-E-E-D-I-N-G-S
2 ---
3 MR. CHAIRMAN: Nod of approval to proceed.
4 We've received our paperwork and Staff is ready.
5 So I will call the Contractors Examining Board
6 Meeting to order.
7 Madam Secretary, if you would call the roll,
8 please.
9 MADAM SECRETARY: Good morning, everyone.
10 Mr. Davis.
11 MR. DAVIS: Yes, ma'am.
12 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. DiFrancesco.
13 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Yes, ma'am.
14 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Hudspeth was excused.
15 Mr. Langel.
16 MR. LANGEL: Yes, ma'am.
17 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Jerger.
18 MR. JERGER: Yes, ma'am.
19 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Leonard.
20 MR. LEONARD: Yes, ma'am.
21 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Pride.
22 MR. PRIDE: Yes, ma'am.
23 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Zrallack.
24 MR. ZRALLACK: Yes, ma'am.
25 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Parker.
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1 MR. PARKER: Yes, ma'am.
2 MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Madam Secretary.
3 I understand that we've got such a good turn
4 out this morning because of the election of
5 officers and everybody is very interested in taking
6 this position as chairperson, I believe, so I'm
7 ready for anyone to speak up that would like to be
8 chairman for this coming year or if you have a
9 nomination that you'd like to make for chairperson.
10 We have chairperson, vice chair, and secretary
11 positions to fill. We do that annually. So
12 evidently it's that time of year.
13 MR. LEONARD: Mr. Chair, I think you do a
14 phenomenal job as being chairman. I make a motion
15 that we keep it as is.
16 MR. PRIDE: Second.
17 MR. CHAIRMAN: All in favor?
18 MR. LANGEL: Aye.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: Was that a hardy aye or was
20 that just an aye? Come on.
21 MR. PARKER: That was an aye from me.
22 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Any nays. Let's go to
23 the nay vote. Okay. Motion carries. So chairman
24 will be Douglas Davis. Vice Chair will be Travis
25 Leonard and our secretary is -- I need help.
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1 Reminder.
2 MR. ZRALLACK: I believe it was me.
3 MR. CHAIRMAN: Dan Zrallack. Okay. Sorry,
4 Dan.
5 MR. ZRALLACK: That's okay.
6 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Anything else we need to
7 do to -- I guess with the motion, a second and
8 voice vote carry, we're good with that item.
9 Nothing else yet to discuss on that?
10 MS. BARBIERI: That is correct, Chairman.
11 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Thank you. If we
12 will, we'll go ahead and swear in our Staff and
13 start the agenda.
14 MADAM SECRETARY: State your name for the
15 record.
16 MS. GRAZIANI: Monica Gratciani.
17 MS. WILLIAMS: Danielle Williams.
18 MR. CICIO: Mike Cicio.
19 MR. HARVEY: Harvey.
20 MADAM SECRETARY: Do you affirm to tell the
21 truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
22 MS. GRAZIANI: Yes.
23 MR. CICIO: Yes.
24 MS. WILLIAMS: Yes.
25 MR. CHAIRMAN: I don't want to rush right
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1 through. I know our first agenda item is an
2 opportunity for public to speak. If you have
3 anything that you would like to approach the
4 Licensing Board about that's outside of the realm
5 of the agenda of this morning, we don't want to
6 hold you up through the process of the meeting in
7 order to make those types of comments to the Board,
8 so if you have something you would like to address
9 with the Board that's outside the scope of today's
10 agenda, you have that opportunity now.
11 MS. BARBIERI: Mr. Chairman?
12 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yes, ma'am.
13 MS. BARBIERI: Assistant County Attorney
14 Katherine Barbieri. Throughout this meeting, I may
15 remind the Board there's a three-minute timer on
16 public comments, so that's also for the public, and
17 anything that's said at public comment, obviously,
18 is not relevant towards anything else that goes
19 before the Board today. It's just that, public
20 comment. So it may not be considered.
21 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Exactly. Thank
22 you. Now, that -- that comment about the
23 three-minute rule, is that specific for public
24 comment only?
25 MS. BARBIERI: Yes, sir.
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1 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay.
2 DR. FARROW: I don't -- I don't know if this
3 is the right time, but my comments I would like to
4 make is about an agenda item about the disciplinary
5 case. I am -- we are also customers and we had a
6 great financial loss and I want to make a
7 financial -- I want to make a public statement. So
8 I don't know if it's now.
9 MR. CHAIRMAN: Why don't we hold that and let
10 that be part of the specific of the case that we
11 have before us today. Is that -- do you have an
12 issue with that or would you rather do it now?
13 MS. BARBIERI: What I'm trying to find out is
14 if it's about her situation, I don't believe that
15 is the situation before the Board today.
16 MR. CHAIRMAN: Oh, I see.
17 MS. BARBIERI: It's about their own --
18 DR. FARROW: It's about my case, which is
19 not --
20 MS. BARBIERI: -- before the Board today, is
21 it --
22 DR. FARROW: Right.
23 MS. BARBIERI: -- so it is? So it is public
24 comment, would be appropriate.
25 MR. CHAIRMAN: Now is the appropriate time. I
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1 appreciate your clarification.
2 DR. FARROW: Okay. Good morning.
3 First of all, I'm Dr. Verda Farrow and this is
4 my husband James Wayne Farrow. And before I speak,
5 I just want to make one comment. My husband and I,
6 as we entered the chambers this morning, and as we
7 entered the chambers we were threatened by Mr.
8 Miranda. And when I speak or I have receipts or --
9 but in this case, I have a video recording, and I
10 just want to go on record because I have been
11 worried about this. Mr. Miranda threatened to
12 destroy us and he also threat -- said that we
13 should not be here, and he said he would not give
14 us our money back and that he -- he would have his
15 attorney take us down, and I have that on video.
16 And I just wanted to go on public record to say
17 that -- that statement.
18 Okay. I'm going to use our three minutes.
19 I'm Dr. Verda Farrell. My husband and I entered
20 into a contract with Mike Miranda, Group One Homes
21 on October 11, 2018 for construction of our home.
22 We are here again today for you to hear an update
23 on our case in reference to Mr. Miranda and Group
24 One Construction as it relates to our home and some
25 of the actions that Mr. Mike Miranda committed
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1 toward our family.
2 Number one, the theft of our money and not
3 accounting for funds that we paid him in the sum
4 over -- over $90,000 for a down payment and
5 upgrades to construct our home.
6 Number two, he did not make a reasonable
7 effort to meet the estimated construction schedule
8 as stated in Florida statutes.
9 And Number three, he implemented a systemic
10 and intentional scheme to defraud us and many other
11 homeowners, many of us senior citizens, veterans,
12 discharged veterans and disabled veterans, of our
13 hard earned money and he did not deliver the agreed
14 upon home. He intentionally took advantage of the
15 elderly. In November when we were here, we
16 presented a chart that clearly showed, of many
17 customers, that clearly showed a pattern and a
18 timeline of complete negligence and it summarized
19 our story. The losses from many of the affected
20 families form a very similar problem.
21 By the time we had completed researching our
22 events of the last few months, we saw a clear
23 pattern of this scheme.
24 Number one, Mr. Miranda and his affiliates
25 would win over the customers.
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1 Number two, he would take an unreasonable
2 amount of time to even apply for a permit. The
3 average time of seven months. And then he would
4 take another unreasonable time to even start our
5 project. Some of them he never started on.
6 Number three, he would abandon many of the
7 projects but not return your money, and he would
8 leave the homeowners with many liens. And number
9 three (sic) he stalled for so long that we were
10 finally able to put a freeze on our money and then
11 cancel the permit application, because he never had
12 a permit, before he could do any more dam --
13 financial damage to us.
14 He mismanaged all of the money that we gave
15 him, over $90,000. We did not receive services
16 that we paid for. We also did not receive a return
17 of our money for the services that were not
18 rendered.
19 Michael Miranda has not responded to any of
20 our requests to refund our money. The status of
21 our contract at this time is we properly terminated
22 our contract with Mr. Miranda after 10 months in
23 which we only had the clear of our land and forming
24 boards. We have requested a return -- return of
25 our money five times. He's made no effort to make
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1 it right. We only --
2 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Chair, I'm sorry, the
3 three minutes is up.
4 DR. FARROW: Okay. Can I just say one more
5 thing? We ask for your assistance here. He's not
6 once tried to make his actions right and we have
7 receipts for all the money that we have paid for
8 him, and we thank you very much for listening to us
9 today.
10 MR. FARROW: Using intimidation now in here
11 and threats.
12 DR. FARROW: And we have video of it.
13 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Thank you for
14 coming this morning. Anybody else that would like
15 to also make a statement before the Board
16 concerning public comment?
17 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Mr. Chair?
18 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yes, sir. Mr. DiFrancesco.
19 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Can I ask her a question?
20 MR. CHAIRMAN: Sure. If you --
21 MS. BARBIERI: I'm sorry. It is not -- this
22 is not before the Board today. You're only
23 supposed to be considering the disciplinary
24 hearing.
25 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay.
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1 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Okay.
2 MS. BARBIERI: If Staff brings this back
3 before you at some point, then you will be able to
4 ask questions.
5 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. All right. Thank you.
6 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Thank you.
7 MS. BARBIERI: Thank you.
8 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Then we will move
9 on to our disciplinary case this morning, which is
10 against Group One Construction & Development,
11 Michael J. Miranda. I will let the Staff bring us
12 up-to-date on this particular case.
13 MS. FALCE: Good morning.
14 MR. CHAIRMAN: Good morning.
15 MS. FALCE: Good morning, Board Members. My
16 name is Deana Falce. My address is
17 46 SW 1st Street, Third Floor, Miami, Florida
18 33130. I have been hired as outside counsel for
19 County Staff on this matter. And I would like to
20 present a brief summary, synopsis, opening
21 argument, for you all, before getting to the
22 Staff's summary of this case for you today.
23 We are here today at this duly noticed public
24 hearing to present evidence to this Board
25 establishing Mr. Miranda's and Group One
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1 Construction's violation of the County Codes
2 Requirements related to his Certificate of
3 Competency. This Board has the authority to revoke
4 Mr. Miranda's Certificate of Competency pursuant to
5 the County Code, Section 10-67.
6 Before bringing Mr. Cicio up to provide you
7 with the evidence and his testimony supporting
8 these allegations today, I would like to give you a
9 brief synopsis of how we got here.
10 The County received a complaint from Mr. and
11 Mrs. Lawson, who are here today to testify,
12 regarding the circumstances surrounding
13 Mr. Miranda's construction of their single-family
14 home located at 5144 Cherry Palm Way in
15 Fort Pierce, Florida 34981. The Lawsons contracted
16 with Mr. Miranda and Group One Construction for
17 construction of their home. Due to the
18 mismanagement of funds by Mr. Miranda, three liens
19 were filed against the Lawsons' property, which
20 will be presented by Mr. Cicio in a moment.
21 Payment was made to Mr. Miranda by the Lawsons for
22 work which was not applied to the Lawsons' project.
23 And finally, because of all of this, the Lawsons
24 were caused damaged in delay and loss of money.
25 Mr. Cicio will present evidence that there are
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1 violations of several difference provisions of the
2 County code. Those are 10-26(9), to commit any
3 willful fraudulent act as a contractor as a result
4 of which another is financially injured; 10-67(3),
5 willfully disregarding and violating an applicable
6 state law, a local building code regulation or law;
7 10-67(9), signs a statement with respect to a
8 project or contract which falsely indicates that
9 payment has been made for all subcontracted work,
10 labor and materials resulting in a financial loss
11 to the owner. And finally 10-67(10), commits fraud
12 or deceit or other misconduct in the practice of
13 contracting.
14 Mr. Cicio will enter into evidence all of
15 those supporting facts. Mr. and Mrs. Lawson are
16 here to testify to also give you the facts
17 surrounding this -- this case. And I ask that I
18 have an opportunity to question any witnesses that
19 come before you today just as a matter of procedure
20 to ensure that all facts are before you that you
21 need to make your decision.
22 And finally, before I give the floor to
23 Mr. Cicio, I would ask that, because I've made an
24 opening argument that Mr. Miranda also be permitted
25 to make an opening argument. Not to testify as a
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1 witness but if he would like to say anything prior
2 to witnesses coming up, as you deem appropriate.
3 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Thank you much.
4 Since Staff has had that opportunity and
5 brought counsel to make an opening statement and
6 it's request that we give the -- Miranda,
7 Mr. Michael Miranda the same opportunity, if he's
8 here and would like to speak to the Board as an
9 opening statement, I would make that invitation.
10 Good morning. Mr. Miranda, if --
11 MR. MIRANDA: Good morning.
12 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- you would be sworn in by the
13 recording secretary, please.
14 MADAM SECRETARY: State your name and address
15 for the record.
16 MR. MIRANDA: Michael Miranda, 1193 South Port
17 St. Lucie Boulevard, Port St. Lucie, Florida.
18 MICHAEL MIRANDA,
19 MADAM SECRETARY: Do you affirm to the tell
20 the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the
21 truth?
22 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
23 MADAM SECRETARY: Thank you.
24 MR. CHAIRMAN: Good morning.
25 MR. MIRANDA: Good morning. First of all, you
Page 17
1 know, I've been up here one other time, okay, and
2 I, you know, got -- when I showed the evidence to
3 you guys, okay, it didn't matter and, you know,
4 liens were placed on the property but I didn't get
5 paid. Now, it's not in this case. Just to give
6 fact to the matter of what happened to me.
7 So I showed them the bank statement that the
8 bank didn't pay me yet on this, but liens were put
9 on the property. So when you guys put that, and
10 said, okay, well, we'll -- we'll suspend your
11 license for 180 days. And so the crime was, you
12 know, there were liens on the property, but I
13 didn't get paid yet. So, you know -- and the
14 reason why I think that you got -- you know, there
15 was people sitting out there and -- not knowing,
16 they weren't even from here, from this county, and
17 made false statements. And I don't know if, you
18 know, you guys took it in or not but it -- it hurt
19 me. So I came back, with my attorney, with the
20 County Commissioners and had another meeting. And
21 it just went -- couldn't do anything. They would
22 not. And my attorney said, Just listen to what
23 we're trying to say. Would not listen.
24 So in this case, I just want you to listen to
25 the facts and just not take, you know, what people
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1 are saying because, you know, people could -- I
2 know it's a public meeting and they could say
3 anything, you know, and their case will come also,
4 you know, but in this matter now, this case, okay,
5 it's a civil matter, okay? We have -- and they
6 asked me because -- this is another thing. I got
7 this -- this has been in with you guys for
8 five months. I knew about this a week ago. I
9 asked Danielle and Michael to give -- to -- what's
10 going on? They sent me, emailed me, 240 pages of
11 this. It took me ten hours to read this. Come to
12 this meeting today and -- and try and -- you know,
13 try and go through this, okay? And this is what
14 we're talking about.
15 Now, you've got a complaint five months ago,
16 okay, that I did not know about it, okay, and now I
17 get a week's worth -- and now this complaint is
18 already -- it's got all this stuff in here that I'm
19 a felon, okay? Nobody here on Staff or anybody and
20 said -- we talked about this. Five months this
21 went on not nothing anything, okay? And nobody did
22 anything about it with the County.
23 So now when you read this and all these -- I'm
24 guilty of all these statutes, okay, not knowing
25 what's my side of the story or anything. And I
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1 just find that for a way for a County --
2 St. Lucie County to do business like this is
3 horrible. I mean -- you know, at least -- hey,
4 if -- if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. If I'm right, I'm
5 right. But, you know, 240 pages, five months ago,
6 and I know about this a week ago. It's just --
7 it's not fair, and I don't think it's a way to do
8 business.
9 MS. BARBIERI: Mr. Miranda, this is
10 Assistant County Katherine Barbieri. I represent
11 the Board. Are you saying that you need more time
12 to prepare, because the Board does have the power,
13 if you -- if you don't feel like you've had enough
14 time, to continue this to a date certain so that
15 you can be prepared or do you want to go forward
16 today?
17 MR. MIRANDA: Is this normal? Is this what
18 you do, hold this for 5 --
19 MS. BARBIERI: Sir, on your case, I need to
20 know, do you want to go forward today or do you
21 want to have a hearing?
22 MR. MIRANDA: I'll go forward.
23 MS. BARBIERI: You want to go forward today?
24 MR. MIRANDA: I'll go forward, but I just --
25 MS. BARBIERI: I want to make that clear on
Page 20
1 the record. You are asking to go forward today?
2 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
3 MS. BARBIERI: Yes, sir. Thank you.
4 MR. MIRANDA: So they asked -- well, because
5 they -- you know, they gave me four hours, the
6 email, you know -- because I got this stuff. It
7 was 240 pages. That gave me four hours to sit down
8 and email back you guys the stuff or, you know, the
9 evidence, that I had that was not true. Not true.
10 So I made these folders with stuff that, you
11 know, is not -- is not in here. It's not in the
12 complaint, you know, and --
13 MS. BARBIERI: Is each one of those folders
14 for the Board to have?
15 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
16 MS. BARBIERI: I'll hand it out.
17 MR. MIRANDA: Let me just make sure.
18 Thank you.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: Madam Secretary, if you would,
20 make rec -- recognize that the documents have been
21 received from the Group One Construction &
22 Development for consideration of Staff and the
23 Board.
24 MS. FALCE: Mr. Chairman?
25 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yes.
Page 21
1 MS. FALCE: Before we get into addressing any
2 specific evidence outside of just an opening
3 argument, I would request that Staff be able to
4 present the -- their case prior to.
5 MR. CHAIRMAN: I understand. This is an
6 opening statement only.
7 MS. FALCE: Thank you.
8 MR. MIRANDA: So where do I --
9 MR. CHAIRMAN: We're just limiting this
10 portion to the opening statement and then we can
11 get into the case, which we've not yet heard.
12 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. So you want me to stop
13 here?
14 MR. CHAIRMAN: As much as your opening
15 statement would like to present itself to the
16 Board, and then from that point we'll go forward.
17 MR. MIRANDA: I get -- my opening statement I
18 get -- this is, you know -- my opening statement
19 is, this is not fair to myself, okay, and that this
20 is not -- this is a civil matter and this is
21 between me and them -- and the customer. And for
22 you guys to come across and try to take my license
23 away for a year is -- is devastating. You know,
24 this is my livelihood and, you know, this is where
25 I make my money. This -- you know, this is already
Page 22
1 to me, with so much damage, this has ruined my
2 company, okay? This has ruined all the customers
3 that I've had, okay, and you know, I -- I'm out
4 there to make money. I've pulled back as many
5 customers as I could. And the biggest problem
6 is that when -- when my partner left and he called
7 some of these people that he left, it stirred the
8 pot. Then the Schillings (phonetic) sent --
9 Mrs. Schilling, to everybody's house, to say the
10 wrong thing to them. Got everybody all riled up
11 and -- you know, not to get me -- alls I'm asking
12 for is a fair shake. And every customer that I've
13 had -- that I did have or have now, and I've pulled
14 back and getting their houses done, and I've
15 been here -- and -- and it's working out fine. And
16 we did have a delay, but I've not stolen any money.
17 I've been here 40 years. I've never been
18 arrested in my life. Now I'm charged with 2
19 felonies that are untrue. That I have to spend the
20 attorneys (sic) because nobody listens to me. They
21 just could go out and do that to me. So I had to
22 hire attorneys to do this after all this time.
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: Let me ask you a question,
24 because you made a statement that "it's not fair."
25 So I want to make sure I understand what points you
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1 consider are not fair in the hearing here. We
2 already addressed the issue of time, and if you
3 need more time --
4 MR. MIRANDA: Okay.
5 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- and I assume that we've
6 already cleared that up. That that is fair. That
7 you've had the time that you need to come today --
8 MR. MIRANDA: Correct.
9 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- correct? So the not fair
10 part of your comment is specifically, what, so we
11 can make sure --
12 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. Not fair is this
13 statement right here from the County, okay? I'm
14 being judged right now. This has been investigated
15 by the Staff, okay? So it's one-sided. That's
16 what's not fair.
17 No one's asked me about what was -- so they
18 could say anything and, you know -- write anything
19 down and do this, and that's what this is all
20 about.
21 MR. CHAIRMAN: Well, we -- we trust Staff.
22 That's what we've hired them to do is to go out and
23 they're the eyes in the community to make sure that
24 we have good contractor and subcontractor relations
25 with their clients in the workplace and they've
Page 24
1 brought this before us. So they believe that it's
2 fair, and they believe that it's something we
3 should hear, and you have your opportunity to
4 respond to it.
5 If you've properly prepared, then we are ready
6 to take that on this morning.
7 MR. MIRANDA: Okay.
8 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right?
9 MR. MIRANDA: Yep.
10 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. So I think the next
11 step -- typically what we've done is heard from
12 Staff in order to receive the case. We've heard
13 from Staff's legal counsel. And let's just go
14 straight to Staff and take it from there.
15 MR. CICIO: Good morning.
16 MR. CHAIRMAN: Good morning.
17 MR. CICIO: For the record, I'm submitting
18 Exhibit A, Pages 1 through 5, a copy of a
19 disciplinary letter along with the memorandum.
20 Exhibit B, Pages 6 through 12, copies of the
21 certified notices that were mailed to three
22 different locations that Mr. Miranda has previously
23 disclosed to be his mailing address.
24 Exhibit C, Page 13, a photo of a posting of
25 the Notice to Appear at his business location on
Page 25
1 February 14, 2020.
2 Exhibit D, Pages 14 through 15, email
3 confirmation that the Notice to Appear was emailed
4 to Mr. Miranda on February 14, 2020 and
5 February 21, 2020.
6 Exhibit E, Pages 16 through 17, public record
7 request received by Mr. Miranda via email on
8 February 21, 2020.
9 Exhibit F, Pages 18 through 19, email
10 confirmation on February 21, 2020 from Staff
11 responding to a public records request.
12 Exhibit G, Pages 20 through 34, a copy of the
13 complaints filed by Jerry and Sylvia Lawson against
14 Michael Miranda doing business as Group One
15 Construction.
16 Exhibit H, Pages 36 through 39, construction
17 agreement between Mr. and Mrs. Lawson and
18 Group One Construction.
19 Exhibit I, Pages 40 through 41, a copy of a
20 draw schedule.
21 Exhibit J, Page 42, Proof of 10 percent down
22 payment in the amount of $24,800 via check.
23 Exhibit K, Pages 43 through 45, a copy of a
24 check made by the Lawsons for a second draw.
25 Exhibit L, Pages 46 through 57, recorded lien,
Page 26
1 along with invoices from Stuart Paint & Supply,
2 Inc. for an unpaid balance of $25,614.90.
3 Exhibit M, Pages 58 through 59, recorded lien
4 and proposal from Blosser Electric, Inc. for an
5 unpaid balance of $9,513.85.
6 Exhibit N, Pages 60 through 62, a recorded
7 lien and invoice from an unpaid balance of
8 $4,831.64.
9 Exhibit O, Pages 63 through 64, a copy of a
10 check to Nustar from Group One Construction in the
11 amount of $4,831.64 that was returned for
12 insufficient funds.
13 Exhibit P, Page 65, a recorded Satisfaction of
14 Lien of release of funds, in the amount of
15 $4,831.64.
16 Exhibit Q, Pages 66 through 74, photos taken
17 of the residence on 9/19 of '19.
18 On 2/13 of '18 an initial 10 percent down
19 payment check, Check No. 5041 was written by Sylvia
20 Lawson to Group One Construction in the amount of
21 $24,800.
22 On 2/14 of '18, the initial construction
23 agreement between the Lawsons and Michael Miranda
24 doing business as Group One Construction &
25 Development, Inc. to construct the home was signed.
e7064bf4-9b10-48bc-8c9d-7ce7cfde98cbElectronically signed by Karen M. Bellemare (301-293-169-3900)
9 (Pages 27 to 30)
Page 27
1 On 10/15 of '18, Permit No. 1809-0047 was
2 issued to construct a new single-family residence
3 with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a garage.
4 On 5/30 of '19, a check for draw number two,
5 Check No. 247, was written to Group One
6 Construction & Development by Sylvia Lawson in the
7 amount of $18,500.
8 On 8/12 of '19, Mr. and Mrs. Lawson executed a
9 change of contractor on Permit No. 18090047 to
10 owner/builder.
11 On 9/12 of '19, a Complaint was filed by
12 Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Lawson against Group One
13 Construction & Development, Michael J. Miranda, who
14 they had contracted with to build a new residential
15 home at the address of 5144 Cherry Palm Way,
16 Fort Pierce, Florida 34981.
17 The Complaint stated that three liens were
18 filed against the Lawsons' property. After further
19 investigating, I found a recorded lien from
20 Stuart Paint & Supply, an unpaid vendor recorded on
21 7/11 of '19 in the amount of $25,614.90. A
22 recorded lien from Blosser Electric, an unpaid
23 subcontractor recorded on 7/19 of '19 in the amount
24 of $12,652. And a recorded lien from
25 Nustar Building Materials unpaid vendor recorded on
Page 28
1 7/23 of '19 in the amount of $4,831.64. All three
2 liens total $43,098.54.
3 On 9/23 of '19, I received a proposal by email
4 from Nancy Ryan Blosser with Blosser Electric
5 signed by Mr. Miranda dated 1/28 of '19 in the
6 amount of $12,652. I also received a cash sales
7 invoice by email from Nustar Building Materials in
8 the amount of $4,831.64. And a copy of an
9 insufficient funds check, Check No. 1899, from the
10 business account of Group One Construction &
11 Development to Nustar Building Materials signed for
12 by Mike Miranda on 6/14 of '19. A copy of this
13 check has been turned over to law enforcement.
14 On 11/21 of '19, Nustar Building Materials
15 recorded the release of lien after receiving
16 payment from the Lawsons in the amount of
17 $4,831.64.
18 On 12/12 of '19, Mr. and Mrs. Lawson completed
19 their house, which received a final inspection by
20 Staff.
21 On 1/21 of '20 and 1/27 of '20, additional
22 supporting complaint affidavits were received by
23 Jerry and Sylvia Lawson.
24 On February 14, 2020, a disciplinary letter
25 scheduling this case to appear before the
Page 29
1 February 26, 2020 Contractor Licensing Board, along
2 with a memorandum outlining the sections of the
3 code, Staff found Michael J. Miranda doing business
4 as Group One Construction & Development, Inc. in
5 violation of, was served to Mr. Miranda by email,
6 sent certified mail to three separate addresses,
7 posted at the door of his place of business and
8 requested to be served by the Sheriff's Office.
9 My investigation resulted in the following
10 violations of St. Lucie County ordinance:
11 St. Lucie County Code 10-26(9), Commit any
12 willful fraudulent act as a contractor as a result
13 of which another is financially injured.
14 St. Lucie County Code 10-67(3), Willfully
15 disregards and violates an applicable state or
16 local building code regulation or law. In
17 particular those State laws are Florida Statute
18 489.129(golf)(1) [verbatim] and Florida Statute
19 713.345.
20 Also found to be in violation of St. Lucie
21 Code 10-67(9), Signs a statement with respect to a
22 project or contract which falsely indicates that
23 work was bonded. Falsely indicates that payment
24 has been made for all subcontracted work, labor
25 and/or materials, which results in a financial loss
Page 30
1 to the owner, purchaser or another contractor, or
2 falsely indicates that Workers' Compensation or
3 public liability insurance are maintained.
4 St. Lucie County Code 10-67(10), Commits fraud
5 or deceit and other misconduct in the practice of
6 contracting.
7 Based on my investigation, Staff is
8 recommending to revoke their Certificate of
9 Competency and permitting privileges for new
10 permits for Michael J. Miranda doing business as
11 Group One Construction & Development for 365 days
12 and forward a copy of the Board's order to the
13 Florida Department of Business and Professional
14 Regulations and the surrounding municipalities.
15 Staff is also requesting after the revocation
16 period Mr. Miranda must request to be reinstated
17 before the Contractor Licensing Board.
18 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. If I'm not mistaken, I
19 just want to address an issue that Mr. Miranda
20 brought up about not being fair. We addressed the
21 issue of time, and he's had the time, and he feels
22 prepared to go forward this morning. The other one
23 has to do that he feels like it's a civil matter,
24 and it's not a matter for this Board. And I -- we
25 hear these cases with these issues all the time,
e7064bf4-9b10-48bc-8c9d-7ce7cfde98cbElectronically signed by Karen M. Bellemare (301-293-169-3900)
10 (Pages 31 to 34)
Page 31
1 and I wanted to address that concern of Mr. Miranda
2 in that these are all issues that are by
3 State Statute things that the Licensing Board is
4 supposed to pay attention to, and if violated, they
5 are to be brought to our attention. So I wanted to
6 just make that statement, unless somebody wanted to
7 correct me. I think we have good footing in moving
8 forward in that you've been prepared, you've got
9 the time, you've admitted that. And then the
10 second part is, these are violations that are to be
11 heard by this Board, and I don't think it's to the
12 sole purview of civil court so -- to get that on
13 the record. I see this as being a fair hearing
14 with fair consideration and concern, okay?
15 Yes, ma'am?
16 MS. FALCE: Before moving on from Mr. Cicio, I
17 do have a few follow-up questions for him, if -- if
18 you give me your permission.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: Follow-up questions with
20 Mr. Mir --
21 MS. FALCE: To Mr. Cicio.
22 MR. CHAIRMAN: Mr. Cicio. Okay. If you
23 would, I guess we would go to the podium, and be
24 identified and then we'll get -- get it recorded.
25 MS. FALCE: Deana Falce, outside counsel for
Page 32
1 Staff.
2 MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you.
3 MICHAEL CICIO,
4 (Having been previously sworn, testifies as
5 follows:)
6 DIRECT EXAMINATION
7 BY MS. FALCE:
8 Q Mr. Cicio, could you state for the record what
9 your position is with the County?
10 A I am a contactor licensing investigator for
11 St. Lucie County.
12 Q Okay. And what is your duty or responsibility
13 as that, within the County?
14 A I respond to complaints, Complaint Affidavits
15 and also do random site checks throughout the County
16 checking for contractor licensing and permitting issues.
17 Q And you stated in your report that you
18 received a Complaint from Mr. and Mrs. Lawson related to
19 Mr. Miranda; is that correct?
20 A That is correct.
21 Q Okay. And what, if anything, did you do after
22 receiving that Complaint?
23 A I received the Complaint. It does take a
24 while to go through the Complaint and to look up lien
25 information and to seek information from those
Page 33
1 subcontractors or from the Lawsons based on their
2 allegations so that was -- the majority of the time was
3 spent was investigating and doing a back investigation
4 on the Complaint itself.
5 Q Okay. So from the time you received the
6 complaint until now, you heard the --
7 A Yeah.
8 Q -- opening statement of Mr. Miranda, the
9 five months that has passed, during that time, what were
10 you doing specifically?
11 A I was in communication with the subcontractors
12 who had filed liens against Mr. and Mrs. Lawson. It
13 does take some time to receive information back from
14 them and communicate with them and also do the research,
15 of course, through the Clerk of the Courts, to validate
16 the liens (inaudible).
17 Q Thank you. And you testified that notice was
18 sent out for this hearing dated February 14, 2020; is
19 that correct?
20 A That is correct.
21 Q Okay. And once that notice was sent out, were
22 you contacted by Mr. Miranda?
23 A I was.
24 Q And what, if anything, occurred after that
25 contact?
Page 34
1 A The contact was made after the office was
2 posted and I emailed Mr. Miranda directly a copy of the
3 Notice to Appear. He obviously had some concern with
4 the Complaint and we had agreed to schedule a meeting
5 and meet. I believe it was last Thursday that we met.
6 Q Okay. And who did he meet with specifically?
7 A He met with myself and my supervisor,
8 Danielle Williams.
9 Q And what, if anything, was discussed during
10 that meeting?
11 A We discussed the Complaint itself. I gave him
12 copies of the Complaints that were -- where we received
13 the Complaint Affidavits at a later time. Although, he
14 was provided a copy of the whole case file that was
15 given from Mr. and Mrs. Lawson.
16 Q And that's the email that you included in the
17 evidence presented to the Board with the link for the
18 public record app --
19 A That's --
20 Q -- request?
21 A That is correct, yes.
22 MS. FALCE: Okay. Thank you.
23 No further questions at this time. Thank you.
24 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Does the Board have
25 any questions of Staff or Staff counsel?
e7064bf4-9b10-48bc-8c9d-7ce7cfde98cbElectronically signed by Karen M. Bellemare (301-293-169-3900)
11 (Pages 35 to 38)
Page 35
1 MS. BARBIERI: Mr. Chairman, Assistant County
2 Attorney Katherine Barbieri. It would be
3 appropriate for Mr. Miranda to have the opportunity
4 to, if he had any questions of Mr. Cicio, to ask
5 him at this point. Not present his evidence but
6 just if he had questions.
7 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. I knew. Typically, I
8 like to give the Board opportunity. I might have
9 lingered a little too long on that question, but
10 thank you for the prompt. And we will introduce
11 Mr. Miranda back to the podium if you want to
12 continue with your rebuttal, I assume, to the case
13 that's brought before you -- before us this
14 morning.
15 MS. FALCE: Mr. Chairman?
16 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yes, ma'am.
17 MS. FALCE: At this point in time, the Staff
18 has not finished presenting their witnesses so
19 if -- we would request that Mr. Miranda was limited
20 to questions of Mr. Cicio so that we could proceed
21 with our next witness to present our full case and
22 evidence on this matter.
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. And I would defer to our
24 legal counsel because --
25 MS. BARBIERI: That -- that -- that was what I
Page 36
1 was indicating. I apologize if I wasn't stating it
2 correctly. He just has the right to ask Mr. Cicio,
3 while it's fresh on his mind, questions, and then I
4 believe there are more that they want to present.
5 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. So it would be
6 proper then to hear from Staff to go forward with
7 the case as they want to present it?
8 MS. BARBIERI: Just to have to Mr. Miranda ask
9 Mr. Cicio questions if he's got any of just him,
10 just questions.
11 MR. CHAIRMAN: I gotcha. Okay. Very good.
12 I'm sorry, I missed --
13 MS. BARBIERI: No, I probably wasn't very
14 clear and I apologize. It's new to all of us.
15 CROSS EXAMINATION
16 BY MR. MIRANDA:
17 Q So after you've had this for five months and
18 you let me know and we did schedule a meeting that took
19 a week to schedule, we -- we sat there and the -- the
20 documents that you gave me were, like, the Complaint
21 from the Lawsons and then your -- your -- what you wrote
22 up. The 240 pages, I just want to make clear, that's
23 what you emailed me, and you didn't have it at the time.
24 Two hundred forty pages that I had to go on a link and
25 see what -- what was going on.
Page 37
1 A No, they were -- it was there, but what I gave
2 you was a copy of --
3 Q The 240 pages?
4 A What I gave you was a copy of the Complaint
5 Affidavit, which --
6 Q But --
7 A -- is what you had requested.
8 Q But you didn't give me the 240 pages because
9 it was -- you had to email it?
10 A Right. We emailed it to you the following
11 day, correct.
12 Q Okay. Because it sounded like, you know, you
13 gave me everything at the meeting.
14 A Yeah. Well, you -- you had requested it
15 through public record, which is the protocol that we
16 took, and we gave it to you via the public records
17 request that you gave us.
18 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. I just want to make that
19 clear.
20 MR. CHAIRMAN: But as a follow-up, you did
21 receive it within a couple of days from that
22 meeting, correct?
23 MR. MIRANDA: Yes, I got that in a -- like I
24 said, I had four hours to email it back to
25 Danielle.
Page 38
1 MR. CHAIRMAN: So you met on the 14th; is that
2 correct?
3 THE WITNESS: No, sir, we met last Thursday, I
4 believe.
5 MR. CHAIRMAN: Last Thursday.
6 THE WITNESS: The 20th. And I believe he
7 received all those records the next day on a
8 Friday. It was Friday afternoon that you received
9 that link --
10 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
11 THE WITNESS: -- via your public records
12 request.
13 MR. MIRANDA: Yes. And she said if I got it
14 in by 12, but it was just too much to go through.
15 It was 240 pages.
16 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. But you received it last
17 Friday.
18 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Thank you.
20 MS. GRAZIANI: Chairman?
21 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yes, ma'am.
22 MS. GRAZIANI: Monica Gratciani for the
23 record. I'd like to make a correction on the
24 section of Florida Statute under one of the
25 subsection, 3. There's a numerical error there.
e7064bf4-9b10-48bc-8c9d-7ce7cfde98cbElectronically signed by Karen M. Bellemare (301-293-169-3900)
12 (Pages 39 to 42)
Page 39
1 It's Florida Statute 489-129(1)(g)(1). Also for
2 the record --
3 MR. CHAIRMAN: That's on -- that's under the
4 Subsection 3?
5 MS. GRAZIANI: Yes, sir. Under violations.
6 MR. CHAIRMAN: The correction was what again?
7 MS. GRAZIANI: It's 489-129(1)(g)(1).
8 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Thank you.
9 MS. GRAZIANI: You're welcome. And one more
10 statement just for the record. This Board does not
11 meet monthly. This Board meets every other month.
12 So the scheduling also, that five month window
13 meeting every other month would come into play,
14 that we wouldn't be able to process as quickly if
15 it was a monthly Board meeting. And I just wanted
16 to make that -- put that on the record, please.
17 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. And then also I know
18 there was conversation this week because this is a
19 special meeting that's created to hear this certain
20 case in advance of our next Board meeting which
21 right now is still another month away.
22 MS. GRAZIANI: Correct.
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: So I assume that it was part of
24 the provision we tried to make this to come before
25 us and not linger any further.
Page 40
1 MS. GRAZIANI: Absolutely.
2 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Thank you. I'll
3 turn that back over to Staff's counsel, please.
4 MS. GRAZIANI: At this time, we would like to
5 ask Mr. and Mrs. Lawson to present their case to
6 the Board.
7 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. If the Lawsons would
8 like to come forward, if you would please come to
9 the podium and be sworn in by the recording
10 secretary.
11 MADAM SECRETARY: State your name and address
12 for the record.
13 MR. LAWSON: My name is Jerry Lawson at 5144
14 Cherry Palm Way, Fort Pierce, Florida 38 -- 34981.
15 MS. LAWSON: Sylvia Lawson, 5144 Cherry Palm
16 Way, Fort Pierce, Florida 34981.
17 SYLVIA LAWSON and JERRY LAWSON,
18 MADAM SECRETARY: Do you affirm to tell the
19 truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
20 MS. LAWSON: I do.
21 MR. LAWSON: I do.
22 MADAM SECRETARY: Thank you.
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: Good morning.
24 MS. LAWSON: Good morning.
25 MR. LAWSON: Good morning.
Page 41
1 MR. CHAIRMAN: Welcome.
2 MR. LAWSON: Thank you. And thank you all for
3 hearing our case today. This has been a long and
4 arduous travel for us. We never expected to find
5 ourselves in this situation. We've had several
6 homes in the past and never have we encountered
7 anything to this degree. So we're here today to
8 inform you guys of the atrocities that we have
9 experienced at the hands of Mr. Miranda. Just to
10 give you a backdrop of how we actually met
11 Mr. Miranda, I'm going to start from the beginning,
12 and I won't take too much of your time.
13 One day I was looking for an office chair for
14 my office and -- and it was at a building right
15 next to Mr. Miranda's office. We were already in
16 the process of looking for a place to build a home,
17 but we couldn't find anything. So I saw the sign
18 that said "custom built." I entered in. His
19 secretary Nicole was there. I made an appointment
20 with her to meet with Mr. Miranda and Roger Moore.
21 Unbeknownst to us, Mr. Miranda didn't make the
22 appointment but Roger Moore did.
23 We initially thought that the business
24 belonged to Roger Moore, because every time that we
25 had gone in there, he was all that we saw. Then
Page 42
1 one day, the day that we agreed to sign the
2 contract, Mr. Miranda walks in. We asks who was
3 this guy. We find out he's actually the owner of
4 the place. And so we went over the terms of the
5 contract and we agreed, which was
6 February 14, 2018, right?
7 MS. LAWSON: Um.
8 MR. LAWSON: February 14, 2018. And so we
9 were happy that, you know, they were giving us most
10 of what we asked for. (Inaudible) What we had
11 heard from the other builders as we were looking
12 into building a home. And so some of things that
13 we were looking for that he offered were impact
14 windows, eight foot doors -- all came standard --
15 tile on the floor. Actually, he wasn't giving us
16 tile throughout the house, he was giving us tiles
17 in the wet areas and not in the common areas.
18 So we signed the contract for $248,000. We
19 gave them a check the next day on the 15th for
20 $24,800, which was the down payment. Of course, we
21 expect that they should start moving along. So we
22 got a Notice of Commitment that was signed
23 August 20, 2018, which was six months later. The
24 construction of the home didn't start until January
25 of 2019. As you can see, there's a long stretch
e7064bf4-9b10-48bc-8c9d-7ce7cfde98cbElectronically signed by Karen M. Bellemare (301-293-169-3900)
13 (Pages 43 to 46)
Page 43
1 between the time we signed the contract and the
2 construction of the home.
3 Now, we're not contractors. And we don't know
4 Florida's law -- laws like that. So we were
5 thinking, okay, it's taking a little longer than --
6 than normal or necessary but we're willing to work
7 with them.
8 So during the time we were inquiring about the
9 start of the project and was constantly told by
10 Mr. Miranda that it's -- engineering was the
11 problem. And every time we made any change or
12 correction to the drawing, the engineer would pick
13 up the new changes and did not save -- it would
14 pick up the new changes and didn't save the old
15 changes -- the old changes. And so it took from
16 February to August of 2018 to get a final drawing
17 to the County. The permit was not pulled until
18 October of 2018. They cleared the lot on
19 November -- in November of 2018 and laid the
20 foundation. At that time, we were still in our
21 previous home in Port St. Lucie, which we were
22 going to -- we were going to sell and use that
23 money to fund the construction of the new home.
24 The plan -- that was the plan all along. Sell our
25 home, use that money to fund the new home and that
Page 44
1 way whatever savings we had we could maintain that.
2 And so initially we listed the home on October 2018
3 and we took it -- we took it off the market because
4 we could not get an accurate start date from
5 Mr. Miranda. So we didn't want to sell the home
6 and not have some place to stay or have to rent an
7 apartment or something too long before we were able
8 to start the project.
9 We were told that the home would be ready in
10 six months by Roger Moore, and we relisted the
11 house and it sold in March of 2019. So we put all
12 our household goods in storage and rented a room
13 for $800 from a homeowner for three months because
14 that was -- that was the time frame that we were
15 expected to move into our new home. A time that
16 was given to us by Mr. Miranda and Roger Moore.
17 And we were at the time paying $400 for storage --
18 in storage fees. We could not commit ourselves to
19 a six-month or one-year lease due to the promise
20 that was given to us when -- what I mean by that
21 is, the homeowner that we were renting from wanted
22 us to rent for six months or a year and every
23 apartment that we looked into wanted the same
24 thing. So because Mr. Miranda and Roger Moore told
25 us that the house would be ready in the three
Page 45
1 months, we decided we'll go ahead and, you know,
2 rent -- try to find some place to rent for three
3 months and that's what we did. Well, that didn't
4 happen. Three months went and came.
5 The homeowner wanted to renew the lease, but
6 he wouldn't renew -- renew the lease for less than
7 a year. So we had to end up packing our stuff
8 and -- some friends of ours decided they'll let us
9 stay with them. Again, we inquired with
10 Mr. Miranda several times on how long will it take
11 to build a house. At this time, we felt we were
12 stuck. We felt we've already started. Let's give
13 him time to finish it before we decide to do
14 something else. So every time we went to the
15 office he would give us a new date. And this new
16 date was June 27, 2019, and so we asked some
17 friends to let us stay with them for three months
18 because that would have put us well past the time
19 that we needed in order to move in.
20 Well, June 27, 2019 came and went. We didn't
21 want to impose on our friends any longer. So we
22 decided we would move out and we rented an
23 apartment. Well, the apartment wouldn't lease to
24 us for less than six months. We rented and, of
25 course, during that time we were constantly
Page 46
1 inquiring about the construction of the home with
2 Mr. Miranda and how slow the process was going and
3 all we were getting was, Well, we're moving on it.
4 We're working on it. We'll have somebody out there
5 next week. We'll have a crew out there tomorrow.
6 And each time that he said that that was going to
7 happen we went out there, nothing. During that
8 time, (inaudible) going up here on the house
9 because nothing was happening. So I sent a letter
10 of -- I didn't sent -- I took a Letter of
11 Termination to Mr. Miranda. And I -- he was in the
12 office. His secretary was there. And I told him,
13 I said -- before we go there, prior to all that, we
14 would go to the office and Mr. Miranda would
15 just -- he would be in the office. He would get up
16 and walk out the back door. Wouldn't speak to us.
17 Wouldn't say anything to us. He didn't want to
18 hear anything we had to say. And so one day as he
19 was walking -- one day as he was walking out the
20 door I said to him, Go out the door you coward. He
21 turned around and charged at me, and I let him know
22 I was not afraid, but my wife held me back. We
23 later found out I wasn't the only one he did that
24 to. We fig -- we figured out, well, because there
25 are so many other people involved and it's just
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Page 47
1 blown into a big process for many of us -- and what
2 Mr. Miranda didn't know was because he had -- what
3 he has done has affected so many people, and he
4 allowed our paths -- paths, P-A-T-H-S, to cross,
5 and what we found out was, there were roughly about
6 25 of us that he was doing this to at the same
7 time. And so we started a group chat, all 25 of
8 us, and we were going back and forth and we were
9 learning stuff. We would tell each other about
10 what was going on with this house, our house, their
11 house, how much he took from each one of us and
12 so -- and they weren't all in St. Lucie County.
13 Some were in the City, some were Martin. They were
14 all over the place. So we -- we formed a coalition
15 called People for Positive Change. (Inaudible)
16 each other out. We've done our research, we do
17 this, we're doing this, and everybody that have
18 come and -- and -- anybody who was facing a
19 situation like that, we're here to help them with
20 their situation, because at this point, he didn't
21 know -- Mr. Miranda didn't know that he forged
22 friendships between us. And we keep in contact
23 with each other. So we now have a base to where if
24 any -- anyone else that faces a situation that we
25 were facing we're able to help them out.
Page 48
1 So we're not -- we're not trying to take your
2 jobs. We don't want your jobs. We want you guys
3 to continue doing what you're doing because we
4 appreciate what you're doing. Because initially we
5 thought our hands were tied. We thought we were
6 stuck, and we were stuck. We were stuck with
7 building the house ourselves. No knowledge, no
8 understanding of how this process works. But we
9 decided we were going to take this challenge on
10 ourselves.
11 So during all this time that we were going
12 back and forth with Mr. Miranda, we realized that
13 we weren't getting anywhere. Our house had become
14 an eyesore in the community. He had trusses that
15 he had delivered to the house that were on the
16 property, that had been sitting on the property for
17 six months. Weeds were growing through them and up
18 around them to the point where you could barely see
19 them at some point. And so I served him with a
20 Letter of Termination. He says to me, his
21 secretary -- well, he didn't say anything because
22 he got up and left. So his secretary said, I'll
23 give it to him. So the same day we got an email
24 back from her saying that if we terminated our
25 contract with him, that we were in violation -- we
Page 49
1 were in violation of breach of contract and that we
2 can't terminate from him until September. Well, we
3 gave him that -- that letter in June. So we said,
4 okay, we'll wait until September. Still nothing
5 was happening. So we would go back and forth with
6 him -- well, go back and forth and get nothing.
7 And so as time went on, nothing was going on so we
8 decided that -- I sent a Letter of Concern about
9 what was going on and he -- you know, no response.
10 And the next thing we know we're getting an email
11 from his secretary that says that -- saying to us,
12 Well, Mr. Miranda wants you to put the remainder of
13 your money in escrow. We look at each other and we
14 said, Has this guy fallen and bumped his head
15 several times to think that we're going to give him
16 more money on top of the money we've already given
17 him and have it at his disposal?
18 So I sent an email back saying emphatically
19 no. You're not getting anything. And a week or --
20 a day or two later we get an email from his
21 secretary Joan Thier (phonetic) saying you're
22 terminated. Well, what they didn't know, they did
23 us a favor. We were trying to get that in the
24 first place. He should have done it in June when
25 we tried to get it. He did us a favor.
Page 50
1 Now, we have a decision to make, we could let
2 the property go, hire another sub -- hire another
3 contractor or do it ourselves. We're both retired
4 disabled veterans. We're not -- we're not -- we're
5 used to adversity. We're used to taking the bull
6 by the horns and making our way and doing what we
7 have to do and making things happen for ourselves
8 so that's what we did.
9 I went to the County and I applied for owner
10 builder and got it approved with no knowledge of
11 the contracting or building process. So the first
12 thing I needed to do was clear that lot again
13 because the weeds were at least six, seven, eight
14 feet high. So I went to a company around the
15 corner here, ran the Bobcat, I got a five-minute
16 block of instruction on how to use a Bobcat. That
17 was my -- that was the extent of my knowledge on
18 how to use a Bobcat. So I rented a Bobcat. I went
19 out to the property. I rented it -- actually, I
20 rented three -- two weekends in a row. I'd rent it
21 on a Friday when I got off work. I was out there
22 till dark. I got back out there Saturday morning
23 and -- dawn and started until it was dark. Sunday,
24 same thing. Bobcat back on Monday. Next weekend,
25 you got the same thing.
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Page 51
1 So overall, I probably spent about 60 hours,
2 honestly, on my yard -- that's how bad it was -- in
3 that Bobcat. So we got that done. We had to have
4 a little dirt brought out to the property. So now
5 we have to hire subs and we had to get suppliers
6 because all the subs and suppliers that he was
7 using wouldn't work with us because he owed them
8 money, except for one. Who was that?
9 MS. LAWSON: Joaquin.
10 MR. LAWSON: This is one guy that -- my wife
11 said Joaquin. This was the guy who worked for him,
12 Mike Miranda -- who, by the way, Mr. Miranda hadn't
13 paid him either. So we asked him if he would do
14 whatever he can for us. He agreed. So everything
15 that he did we paid him when he was finished with
16 it. And so to be honest with you, he did quite a
17 bit of the work. He did the framing. Let me go
18 back a little bit.
19 And I just want you guys to know what type of
20 practice he has. When I said that we would go to
21 the office, he said, someone would be there the
22 next day or whatever day. Well, one day we went on
23 a Sunday. We just happened to pull up to the
24 house, we didn't expect anyone to be there, we were
25 just trying to see had anything been done. We pull
Page 52
1 up and we see a truck in the driveway. Well, the
2 driveway hadn't been made. There was a truck on
3 the cul-de-sac. So we walk in there. We walk in
4 there and we see Joaquin and his girlfriend, his
5 unlicensed girlfriend, in there putting up framing
6 in our house. One guy and his unlicensed
7 girlfriend doing the framing in our house. We were
8 kind of okay with that because we saw things
9 happening. So we're going past -- going past that
10 now. I just wanted to bring that to your
11 attention.
12 Now, we're at the point where we have to hire
13 people to build our house and -- we're not made of
14 money, because everything that had been done, we
15 gave him money for. All the liens that we had to
16 end up paying he already -- we had already given
17 him money for it. And one thing that Mr. Tisicky
18 (phonetic) -- how do you pronounce your name?
19 MR. CICIO: Cicio.
20 MR. LAWSON: Cicio. One -- one dollar amount
21 he did not mention was the $126,000 that we gave
22 Mr. Miranda, a check. A hundred -- he -- Mr.
23 Miranda requested a draw for $126,000. We said,
24 Okay. We're going to give you that, but what we
25 did not know that he was charging us that $24,800 a
Page 53
1 second time, which was our deposit. We didn't know
2 at the time that that's what was happening, and
3 then we -- we called or asked about and they would
4 not communicate with us. And so we were done at
5 that point. We were -- I mean, we're looking at a
6 lot of money and my wife and I -- my wife works
7 part time. I'm a teacher and we were using the
8 money -- we were supposed to use the money from the
9 sale of our previous home to purchase this house,
10 which would have worked out great had Mr. Miranda
11 been an honest business -- businessman.
12 So we were wondering how are we going to get
13 this house built, because now we're out over a
14 hundred some odd thousand dollars and we have
15 35 percent of the house complete. Thirty-five
16 percent. Not 75 percent. Thirty-five percent of
17 the house completed. All we had was the
18 foundation, framing, roofing. That's it. That's
19 all we had. That was it.
20 Again, we -- we weren't afraid to take on this
21 challenge. We didn't want to, but we did. And as
22 we were going through this, the liens started
23 pouring in, and we sent a rebuttal for some of them
24 and some of them didn't respond back to us because
25 what Mr. Miranda did, he made us educate ourselves
Page 54
1 on this process. I spent hours in front of the
2 computer on different sites, different statutes,
3 different Florida laws on how to deal with this
4 situation. And so because I did, the rebuttals
5 that we sent and not getting a response, well,
6 those subcontractors and those suppliers realized
7 that we had a strong case, that they waited too
8 long to file their lien. See, what they were
9 doing, just like we were doing, we were going off
10 of good faith that he would do the right thing.
11 They were thinking, okay, we'll give them this --
12 these products, these supplies. We'll give them
13 this work pending that he would pay us. Well, he
14 didn't pay them and he can't say he didn't have the
15 money because everything that he asked for, every
16 draw that he asked for, we gave it to him in the
17 form of a check. And so we were getting liens and
18 some of them were valid liens, and we had no choice
19 but to pay them, if we wanted to complete our home.
20 They warned us -- what's been the biggest
21 contention for us, is Stuart Paint & Supply. We
22 are -- they have -- they have filed suit to
23 foreclose on our home. We had to hire a lawyer who
24 is now in mediation with them to see if they -- we
25 can work something out with them and we haven't
e7064bf4-9b10-48bc-8c9d-7ce7cfde98cbElectronically signed by Karen M. Bellemare (301-293-169-3900)
16 (Pages 55 to 58)
Page 55
1 heard anything back yet. So we're still in the
2 process of someone trying to take our home that we
3 are now living in.
4 So from the time we took over in September
5 until December 12th when we finally CO'd, we spent
6 countless hours at that house, because a lot of the
7 work that had to be done, we did ourselves. Every
8 day after work, whatever we could do -- we would
9 have our change of clothes in the car and we would
10 go straight to the house and do whatever we could
11 do, because we didn't have the money to pay all of
12 these people that a reputable company would have
13 had done.
14 See, when you use a reputable company and they
15 do what they're supposed to do, then all you have
16 to do is move in. That was not our case. The
17 stuff that we couldn't do, the electrical, the
18 plumbing and the -- the -- the siding -- I mean,
19 the stucco and the sheetrock and the -- the -- what
20 is it, the spray foam? -- the insulation, all this
21 stuff, we couldn't do that stuff. We had to hire
22 people for that. And so mainly our job was to
23 maintain the property, keep the grass from growing
24 from here to -- we just had to do a lot. In fact,
25 we are still working on that house. We're trying
Page 56
1 to take the stickers off the windows that's been
2 baked on there. It's taken us an hour to take the
3 stickers off the windows. Stuff that should have
4 been done had not been done. We have to go and
5 scrape the -- the grout off of the -- the metal,
6 the stuff that's -- that should have been done or
7 would have been done if a reputable company would
8 have done the job and completed the job the way it
9 was supposed to be done.
10 What we want from you guys is for you to do
11 the right thing, and I think you guys know what the
12 right thing is. Mr. Miranda states that we can say
13 and write anything to you all, but what I think
14 what he has done is underestimated you guys,
15 because you've done this for a long time. You
16 don't take our word for face value. There has to
17 be -- there has to be some research. There has to
18 be documentation to backup what we're saying, which
19 is what Mr. Cicio has done. He has presented that
20 information to you and -- he didn't do that based
21 on our word. He did that based on his
22 investigation. But Mr. Miranda would like you guys
23 to think that you guys are being unfair. Well,
24 Mr. Miranda, you know what's unfair, for us to be
25 here today, talking about this. What's unfair is
Page 57
1 that these people have to be here today listening
2 to this.
3 MS. BARBIERI: Sir, please keep your comments
4 to --
5 MR. LAWSON: Okay.
6 MS. BARBIERI: -- the Board.
7 MR. LAWSON: Thank you. I'm sorry.
8 MS. BARBIERI: Yeah, I'm sorry about that.
9 MR. LAWSON: I'm sorry. And as the Chairman
10 stated, they hear many cases like this, and I'm
11 sure ours is not uncommon to you guys. It's just a
12 different twist to each case. So his license has
13 been suspended for six months, he wants to -- he
14 wants to continue working in the County. I implore
15 you guys to never let that happen again. Because
16 if he's done this -- if he's done it once, he'll do
17 it again. And that leads me to this question, when
18 I initially made contact with them, the sign on
19 his -- over his office says, TC Custom Homes. And
20 I'm wondering what -- I did not know that it was
21 under a new name, Group One Construction &
22 Development. So all this time I'm thinking it's
23 TC Custom Homes. My question is, why the name
24 change? Well, I've learned, through all my
25 research and talking with other people, that
Page 58
1 sometimes business people change the names of their
2 businesses because they've gotten into so much
3 trouble under one and the law allows them to
4 continue working but under a different name, which
5 I think is atrocious that someone is able to do
6 that.
7 My wife and I have raised our children. The
8 children out on their own doing what they do as
9 adults and we have decided that we're going to
10 build this house. We like the state of Florida.
11 We came from Virginia to the state of Florida, and
12 we like the state of Florida. And we wanted an
13 opportunity to build a home. It may not seem like
14 a lot to a lot of people, $240,000 home, but we
15 didn't need a lot. We didn't want a lot. We want
16 enough that -- where we can maintain it and it
17 be -- in our -- in our case our favorite home.
18 We're simple people. We don't need a lot. But
19 this situation with Mr. Miranda and Group One
20 Construction has caused us -- caused us to question
21 anyone who wants to do business for us. We had
22 other contractors come to us and ask us, can they
23 continue building our home. There was no
24 hesitation in our response. Absolutely not. No.
25 Not going to let you do it. You got me once, shame
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Page 59
1 on you. You get me twice, shame on me. You won't
2 get me a third time. That's not going to happen.
3 Mr. Miranda played on our innocence, our
4 ignorance. Because when we got those liens, we
5 went to the office and we asked them about these
6 liens, Notices of Liens, and Mr. Miranda's response
7 was, Oh, they always do that. That's -- that's
8 common. That's protocol. I asked the question, Do
9 we have anything to worry about? No, you don't
10 have to worry about anything. No, no, no, no.
11 Well, if we knew then what we know now, we should
12 have called those companies to ask them had they
13 been paid. But because we trusted him to do the
14 right thing, we found ourselves paying out a lot of
15 money that we didn't have to pay. In one instance,
16 they did it for stucco to our house. Eighty-nine
17 bags of stucco. That was the amount of stucco to
18 do the whole house. And we saw the bags there
19 covered in plastic. And we counted the bags. So
20 we come back like a day or two later, the bag had
21 been open and bags were missing. So we asked about
22 it and no one knows anything.
23 Now, we're not stupid people. We know that
24 somebody took that -- that stucco. But Joaquin,
25 Joaquin was the guy that worked with them. We
Page 60
1 called Joaquin up. We called -- I called him. He
2 was there and we asked him, What happened to the
3 other bags of stucco? Oh, we took some and we took
4 it to another property. Well, that's not my
5 property and we're being charged for it. And so we
6 asked about it. Nothing. So when it came time to
7 do -- put the stucco on our house, we didn't have
8 enough stucco. We had to purchase more stucco to
9 put on the house, but we had enough there
10 initially.
11 So in the case of Stuart Paint & Supply, they
12 delivered all our windows and interior doors,
13 right? All our windows and interior doors. We
14 counted all the windows, we counted all the doors.
15 We're like, there are too many windows and doors
16 here. We let him know, there are too many windows
17 and doors. Nothing happened. And so once they
18 finally put up the windows and doors, there were
19 some left over. We let them know. There's doors
20 and windows left and we -- oh, we actually
21 (inaudible). There was one window -- well, two
22 windows and there were the -- the casing for --
23 there were three casings for sliders, pocket doors
24 that were still left there. And so we looked in --
25 they were left in the garage. We looked in the
Page 61
1 garage one day and one of the windows were missing,
2 it was gone. So we asked Joaquin, What happened to
3 the window? Oh, a window on another property broke
4 so we took this one over to that property. We're
5 paying for this stuff. He's taking stuff that
6 we're paying for and using it -- using it on other
7 properties.
8 And so now we're in this battle with
9 Stuart Paint & Supply for $25,000, which, according
10 to our lawyer, they're really not willing to budge.
11 Not work with us not one bit. And that $25,000
12 we'd already given him. He's had it. What he did
13 with it, we don't know. We know that there was a
14 grave mis -- misappropriation of funds by
15 Mr. Miranda. We also know that Mr. Miranda took
16 checks to convenience stores and tried to cash
17 them. What businessman does that?
18 We also know that Mr. Miranda wrote
19 insufficient funds with the money that we gave him,
20 the money that he requested. What did he do with
21 the money? He -- obviously, he didn't put it in
22 the bank, because he could have written a check out
23 from that money. Where did the money go? So
24 I'm -- I strayed completely away from my script
25 here so -- pretty much everything is on here but
Page 62
1 not in the format that I have it. But I want to
2 make sure before we close that I touched on
3 everything.
4 MS. LAWSON: Freedom.
5 MR. LAWSON: Oh, my wife did -- she made
6 mention, she mentioned to me about Freedom Waste.
7 We had two Dumpsters on the property. One was a
8 smaller Dumpster and one was a larger Dumpster.
9 Both were overflowing with trash, debris, supplies,
10 whatever. So we called -- we mentioned to them
11 that they need to be emptied because the
12 subcontractors that were there would say they can't
13 put any more trash in it. And so we mentioned it
14 to Mr. Miranda and his secretary that they need to
15 be emptied. Several weeks went by and they still
16 weren't emptied. And so my wife decided she would
17 call the Freedom Waste, and that's when we found
18 out that Mr. Miranda had not paid them. And they
19 said the only way that they would empty those
20 Dumpsters would be if they were paid. Well, we
21 couldn't leave those Dumpsters on this site
22 overflowing. So we paid them. Paid them for -- to
23 remove one Dumpster, the larger Dumpster, and keep
24 the smaller one there. So they emptied both of
25 them, they took the larger one, and left the
e7064bf4-9b10-48bc-8c9d-7ce7cfde98cbElectronically signed by Karen M. Bellemare (301-293-169-3900)
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Page 63
1 smaller one there.
2 And so they were also in the process of filing
3 a lien against us. That's what the lady said. She
4 said they were in the process of doing a lien
5 against the property. So our premise is, we want
6 to make sure that you guys hear the full story. If
7 we leave it up to Mr. Miranda, he has done nothing
8 wrong. He's the victim. He claims he's done
9 everything he was supposed to do the right way. If
10 that was the case, then the People for Positive
11 Change, 25 -- 25 families, families, not people,
12 families would not have the same complaint. Would
13 not have the same problem with the same guy who's
14 innocent.
15 So we ask that you guys revoke his license in
16 the County, and if you have persuasion at all, talk
17 to the city, all of the cities. He should not be
18 allowed to practice, to build not even a stick
19 house for anybody. He claims that his livelihood
20 is in jeopardy. What about the livelihoods of all
21 of the people that you have affected. Some had to
22 sell their property. They gave him so much of
23 their money that they couldn't continue to build.
24 They had to sell their properties. Some he started
25 on them, he didn't finish. They're wondering how
Page 64
1 they're going to finish their properties. We were
2 fortunate enough with the sale of our home that we
3 could continue to build our home at the same time
4 depleting our savings. We weren't going to let
5 Mr. Miranda get the upper-hand on us. Because we
6 have a feeling that he never intended to complete
7 our home. And I say that because the initial
8 contract was for $248,000. And about a month later
9 we get -- was it an email? -- we get an email
10 saying that the house was $310,000. So we're like,
11 Where did this extra $60,000 come from? So we went
12 and we asked -- we talked to his secretary. She
13 was, like, well, I can't tell you. I'm going to
14 let Mike and Roger figure this out. And so she
15 gave him -- she gave him the information that we
16 said to her, well, we're not paying $310,000 when
17 we signed a contract for $248,000.
18 So they get their -- they go back through it
19 and they finagle some numbers. I'm pretty sure
20 they falsified some numbers, because we realized
21 the amount that they were selling us this house
22 for -- this house for, they could build it for that
23 amount. How do we know that? Because we built the
24 house. So the prices that he had on his cost
25 breakdown sheet were erroneous. If we did our own
Page 65
1 breakdown sheet, everything that he had on there
2 cost less than what we had to pay to have it done.
3 So we think he was trying to pull a big switch.
4 Bait us with the 248 and then try to charge us for
5 the -- for 310. And we ended up paying close to
6 that amount anyway to build our house because
7 paying back the liens, paying off the liens and all
8 this other stuff that we had to -- had to
9 repurchase and continuing the build of the house we
10 still ended up paying over $300,000 for this house,
11 which again went deep into our savings.
12 But I want Mr. Miranda to know that out of all
13 of this we have forged friendships. You have
14 brought people together that otherwise would have
15 never met each other. We have formed this
16 coalition People for Positive Change for people
17 like you. And if you have any buddies out there --
18 I'm not going to talk to him. I'll talk to you
19 guys. So we want to make sure that if he has any
20 buddies out there that are doing the same thing,
21 they better look out because we're coming. We're
22 not stopping here. This is not the end of this
23 situation.
24 We moved into our home, and because we put our
25 personal touches on it, it is now a beautiful home.
Page 66
1 It's still a work-in-progress but we're happy to be
2 there, and we're happy that you guys gave his
3 opportunity to come here today to share with you
4 the ordeal that we have gone through and that we're
5 still going through. It's not over for us yet. We
6 don't know what the outcome will be for
7 Stuart Paint & Supply. And another -- we might
8 have to end up paying another $25,000. We don't
9 know where it's coming from, but we might still
10 have to end up paying another $25,000 for work that
11 we've already paid for. Anything else?
12 MS. LAWSON: I just wanted to add one thing
13 about the $18,500 draw that we wrote to Group One
14 Construction & Development, I found out that Joan,
15 Mr. Miranda's secretary, she asked for the draw
16 before they actually received the bill from
17 Blosser Electric. I spoke with Nancy, which is the
18 owner of that company, and the bill that she sent
19 to Group One Construction & Development, which was
20 after I gave them the draw, it was more than the
21 $8,000 --
22 MR. LAWSON: 18.
23 MS. LAWSON: I mean -- no, the 8,000. The
24 $10,500 he had down for roofing. And we ended up
25 getting a Notice of Lien from them so I'm not sure
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Page 67
1 if that was ever paid or not, because we ended up
2 getting a lien, as well as my husband did a
3 rebuttal to it, we never heard anything.
4 So he knew he was not going to pay that bill.
5 That money was asked for just, you know, under the
6 wrong pretense. It was no intentions to pay it.
7 And that's all I have to say. Thank you.
8 MR. LAWSON: Thank you guys for hearing our
9 case and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
10 Thank you.
11 MR. CHAIRMAN: If you would stay at the
12 podium, I just have a couple of personal questions
13 concerning what you've told us. Just to clarify on
14 your type of contract, $248,000 was mentioned. I
15 assume that was a fixed cost agreement.
16 MR. LAWSON: Yes.
17 MS. LAWSON: Yes.
18 MR. CHAIRMAN: Also, your draw schedule was
19 based on certain benchmark points of completion or
20 was it a monthly draw request schedule or what was
21 the draw request schedule?
22 MS. LAWSON: Whenever they asked for it.
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. When the termination of
24 contract occurred sometime August of last year and
25 you picked it up yourself, give me an understanding
Page 68
1 of how far the actual construction had gone as
2 performed by your contractor, Mr. Miranda. You
3 mentioned or at least -- what I heard was that they
4 had completed the shell of construction and still
5 then had the interior build out to finish.
6 MR. LAWSON: No.
7 MR. CHAIRMAN: Give me an idea of what -- at
8 what point of the game was the line drawn and he
9 was off site and you began taking over the
10 construction.
11 MS. LAWSON: We took over the construction of
12 the house. We did have the roughing for the --
13 electric work was done and the plumber had already
14 came through and -- putting the bathtub and the
15 pipes and stuff for the, I guess, the fixtures once
16 the sheetrock and all that went up. So we did have
17 that done. We didn't have no doors to the house
18 except for the patio door. That was the only door
19 that was put in. All of the windows were put in at
20 that time. The framing was done in the house. And
21 other than that -- no stucco was on the house.
22 They had put laths -- what are those things?
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: Laths.
24 MS. LAWSON: Yes.
25 MR. LAWSON: Wooden laths.
Page 69
1 MS. LAWSON: They had done that and they --
2 the trusses, of course, was done with the plywood
3 and the roofing shingles were put on. So that's
4 pretty much what we -- we took over from there.
5 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. And at that point -- you
6 mentioned an $18,500 draw. I was trying to add up
7 the numbers of what you were out-of-pocket with
8 Mr. Miranda. And there was a 10 percent deposit on
9 the front end, which would have been somewhere in
10 the neighborhood of twenty-four eight.
11 MS. LAWSON: That's correct.
12 MR. CHAIRMAN: Then there was a -- there was a
13 $126,000 that was mentioned.
14 MS. LAWSON: I think it was one twenty-six
15 seven something. It was --
16 MR. LAWSON: Seven fifty-eight.
17 MS. LAWSON: Seven fifty-eight. Yes.
18 MR. LAWSON: Something like that.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. And then was the
20 eighteen-five over and above that?
21 MS. LAWSON: Yes.
22 MR. CHAIRMAN: So would it be -- the sum of
23 those three would be the out-of-pocket to Miranda?
24 MS. LAWSON: Yes, sir.
25 MR. LAWSON: Yes.
Page 70
1 MR. CHAIRMAN: Which would be somewhere in the
2 neighborhood of about $170,000.
3 MS. LAWSON: That is correct, sir.
4 MR. CHAIRMAN: So then $170,000 on a $248,000
5 contract, that's about 69 percent complete.
6 MS. LAWSON: Payment but not work.
7 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yep. All right. I just wanted
8 to get an understanding there.
9 MS. LAWSON: Okay.
10 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Thank you. Any other
11 questions of the Board of the Lawsons before they
12 step back?
13 All right. Thank you for being here and you
14 may be back again before it's all over and we'll
15 take it back to Staff -- or Staff do you have
16 questions of --
17 MS. FALCE: I just have one follow-up
18 question.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Please.
20 MS. FALCE: While you were speaking, Staff put
21 up several pictures that we have (inaudible) that
22 dated September 19, 2019. (Inaudible) Do those
23 pictures (inaudible/no audio), do they accurately
24 depict the state of your home (inaudible)?
25 MS. LAWSON: Yes. Yes.
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Page 71
1 MS. FALCE: (Inaudible.)
2 MS. LAWSON: Yes. No, that -- all that was
3 not there.
4 MR. LAWSON: No, that wasn't there when we
5 took over.
6 MS. LAWSON: No, none of that.
7 MR. LAWSON: We did that.
8 MS. LAWSON: We did that.
9 MR. CHAIRMAN: What part of that? Are you
10 talking about the stucco?
11 MS. LAWSON: We did the stucco, we did the
12 bands.
13 MR. LAWSON: The grading of the yard.
14 MS. LAWSON: Grading of the yard where it's
15 at. We put in the garage door. We had the front
16 doors installed so that was all done by us because
17 that was not his --
18 MR. LAWSON: Doings.
19 MS. LAWSON: -- doing.
20 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay.
21 MS. FALCE: (Inaudible) inside of the home
22 (inaudible) --
23 MR. LAWSON: Yes.
24 MS. FALCE: -- what it looked like (inaudible)
25 outside (inaudible)?
Page 72
1 MR. CHAIRMAN: With that, I'm going to turn
2 that back over to Staff and Staff's counsel.
3 MS. BARBIERI: Mr. Chairman, I apologize for
4 interjecting again, but if Mr. Miranda has
5 questions of the Lawsons, but just questions, not
6 testimony, he should be given the opportunity to
7 also to ask him questions.
8 MR. CHAIRMAN: And just to make a statement to
9 the public, this Board is not extremely used to
10 working in legal settings as this morning so I
11 apologize as Chairman if I come off a little bit --
12 need to lean on those that know, okay? All right.
13 Mr. Miranda, if you would -- like to question
14 the Lawsons and like to take the time to do that,
15 as instructed by our attorney which was limited --
16 limited to what -- Ms. Barbieri, the -- his
17 questions to the Lawsons would be limited to what?
18 MS. BARBIERI: To the project and their
19 testimony and that would be just questions of them.
20 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay.
21 MS. BARBIERI: Do you have questions of them,
22 sir?
23 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
24 MS. BARBIERI: Okay. We need to put the
25 Lawsons -- maybe can they -- yeah. Thank you.
Page 73
1 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Please, proceed.
2 MR. MIRANDA: When you went to the property
3 and Roger, who's a Realtor got you the lot -- now,
4 at the time, he had got you that lot for about
5 $35,000 less than the selling price of the
6 community.
7 MR. LAWSON: Roger never gave us that lot. We
8 found that --
9 MR. MIRANDA: I'm not saying that he -- he's a
10 Realtor. It was listed.
11 MR. LAWSON: He had nothing to do with the
12 lot.
13 MR. MIRANDA: Did you --
14 MR. LAWSON: There was a sign there for an
15 agent and I called --
16 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. Yeah. Well, if it wasn't
17 Roger, it was you or somebody who bought the lot.
18 Now, what I was trying to say is, you bought
19 the lot less because it needed a lot of fill; is
20 that correct?
21 MR. LAWSON: We didn't know what it needed
22 when we bought it.
23 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. You didn't know?
24 MR. LAWSON: It was trees and everything was
25 there.
Page 74
1 MR. MIRANDA: Right. Okay. But in the
2 contract, just to make it clear, it was your job to
3 fill the lot, it wasn't ours?
4 MS. LAWSON: At the time, we had no idea -- in
5 the contract, it read $9,500 for prep, and we were
6 under the impression that that's all it would take
7 is what we were paying. We had no idea that it was
8 going to be additional money for dirt.
9 MR. CHAIRMAN: And if I could just interject.
10 Mr. Lawson, is your mic away from you? If you
11 would, you might want to -- it's pliable or
12 flexible. You can -- there you go. I want to make
13 sure you're picked up --
14 MR. LAWSON: Okay.
15 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- all right? Thank you.
16 MR. MIRANDA: (Inaudible) From, you know, the
17 contract we were -- because they got -- I'll just
18 make a statement and then if they don't think it's
19 true but -- we were talking about when they met me
20 and when we started. They have a -- it's a gated
21 community so they have -- they got a lot. It might
22 not be gated, but it's -- it's in a nice community
23 so they have a homeowners association. So it is a
24 nice community. The lot was very low. So the lot
25 sold for about 75,000. So I think we got the lot
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Page 75
1 for, like, 30, 35,000, but it did need fill. So
2 when we wrote the contract, they're understanding
3 that, you know, they would have to pay for the dirt
4 to fill.
5 Now, we were just going to pay for the pad
6 dirt and they were going to buy the dirt around the
7 house because it was kind of an odd shaped lot and
8 it -- it took quite a bit of fill that we did --
9 could -- we didn't calculate it and we were going
10 to leave it up to them. That they knew that they
11 had to spend -- buy about 50 loads of dirt.
12 MR. CHAIRMAN: Is that well spelled out in the
13 contract? If it's called for prep, I guess it was
14 a very vague definition of your responsibility.
15 MR. MIRANDA: No, we have an allowance in
16 there of what they have for dirt. And it was in
17 the understanding that because the lot was low that
18 they would have to buy dirt. Is that not so?
19 MR. LAWSON: Can I speak now?
20 MR. MIRANDA: Yes, you can.
21 MR. LAWSON: Okay. From the onset, that was
22 never told to us, that we would need extra dirt.
23 As far as we knew, that they would take care all of
24 that. Now, eventually when -- eventually, when he
25 realized it would take more dirt than he was
Page 76
1 willing to pay for, he did let us know that you're
2 going to need more dirt. But that wasn't spelled
3 out in the beginning. And that's when he told us,
4 Oh, we only -- we only supply enough for, what, a
5 quarter acre of land, quarter acre?
6 MS. LAWSON: That's what Roger said.
7 MR. LAWSON: A quarter acre. Well, this is a
8 half acre. And so we asked him, Well, why -- why
9 didn't we know this from the beginning, you know,
10 because we did -- we paid a lot out of our pockets
11 for dirt, a lot. I think that was our biggest
12 expense.
13 MS. LAWSON: Let me add this: We -- I was
14 told by a different office manager, because they
15 went through five secretaries during the time that
16 we were dealing with them, and every secretary --
17 no one kept good records. So you had to bring
18 every secretary up to date on what was going on
19 with your particular file. And I was called and
20 asked to bring in a check for sixteen thousand and
21 something dollars for Garcia --
22 MR. LAWSON: Grading.
23 MS. LAWSON: -- Grading, and that was for the
24 dirt. So I brought in a separate check, that is in
25 addition to the other three checks that we have
Page 77
1 already paid them, for sixteen thousand and
2 something dollars for dirt.
3 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. So then at that
4 point then you agreed to pay an extra against the
5 contract for 248 in the sum of total of 16,000?
6 MS. LAWSON: At that time, we did because we
7 wanted our house to move on. Yes, we did.
8 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Thank you.
9 MR. LEONARD: Excuse me, Mr. Miranda -- do
10 I -- can I ask Mr. Miranda a question or --
11 MS. BARBIERI: Wait.
12 MR. LEONARD: Sure.
13 MS. BARBIERI: It's really just for him to ask
14 a question of them and then Staff has --
15 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay.
16 MS. BARBIERI: I know this is so weird. It's
17 not your fault --
18 MR. CHAIRMAN: That's okay. I'm learning.
19 MS. BARBIERI: And then Staff will finish up
20 their case and then he will testify and at that
21 point --
22 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay.
23 MS. BARBIERI: -- everybody will be asking him
24 questions.
25 MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you.
Page 78
1 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. So we signed the contract
2 and we got the permit on -- we had to -- let me
3 just -- here's the contract. And I gave everybody
4 a copy of the contract. So if you look on the
5 second page, on Page 2. They signed the contract
6 and it gives us 12 months after receiving the
7 building permit. And -- and then that was our
8 timeline. And -- and they signed it and they knew
9 that that was what was going to happen. And they
10 knew when the permit was in hand.
11 Now, at the time, when were trying to get
12 their drawings done, the engineer was nine months
13 behind and -- you know, we -- you know, we rented
14 the store. We had -- we built a kitchen in there.
15 We had, you know, secretaries in there. We -- you
16 know, we -- it acts like, you know, where -- like I
17 just put up a little box and we're taking people's
18 money, but that's not the case. Okay?
19 So in their case, they signed a contract. We
20 had a legitimate contract and Mrs. Lawson called
21 and emailed three times a day. All -- now, the
22 girls that left, they had to go because there
23 husbands got jobs. He was an oil guy. But the
24 people left, we wanted them to stay. I asked them
25 to stay, and they left because of personal reasons.
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Page 79
1 But Mrs. Lawson had emailed us and called us almost
2 every day. They knew what we were doing. They had
3 a contract here and it was no guess that -- what
4 was the completion date. And that's what it was.
5 It was signed, it was seen, it was told to them,
6 you know. And -- and that's -- and that's what it
7 was.
8 MS. BARBIERI: Mr. Miranda, is there a
9 question for the Lawsons? You will be given ample
10 opportunity to --
11 MR. LAWSON: Okay.
12 MS. BARBIERI: -- present your case.
13 MR. MIRANDA: Did you not know when the
14 completion date was?
15 MR. LAWSON: Absolutely not, because you gave
16 us several completion dates. How are we supposed
17 to know what the completion date was?
18 MR. MIRANDA: But the (inaudible) -- you
19 always have to worry about getting paid. When we
20 work for a bank, we -- we know we're going to get
21 paid. They were cash. We asked them to put it in
22 an escrow account. They signed it and agreed to
23 it, but they never did it. We sent them -- I
24 don't, can I keep going about how many emails to
25 put their money in escrow?
Page 80
1 MS. BARBIERI: Again, Mr. Miranda, do you have
2 a question for the Lawsons? If not, then you'll
3 get an opportunity to go through it all. If you
4 don't have any more question --
5 MR. MIRANDA: Did you know you had to put the
6 money in escrow?
7 MR. LAWSON: If you had a problem with it
8 initially, you would have said something, but you
9 didn't say anything when we bring you your
10 checks --
11 MR. MIRANDA: Okay.
12 MR. LAWSON: -- did you?
13 MR. MIRANDA: Well, let's just see how many
14 emails that you got putting it in -- the funds in
15 escrow.
16 MR. LAWSON: It's a good thing we didn't put
17 it in escrow.
18 MR. MIRANDA: Here's one, two, three, four,
19 five -- and you guys have copies of this -- five,
20 six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11 --
21 MS. LAWSON: We didn't get them.
22 MR. MIRANDA: -- 12.
23 MS. LAWSON: No.
24 MR. LAWSON: Let's see --
25 MR. MIRANDA: Twelve --
Page 81
1 MR. LAWSON: -- whose email address you sent
2 them to --
3 MR. MIRANDA: Twelve letters.
4 MR. LAWSON: -- we didn't get those.
5 MR. MIRANDA: Well, it's from Sylvia to --
6 MS. LAWSON: And can you please look at the
7 date that they asked for those escrows. Granted,
8 we started out -- we signed a contract February of
9 2018. When we gave them that 24,800 in the form of
10 a check, no one said anything.
11 MR. LAWSON: About an escrow.
12 MS. LAWSON: When we gave them that one
13 hundred twenty-six thousand and something, in the
14 form of a check, no one said anything. When we
15 gave them their sixteen thousand and something
16 dollars of dirt, no one said anything. When we
17 gave them that $18,500 in the form of a check, no
18 one said anything. They didn't start saying
19 something until it got closer to the end that was
20 only sixty-nine thousand and something left and
21 they were trying to get all of the money from us.
22 That's when the escrow account came into effect --
23 MR. MIRANDA: The escrow --
24 MS. LAWSON: -- (inaudible).
25 MR. MIRANDA: The escrow account is through a
Page 82
1 title company, and when we get a draw, they send an
2 inspector out there and they see how much work
3 we've done and we have to send them a partial
4 release of lien that those items have been paid and
5 notarized. And they -- they -- we have letters
6 here emailed back that they were not putting money
7 in an escrow account.
8 MS. BARBIERI: Mr. Miranda, if you don't have
9 any other questions for the Lawsons, I think Staff
10 has some more witnesses.
11 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. Um -- okay. So the
12 termination date that I have is July 2nd, that was
13 an email that we got, and I did put it in the
14 package. I only walked out the back door because
15 there was a time that we had all this going on,
16 okay, with everybody. When Roger had left, there
17 was a lot of stuff going on. So I walked out the
18 back door -- and he said that I ran out the back
19 door or walked out the back -- because he was
20 coming in there to intimidate me.
21 MR. CHAIRMAN: Mr. Miranda, do you have a
22 question for the Lawsons, is what we're trying to
23 get at?
24 MR. MIRANDA: Okay.
25 MR. CHAIRMAN: Do you have a question for the
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Page 83
1 Lawsons?
2 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. Why do you think that I
3 walked out the back door?
4 MR. LAWSON: Because you're a coward, that's
5 why.
6 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. So --
7 MR. LAWSON: Don't ask me any more stupid
8 questions.
9 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. Okay. So you said that
10 you had -- there's 24 people that canceled. Okay.
11 MR. LAWSON: I didn't say canceled. I said 25
12 people -- 25 families that were affected.
13 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. Canceled or affected.
14 That's what you said.
15 MR. LAWSON: That's a difference.
16 MR. MIRANDA: I have 15.
17 MR. LAWSON: Oh, wow.
18 MR. MIRANDA: So that's -- that's what I have
19 that canceled, not 25.
20 MR. LAWSON: I wonder why.
21 MR. MIRANDA: Well -- okay. The reason why,
22 as I said, we had problems with -- one of my
23 partner (sic) had left.
24 MS. BARBIERI: Mr. Miranda, again, do you
25 have -- do you have a question for the Lawsons?
Page 84
1 You will be given an opportunity to present your
2 side.
3 MR. MIRANDA: Joaquin, who worked for me for
4 15 years, okay? So he worked for me under my
5 license and I paid his Workers' Comp. So Jerry
6 hired him -- you hired him. He's an unlicensed
7 contractor.
8 MR. LAWSON: Was he unlicensed for you?
9 MR. MIRANDA: No. But I -- after the
10 cancellation, you hired him.
11 MR. LAWSON: Can you show proof that he was
12 licensed for you?
13 MR. MIRANDA: He wasn't on my payroll anymore.
14 So I just want to make that clear.
15 MR. LAWSON: What's your question,
16 Mr. Miranda?
17 MR. MIRANDA: He had his girlfriend there. I
18 guess, you know, she was there because she was
19 there. I didn't --
20 MR. LAWSON: No, she was there with a belt on,
21 with a tool belt --
22 MR. MIRANDA: (Inaudible.)
23 MR. LAWSON: -- and a power driver in her hand
24 nailing in wood to concrete so I'm --
25 MR. MIRANDA: I had nothing to do with that.
Page 85
1 MR. LAWSON: So you can't tell me what I saw.
2 MS. LAWSON: And additionally, you told me,
3 before the work commenced, that you were going to
4 have a crew there. When we got there, it was just
5 Joaquin and his girlfriend. That was your
6 definition of a crew.
7 MR. MIRANDA: Well, with Joaquin, I pay him
8 piecework. He gets a square-foot price.
9 MR. LAWSON: So --
10 MS. LAWSON: You said a crew.
11 MR. MIRANDA: Well, he does -- I don't need
12 to -- well, that's the crew. There's one guy.
13 What -- you know, I don't need five guys there to
14 put the interior framing. Remember, I want to ask
15 some questions, okay?
16 Okay. The NFC's most -- the Notice to Owners,
17 most everybody sends them out to the homeowners.
18 It's -- it's common practice. They have to send
19 out a Notice to Owner 45 days after they're on the
20 job to let you know that it's paid.
21 The bags of stucco that were missing, I had
22 nothing to do -- I don't know who took them. I had
23 nothing to do with that.
24 MR. LAWSON: Was that your project? Was our
25 home your project?
Page 86
1 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. But I --
2 MR. LAWSON: You were responsible.
3 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. So if someone came by
4 there and took those bags -- and you said Joaquin
5 took them.
6 MR. LAWSON: Yeah, he said he took them
7 because you said he should. So it -- I'm assuming
8 he lied to us.
9 MR. MIRANDA: It's not true. Obviously, yes.
10 MR. LAWSON: Well, from one liar to the other
11 then, you should be familiar with that.
12 MS. LAWSON: Well, what ended up happening to
13 that window that was taken from our house?
14 MR. MIRANDA: No, no.
15 MS. LAWSON: You were the one that told me in
16 the office that day that you had a house where one
17 of the workers had cracked the window --
18 MR. LAWSON: Yep.
19 MS. LAWSON: -- and that -- when I told you
20 what I had there at the house, you said, Oh, we'll
21 come by and get that window. That came out of your
22 mouth.
23 MR. MIRANDA: I don't remember saying that.
24 MR. LAWSON: We know you don't.
25 MS. LAWSON: Well, you did.
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Page 87
1 MR. LAWSON: We know you don't. Selective
2 memory.
3 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. Did you get any liens
4 from Freedom?
5 MR. LAWSON: No, we paid them before they
6 filed a lien.
7 MR. MIRANDA: But you said they were going to
8 lien your house.
9 MR. LAWSON: Yes, that's what she said.
10 MR. MIRANDA: But they didn't, you just paid
11 them?
12 MR. LAWSON: Because we paid it.
13 MR. MIRANDA: Okay.
14 MS. LAWSON: And we were not the only one that
15 paid. It was several other homeowners that ran
16 into the same problem, that could not get their
17 Dumpster emptied because they were not paid. On
18 your cost breakdown sheet, you stated on there that
19 you had paid them 100 percent and they had not
20 gotten a dime from you. I used my credit card on
21 the phone that same day and paid them over
22 seventeen hundred and something dollars, fourteen
23 hundred and something for the waste and then the
24 toilet was another four hundred and something
25 dollars.
Page 88
1 MR. MIRANDA: Sometimes -- there's times when
2 we pick the Dumpster up and sometimes there's not,
3 and the time wasn't right yet. And there was
4 never -- also, you said that we asked you for more
5 than the contract price. And we never -- we never
6 asked for that.
7 MS. LAWSON: Let me address that as well. At
8 the time you had Lacy working for you, we were
9 asking for a --
10 MR. LAWSON: Cost breakdown.
11 MS. LAWSON: -- cost breakdown sheet because
12 Nicole had mentioned to us that we would get one,
13 and this was before she left back in December. So
14 by the time -- Lacy was there I think around May
15 timeframe. We finally got a cost breakdown sheet,
16 and the first one that she sent out it stated that
17 the base price of -- after she calculated
18 everything was three hundred and something thousand
19 dollars, and I called her up and said, Lacy, this
20 price is not right because our contract states
21 248,000. She says, Well, I cannot do this cost
22 breakdown sheet. She said, I'm going to have to
23 let Roger -- well, this was before that time
24 because Roger left in March. I go back. She said
25 that I'm going to have to let them figure that out.
Page 89
1 So you and Roger stayed in the office because
2 Roger said, We were here until 7:00 at night on a
3 Friday and my wife got on me. And you-all stayed
4 in there and you-all worked out that cost breakdown
5 sheet and finag -- finagled some numbers around
6 until you came up with 248,000.
7 Now, how could that be? How can we receive --
8 MR. MIRANDA: It is true if that's the --
9 MS. LAWSON: -- two cost breakdown sheets, one
10 for three hundred and something thousand and the
11 other for 248,000?
12 MR. LAWSON: For the same house that --
13 MS. LAWSON: For the same house, from the same
14 office.
15 MR. MIRANDA: The contract price is 248,000.
16 That's it. That's the price. There's no extra.
17 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Let's -- let's
18 stick with the questions directed to --
19 MR. MIRANDA: That's --
20 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- the homeowner.
21 MR. MIRANDA: That's all I have.
22 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Now, going forward from
23 here is it proper then to turn it back over to
24 Staff and then the cases are to be put before us,
25 one from Staff and one from Mr. Miranda?
Page 90
1 MS. FALCE: At this time, we have one more
2 witness that we would like to call up to testify in
3 front of you today.
4 MR. CHAIRMAN: Oh, okay. And this witness is
5 pertinent to this specific case?
6 MS. FALCE: Yes. I plan on just asking very
7 specific questions, the procedure --
8 MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you. If you would be
9 sworn in by the recording secretary, please.
10 MADAM SECRETARY: State your name and address
11 for the record.
12 MS. QUINTERO: Mia Quintero, 3242 SE Aster
13 Lane, L (Inaudible) Stuart, Florida.
14 MIA QUINTERO,
15 MADAM SECRETARY: Do you affirm to tell the
16 truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
17 MS. QUINTERO: (Inaudible.)
18 MADAM SECRETARY: Thank you.
19 DIRECT EXAMINATION
20 BY MS. FALCE:
21 Q Good morning --
22 A Good morning.
23 Q -- Ms. Quintero. Could you please state --
24 well, did there come a point in time that you worked for
25 Group One Construction?
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Page 91
1 A Yes, there was.
2 Q And around what time was that?
3 A That was the end of March, beginning of April.
4 Q Of 2019?
5 A Of 2019.
6 Q And what was your title there?
7 A Office administrator.
8 Q And when you worked there, did you deal with
9 Mr. Miranda on a daily basis?
10 A I did.
11 Q And do you recall the Lawsons with
12 Mr. Miranda?
13 A I'm going to say no. It was this other couple
14 in front of them.
15 Q And during your time there, what were you
16 duties?
17 A I was putting together schedules for the con
18 -- for all the workers, all the different trades, and I
19 was collecting or trying to collect money from banks --
20 or draws.
21 Q And what would you do to try and collect those
22 draws?
23 A Well, after an AIA is put together, then you
24 make -- then you make a phone call to them, to the
25 banking people, and you -- and you request a draw. You
Page 92
1 send in your paperwork and request a draw.
2 Q And you were here, Mr. -- Mr. Miranda made a
3 statement earlier related to the -- the administrators
4 that worked in his office --
5 A Uh-huh.
6 Q -- and them leaving on their own terms, on
7 good terms; do you recall hearing that?
8 A Him saying that just now?
9 Q Yes.
10 A Yes.
11 Q Okay. Do you -- when you left, what were the
12 terms of your --
13 A My departure.
14 Q -- your departure? Yes.
15 A I left on the day that this couple, right
16 here, they'd come in. They had an appointment. They
17 sat down with Mr. Miranda. He was getting irate with
18 them over their -- a change on their drawings. I kind
19 of calmed down the situation and -- and then they left
20 after -- the Mrs. put her arm around me and said, Thank
21 you for being here. If -- I think with you here we'll
22 get our house built. And then they left, and then
23 Mr. Miranda proceeded to question me about did I make
24 numerous calls again to the banks. And I said, Well,
25 you're aware that we have liens. They're not going
Page 93
1 to -- they're not going to release a draw unless the
2 liens are taken care of. And he said, I said to call
3 them, and he started yelling at me. And then he asked
4 about a permit that needed to be applied for. When I
5 did try applying for it, the card was not accepted
6 because there -- it was rejected. I'm not sure why.
7 I'm thinking lack of funds but -- so I'm telling him
8 about that and he gets up from his desk, on the other
9 side of the room, and runs at me, rips the card out of
10 my hand, grabs his keys on the counter and storms out
11 the back door.
12 Q And --
13 A And I left. I packed up my stuff and left.
14 Q And the -- are you aware of any previous
15 employees --
16 A I am.
17 Q -- that were in your position?
18 A Yes, I do. I am.
19 Q I believe the homeowners, the Lawsons
20 referenced a Lacy.
21 A I was -- he had me dealing with her while --
22 in -- while getting acquainted with my job when I first
23 started.
24 Q Are you aware of the circumstances of why she
25 left?
Page 94
1 A Yes. He told me that her husband got
2 relocated somewhere else and so they moved to another
3 part of Florida, I believe.
4 Q And then there was another employee mentioned.
5 A Oh, I did not know Nicole, but I later found
6 out that -- I'd worked with a girl named April Harris --
7 Q That's who.
8 A -- who used to work there, and she had told me
9 a horrific story about his temper and the way that he
10 was doing things in his office and so -- and she said,
11 What are you doing there? I said, Well, you didn't say
12 it was Group One. You said it was TC Homes. And she
13 says, One of the same. I later found out it was.
14 Q And are you -- do you have any understanding
15 if she left on good terms?
16 A I don't believe she left on good terms.
17 Q Are you aware of any other employees that --
18 A No.
19 Q Do you recall any other specifics about the
20 Lawsons' project?
21 A No, I don't. No, I don't.
22 MS. FALCE: All right. Thank you for your
23 time and if Mr. -- or the Board has any further
24 questions.
25 MR. CHAIRMAN: If the Board has questions.
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Page 95
1 Okay. Does Staff counsel have any other parties
2 that they're going to want to hear from?
3 MR. LEONARD: Excuse me, Mr -- Mr. Chair?
4 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yes.
5 MR. LEONARD: I think we have to give
6 Mr. Miranda an opportunity to ask her questions.
7 MR. CHAIRMAN: To ask her questions as well.
8 All right. Let's do that. And then if you would,
9 since we've been in meeting for two hours, we may
10 need to take a quick break. Maybe a five-minute
11 break, ten-minute break and then resume, okay? So
12 let's go ahead and just finish if Mr. Miranda then
13 has any questions. Go ahead, sir.
14 CROSS EXAMINATION
15 BY MR. MIRANDA:
16 Q Hello.
17 A Hello.
18 Q So when you were working for me, whose -- when
19 you were trying to do online permitting, which jobs did
20 you do for online permitting?
21 A I'm sorry?
22 Q When you were trying to do the new program --
23 A What applications did we try to seek a permit
24 (inaudible)?
25 Q Yes.
Page 96
1 A I can't remember them exactly specifically.
2 Q But you had my credit card to pay for the
3 permit?
4 A Right.
5 Q Which one was that?
6 A I don't remember which one it (inaudible)
7 right now.
8 Q You don't remember?
9 A Huh-uh.
10 Q Okay. So it wasn't that, you know, you put my
11 credit card number in wrong or it was the wrong credit
12 card that we used and you don't know whose -- and we
13 have -- we had one person that we kept trying to -- and
14 as you know, how picky is Port St. Lucie to do online
15 permitting?
16 A Each county --
17 Q They're very difficult.
18 A Each county is pretty --
19 MR. MIRANDA: Port St. Lucie is very, very
20 picky. They want everything right, and we were
21 trying -- I was under a lot of pressure trying to,
22 I'm pretty sure, on getting you guys' permit in and
23 that's why it took so long. We were trying to get
24 you guys in and it took quite a while because the
25 City kept bouncing it back. And what they did was,
Page 97
1 every time we do an online permitting they get my
2 card. Now, if she does something wrong with that
3 permit, they keep hitting the card, keep hitting
4 the card. And I keep getting charged. And I kept
5 saying, Why are you hitting my card? And then they
6 would refund it. One time, they forgot to refund
7 it. It took them almost three to four weeks.
8 So -- but she -- she did work for me for about two
9 weeks.
10 THE WITNESS: No, it was about four weeks, and
11 I never got paid for the last week.
12 MR. MIRANDA: So that's it.
13 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Thank you. Okay.
14 No further questions.
15 And before we do take a break, does Staff
16 counsel have other witnesses that they want to
17 speak in this hearing?
18 MS. FALCE: No, not in this one.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay.
20 MS. FALCE: We do reserve the right to recall
21 anybody on rebuttal depending on what Mr. Miranda
22 (inaudible) defense of his case.
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Very good.
24 MS. FALCE: Thank you.
25 MR. CHAIRMAN: So then Staff counsel is
Page 98
1 resting their case, and then when we come back from
2 break then we'll let Mr. Miranda take his side and
3 bring us his side of the case, correct?
4 MS. BARBIERI: Yes, sir.
5 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Thank you very much.
6 MS. FALCE: Thank you.
7 MR. CHAIRMAN: I'm going to give us a
8 ten-minute break. Hopefully, that's enough time
9 and we'll get right back to business, okay?
10 (Brief recess was had.)
11 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. I'm going to call
12 the Board -- the Board of Contractors back to
13 order. If everybody go ahead and take your
14 positions, we're going to reconvene.
15 Being that we have reached a point where
16 County's Staff counsel has all their witnesses, now
17 we're going to turn it over to Mr. Miranda and let
18 him state his case and go from there.
19 Mr. Miranda, if you'd like to return to the
20 podium and we'll resume.
21 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. So first of all, we did
22 sign a contract. The contract was that we had
23 12 months to finish the house after we got the
24 permit, and it was signed and the Lawsons had knew
25 about it.
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Page 99
1 Second of all, they were supposed to put the
2 money in escrow because we -- at the beginning,
3 we -- it was signed -- at the beginning, we were
4 told that they weren't going to pay us from some of
5 the subcontractors that were working there. And by
6 putting this money in an escrow account, the title
7 company would send out an inspector and they'd
8 inspect it and we'd have to make sure that
9 everything's been paid and everything would have
10 went smooth and we would have been done by contract
11 date, no problems, no liens, no nothing. But they
12 choose not to do that.
13 Okay. Also, when I received money, they
14 never -- I send you guys a -- a statement because
15 there was a -- when the Staff did it, they said I
16 signed a statement. I said -- I put it in there
17 that it was a partial release of lien. And that
18 statement -- a statement means that I paid
19 everybody that sent a Notice to Owner and everybody
20 was paid to that point, and I never signed any of
21 that. That was never requested.
22 MR. CHAIRMAN: With your draw requests and
23 payments, you do not deliver a partial release of
24 lien?
25 MR. MIRANDA: With the banks, they request it.
Page 100
1 MR. CHAIRMAN: But you're not working with a
2 bank, and you don't have anything in escrow, so
3 you're working directly in a relationship with the
4 client?
5 MR. MIRANDA: Directly in a relationship with
6 the client and one of the statutes is that -- it
7 says -- on you guys' statute that -- Mike had wrote
8 is that -- that I signed a statement. That I
9 signed a statement reflected a project that was
10 fully -- indicates that work was bonded, indicates
11 that -- that the payment has been made to all
12 subcontractors. And I've never done that. I've
13 never signed any statement. That was one of the
14 things that he had wrote on here. On the --
15 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. I do know -- as you go
16 through this, I want to bring it up, but I agree
17 with you on their first two points by contract, I
18 see where those were the agreements. Twelve months
19 to complete the project based on the issuance of a
20 permit. That's the beginning of the time clock.
21 And the other one where the monies were to be set
22 aside in escrow. This third point you're
23 mentioning here concerning the legality of a
24 partial release of lien, if you're receiving
25 monies, and I would have to leave it up to Staff to
Page 101
1 confirm, but you're -- you're implying that monies
2 are received for services rendered, and those
3 services rendered are -- the funds are being used
4 to make those payments. So whether it's required
5 by a bank or not, a partial release of lien, in my
6 mind, is just a standard document of business that
7 verifies that monies received or monies spent for
8 the purposes intended.
9 MR. MIRANDA: You're right.
10 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay.
11 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. It says here that I did
12 sign it and I hadn't.
13 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. And I assume that's
14 fact -- factual so I'd have no reason to --
15 MR. MIRANDA: As far as when the liens were
16 filed, okay, some of those I haven't been paid for,
17 okay? There was no investigation that -- that I
18 did get paid for them. On our cost breakdown sheet
19 that -- when I sent you this folder, it's on there,
20 and some of the items I weren't -- I wasn't paid
21 for. And then they had said that -- hold on a
22 second.
23 I want to see if I can ask for a continuance.
24 I'm not really feeling that good right now. Is
25 that possible?
Page 102
1 MR. CHAIRMAN: I'll leave that to our legal
2 representation, because we've opened it and gotten
3 this far with it and I know personally it's -- it
4 would be a difficulty, but I understand issues of
5 physical constraints so I'll leave that to our
6 legal consult to answer.
7 MS. BARBIERI: Maybe I can make further
8 inquiry into what the issue is now.
9 MR. MIRANDA: I mean, I just -- you know, I
10 have all my stuff to go, but after we went back and
11 forth and back and forth, it's kind of mixed up
12 here so just kind of a little out of sort.
13 MS. BARBIERI: Would a few more minute break
14 so that you can get it together --
15 MR. MIRANDA: Okay.
16 MS. BARBIERI: -- be of assistance? I mean,
17 I'm not speaking for the Chair. This is the
18 Chair's meeting but it's a suggestion.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yeah, I didn't really
20 understand the request. I was thinking it was more
21 of a physical issue, but if it's not and --
22 MR. MIRANDA: Well, yeah --
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- it's a matter of just --
24 MR. MIRANDA: I'm trying, like, to get this
25 together and I have to put -- I had this whole
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Page 103
1 folder together.
2 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yeah, if it's a matter of just
3 paperwork being out of order, I wouldn't be in
4 agreement to putting this off to a further date.
5 MR. MIRANDA: Okay.
6 MR. CHAIRMAN: We're all assembled now for
7 that purpose, and so if it's -- if it's okay to
8 allow him five minutes, if we even want to do that,
9 I don't know what's -- what would be proper if
10 anything.
11 MS. BARBIERI: I think if he needs five
12 minutes to get his paperwork together, that might
13 be -- you know, Staff doesn't appear to be opposing
14 that.
15 MS. FALCE: We have no objection to giving --
16 giving him a few minutes.
17 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. If we would, we'll
18 go ahead and take a five-minute recess then to
19 allow you to do that?
20 MR. MIRANDA: All right.
21 (Brief recess was had.)
22 MR. CHAIRMAN: Are you properly prepared --
23 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
24 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- to proceed now?
25 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
Page 104
1 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Very good.
2 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. So going back to this, so
3 their complaint, and after I was reading this, some
4 of the stuff is not accurate, you know, about the
5 permit time, the finish time, that I owe them
6 65,000. We -- we got one draw that we -- we got
7 another draw for 18,000, and we're still owed about
8 70,000 on this project that when he canceled it we
9 weren't -- we weren't -- we weren't able to get
10 that. The liens were filed after I was gone, okay,
11 and not knowing that this -- this was happening.
12 Not knowing that this -- I waited five months for
13 this to happen here. If I would have known sooner,
14 I would have looked at the lien, seen what was the
15 deal, what was going on. I had no chance of doing
16 that. I would not -- you don't want any harm to
17 anybody. I've been here 40 years. I've had people
18 that, you know, I've taken back when we had a
19 little problem with being in delays. I've taken
20 them and I've -- and I've made it right with them.
21 Now, there's some people that -- you know, I
22 don't know if that they did not have the money to
23 put in escrow or not. I don't know that. They
24 could have the money. I'm not sure. But alls we
25 wanted was to put it in escrow. The title company
Page 105
1 we would call for a draw. The inspector would go
2 out there. Everybody would be paid. There would
3 be written notices. We'd all be good. And because
4 of that, that caused harm to me. It caused harm to
5 my business, you know, by not following the
6 contract and doing what we were supposed to. It
7 caused a lot of problems. And there's some
8 homeowners that want to take on this themselves.
9 And when they find out that, you know, contractors,
10 like myself, we get better prices from everybody,
11 you know. And it's -- it's a known fact. And when
12 an owner builder does it, it's always that they
13 have to spend a little more money but -- I mean, if
14 you spend more money and then try and put it back
15 on me like I stole money, I didn't. Alls we wanted
16 to do -- the contract was correct. If you look at
17 the contract, we actually gave them a good deal. I
18 mean, it wasn't a bad deal. If you look at our
19 profit on there, it was hardly anything. We
20 would -- you know, it was like $2,500. I mean,
21 it's not like we made a lot. And we weren't making
22 stuff -- you know, items on some of the subs. So
23 we weren't making, you know, money on it, but if --
24 on -- by him leaving, yes, it was going to -- it
25 was going to cost money. And if he would have kept
Page 106
1 with us and followed the terms of the contract,
2 everything would have been okay. There would have
3 been no mismanagement of funds and I never
4 mismanaged funds. I always keep -- you know, try
5 and keep everything. It's just that we had -- at
6 this time, we were very busy. We had a lot of
7 customers. We had situations that customers were
8 canceling on us. It took a lot funds. We took --
9 15 customers canceled. We lost probably a half a
10 million dollars in funding because that was gone
11 from us, you know, and we -- we still -- still
12 trying to go. I have customers that are very happy
13 with me. That sat here and went through these
14 meetings. And they sat back there. And I asked
15 them, look, would you like to come back. I'll --
16 you know, we had a little situation, and they said
17 yes. I have customers now that, you know, they
18 were on track and we're doing everything correctly,
19 it's not a problem.
20 Now, if I would have known I could have
21 brought my secretary in, I have no problem with
22 her. She does the job correct, and she's going to
23 be with me for -- for a while. And -- but by -- by
24 going through this statement here, accusing me of
25 all this, and not finding out what -- what was
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Page 107
1 really going on on the customer's statement and --
2 some of this stuff is not true. It's just not
3 true. And -- and I'm going to take the brunt for
4 it, and I -- you know, I'm sorry that -- that, you
5 know, the Lawsons are having any problems, but I
6 never meant any of that. I was there till the end.
7 I -- I didn't take any money from them. We were
8 just busy at the time when we have un --
9 unannounced visits, and me and Joan, my -- the --
10 my office manager, we were sitting there to -- out
11 of all of the problems, we were trying to get this
12 together to make everybody happy. But an
13 unannounced visit is -- is not -- is not a good
14 sight. Like, if you would have called say for an
15 appointment, but we -- we emailed back and forth.
16 We asked for the money in escrow. They did not
17 want to do it. They refused and um -- then they
18 canceled us and -- and that's -- I think that's all
19 I can say about it.
20 MR. CHAIRMAN: Mr. Miranda, thank you. Thank
21 you for your packet as well, and I appreciate you
22 bringing in a copy of your contract.
23 Question for you: When you signed the
24 contract with the Lawsons back on February of 2018
25 and they provided you a 10 percent deposit of
Page 108
1 $24,800, it says in your contract, The buyer of a
2 single-family resident dwelling unit has a right to
3 have all the deposit, funds up to 10 percent of the
4 purchase price deposited in an interest bearing
5 escrow account. This right may be waived in
6 writing by the buyer. Is that what they did?
7 MR. MIRANDA: Um --
8 MR. CHAIRMAN: It's your contract.
9 MR. MIRANDA: Yeah. No, they -- they -- well,
10 what we did was -- if it was -- if it was in
11 escrow, we -- we use that money immediately.
12 MR. CHAIRMAN: But it says in your contract
13 that they may put it into an escrow account by
14 execution of this agreement, in your next line,
15 your contract, I hereby waive my right to have all
16 deposit, funds placed in an interest bearing
17 account.
18 So you took their deposit. They waived their
19 right to put it into an account --
20 MR. MIRANDA: Right.
21 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- per your contract.
22 MR. MIRANDA: Right.
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: And you used those funds to do
24 what?
25 MR. MIRANDA: To get the permit.
Page 109
1 MR. CHAIRMAN: To get the permit. You then
2 applied for the permit seven months later?
3 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
4 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. So seven months. So you
5 take their 10 percent deposit of $24,800. Seven
6 months later you apply for the permit. Now, at
7 that point in time, when you get the permit in your
8 hand, is it your standard operating procedures to
9 continue to work on that project without the
10 homeowners putting money into escrow?
11 MR. MIRANDA: Well, the --
12 MR. CHAIRMAN: Is it your standard operating
13 procedures --
14 MR. MIRANDA: No.
15 MR. CHAIRMAN: No. So you standardly operate
16 you will not start that home until that money is in
17 escrow; is that correct what you just said?
18 MR. MIRANDA: Right.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: Then why did you start theirs?
20 MR. MIRANDA: Well, we -- we -- they -- we
21 asked them for the draw and they gave it to us.
22 MR. CHAIRMAN: Asked them for what draw, the
23 deposit?
24 MR. MIRANDA: We asked them for -- no, for
25 another draw.
Page 110
1 MR. CHAIRMAN: But they never put the money
2 into escrow.
3 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
4 MR. CHAIRMAN: You just told me that your
5 standard operating procedure --
6 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
7 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- of running your company is
8 to make -- all the monies put into escrow before
9 you start the home.
10 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
11 MR. CHAIRMAN: Why did you start the home
12 without the escrow money?
13 MR. MIRANDA: Well, I was probably wrong for
14 doing that. I should have stopped it right there.
15 MR. CHAIRMAN: So not only did you start the
16 home without the escrow money, you then continued
17 to build their home, continued to get draws from
18 the homeowner --
19 MR. MIRANDA: One draw --
20 MR. CHAIRMAN: Excuse me, let me finish -- of
21 values of, if I'm -- if my math's correct, 24,800;
22 18,000 and 135,000, which total 160,000 (sic) --
23 MR. MIRANDA: I --
24 MR. CHAIRMAN: I'm not done, Mr. Miranda. Let
25 me finish.
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Page 111
1 MR. MIRANDA: Okay.
2 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- for $160,000 of which none
3 of that was put into an escrow account. Yet you
4 took that money, you deposited that money, and then
5 you failed to pay -- to make payments on bills that
6 you were given from -- from subcontractors back in
7 March.
8 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. Can I say something now?
9 MR. CHAIRMAN: Sure.
10 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. You -- now, that's bills
11 that -- that -- that money you say is from bills
12 back in March.
13 MR. CHAIRMAN: I simply -- my (inaudible)
14 question was, why did you start their home without
15 making -- making them put money in escrow?
16 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. I should have had it in
17 escrow, yes. But it's not for not paying bills
18 back in March.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. I'm really glad you
20 followed up on that. So I appreciate that.
21 So let me ask you this: Is it your standard
22 operating procedure to pay your invoices within a
23 timely fashion?
24 MR. MIRANDA: Most of the time, with the subs
25 that we have, I've known them a long time, we pay
Page 112
1 them right away.
2 MR. CHAIRMAN: Sure. Right away. So in your
3 mind, what is right away?
4 MR. MIRANDA: Like if they're hurting on
5 money --
6 MR. CHAIRMAN: Thirty days, 60 days, 90 days?
7 MR. MIRANDA: Usually no -- not -- they will
8 not let me wait more than 30 days.
9 MR. CHAIRMAN: Sure.
10 MR. MIRANDA: I try to pay them sooner.
11 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Perfect. So that leads
12 me into SPS. SPS sends you a bill for $1,500 --
13 one -- I think it was $1,500 -- excuse me, I closed
14 that sheet. Okay. $1,590.77 of which you then
15 make a payment -- they send you an invoice on
16 1/25/2019, you make a payment on March 9th of 2019
17 for that invoice, as directly on their statement
18 from Stuart Paint & Supply. They then send you --
19 I'm assuming you ordered all the material on
20 March -- you ordered it, per their date order
21 received March 11th. Dated wanted 3/13. They
22 delivered 3/13.
23 So we then have invoices of one, two, three,
24 four, five, six, seven, eight, totaling $25,614.90
25 of which you've never paid, yet you've clearly told
Page 113
1 me that you actually pay your invoices in a timely
2 manner, usually 30, 60 days. What happened on this
3 one?
4 MR. MIRANDA: Some -- some of the suppliers
5 like them, they're -- they're larger, they give us
6 a little more time.
7 MR. CHAIRMAN: So 60 days?
8 MR. MIRANDA: Um --
9 MR. CHAIRMAN: Because they didn't file a lien
10 until July. So they provided you April, May,
11 June -- they provided you four months to make
12 payment. You failed to make payment.
13 MR. MIRANDA: I was trying to find the lien.
14 MR. CHAIRMAN: Just curious.
15 MR. MIRANDA: One second. I was just trying
16 to find that lien. Now, we did pay -- it looks
17 like we paid roughly about 2,500 of that bill.
18 MR. CHAIRMAN: I show a credit to that invoice
19 of $1,500.77 per their accounting.
20 MR. MIRANDA: So I'm looking at the lien. It
21 says, there's a -- total value is 27,205, which
22 remains 25,614 still.
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yep. That's a difference of
24 $1,590.77. You had made a comment earlier about
25 the fill dirt for the Lawsons' property. And you
Page 114
1 had made a comment that in your contract it says
2 that the dirt is required by the homeowner. Yet, I
3 read your contract -- and you are way more familiar
4 with contracts than I am -- can you show me in your
5 contract and tell me where it states in your
6 contract that the dirt is the owners
7 responsibility.
8 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. The fill, if you look on
9 the -- the cost breakdown sheet --
10 MR. CHAIRMAN: You had made reference it's in
11 your contract. I'd just like to know where in your
12 contract it states that the owners responsible for
13 the dirt.
14 MR. MIRANDA: There was an agreement
15 between -- between me and the owner about the dirt
16 because the lot was very low.
17 MR. CHAIRMAN: So an addendum --
18 MR. MIRANDA: So --
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- to the contract.
20 MR. MIRANDA: Let me look at the contract.
21 Sorry.
22 MR. LEONARD: That's okay. No, you're good.
23 No, you're good.
24 MR. MIRANDA: So on the back, on the addendum,
25 so they -- this is what we had charged them, this
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Page 115
1 9,500. Anymore -- like we give you an allowance.
2 That's your allowance for your fill. Anything over
3 that amount, the owners have to pay. And the
4 reasons that -- I made a statement before, that the
5 reason why they got the lot cheaper was because it
6 was low. It did need lot -- it did need quite a
7 bit of fill.
8 MR. CHAIRMAN: Mr. Miranda, can you tell me
9 where in this contract -- of any of this contract,
10 it clearly states that anything above and beyond
11 the allowances of what you provided will be the
12 owners' responsibility? Because all I found was
13 if -- it's in your contract it says if they make
14 changes then they're responsible for all the
15 additional --
16 MR. MIRANDA: Well, no, it's on the back of
17 the description. It says that they have -- it's
18 included in the 244,900 that they have 9,500 for
19 fill.
20 MR. CHAIRMAN: That's not the question I
21 asked. I asked, Where does it state it in your
22 contract? Is it the above, the owners are
23 responsible for above and beyond in the allowances
24 you provided, other than if they make changes?
25 And, also -- I'd like to also ask you a question
Page 116
1 while you're looking that up. Let me go ahead and
2 keep this one for you. We have a contract price of
3 $248,000, which is what's on your contract. Yet,
4 you've derived to that number through an addendum
5 of 9,515 to come up to a 3,100 addition to the
6 244,900 in your base contract price to come up with
7 $248,000 total. Am I correct when I say that?
8 MR. MIRANDA: Yes. Yes, you are. It looks
9 like it. It looks like the base price -- it looks
10 like it in the base price.
11 Okay. So if you look at our addendums on the
12 back, if you take those -- you see all the minuses?
13 We gave credit for appliances, a credit for a
14 master tub, light fixtures, credit for backsplash
15 and credit for the sliding doors. So it looks
16 like, I don't have a calculator, but I think the
17 difference -- when you take all away from the
18 9,000, brings it to 248.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yeah. We agree that 244,900
20 was the base contract price. 248,000 was with the
21 upgrade and additional features of 3,100 to get to
22 your total contract price of 248. I'd still like
23 to know where in your contract it says that the
24 homeowners are responsible for anything above and
25 beyond your allowances other than what they make
Page 117
1 changes to the plans.
2 MR. MIRANDA: Well, we -- they -- they know
3 that -- when we wrote this contract, this was the
4 amount that was allotted on the dirt. In the
5 contract, they knew that, you know, it was a low
6 lot. They paid less money for it and it was in an
7 agreement that they were going to pay for the dirt
8 and they did.
9 MR. CHAIRMAN: Agree -- I simply asked, where
10 in your contract does it state that the owner is
11 responsible for anything above and beyond the
12 allowances other than --
13 MR. MIRANDA: I don't know. I'll -- I'll have
14 to look on it.
15 MR. CHAIRMAN: Please. Take your time. It is
16 your contract.
17 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. On number three it says,
18 Construction cost breakdown is the allowance for
19 construction. If the require -- if the
20 required request items are over the allowance, it
21 will be billed as an extra. Number three.
22 MR. CHAIRMAN: That's correct. If the buyer
23 request items over the allowance. Did the buyer
24 request items over the allowance?
25 MR. MIRANDA: Well, yeah, he needed more dirt.
Page 118
1 MR. CHAIRMAN: How did they know they were
2 going to need more dirt?
3 MR. MIRANDA: Because we --
4 MR. CHAIRMAN: You're the professional.
5 MR. MIRANDA: We told them at the beginning it
6 needed more dirt, because we couldn't -- it was an
7 odd-shape lot and it was low.
8 MR. CHAIRMAN: If the buyer request items over
9 the allowance --
10 MR. MIRANDA: (inaudible) on the lot. They
11 got -- the lot in there goes for like 70, 75. They
12 only paid 30 for it.
13 MR. CHAIRMAN: That's irrelevant.
14 MR. MIRANDA: I'm sorry?
15 MR. CHAIRMAN: That's irrelevant. What the
16 buyer paid for a lot is irrelevant.
17 MR. MIRANDA: Well, let me ask you this: Are
18 we going over the contract or what -- like -- I
19 don't understand what's going on.
20 MR. CHAIRMAN: I asked you questions. Thank
21 you so much for answering my questions. I
22 appreciate it. Thank you.
23 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Mr. Miranda, I've got a few
24 questions. You qualified two businesses,
25 TC Homes --
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Page 119
1 MR. MIRANDA: No.
2 MR. DiFRANCESCO: What -- who is TC Homes?
3 MR. MIRANDA: TC Homes we -- we started out we
4 were going to do cabinets. So we called it TC
5 Homes as -- we -- we tried -- we called that as,
6 like, a show center where we -- we could put --
7 show people tile and cabinets and stuff like that
8 and that's all it was.
9 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Okay. The reason why I
10 asked that is because Blosser Electric, they will
11 bill -- they billed TC Custom Homes for the
12 electric for $12,600.
13 MR. MIRANDA: Right. Because they had the
14 wrong name.
15 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Pardon me?
16 MR. MIRANDA: They had the wrong name.
17 MR. DiFRANCESCO: They had the wrong name.
18 MR. MIRANDA: On some of your draws, one of
19 your draws here I saw where the draw request was
20 TC Homes. It can't be because -- I -- it's not
21 a -- we don't have a bank account. We don't
22 have -- it has no license. It's just -- it's a
23 show room now we -- we created just to show people
24 cabinets, faucets. That's what it was. We didn't
25 collect any money for TC Custom Homes. Not a
Page 120
1 penny.
2 MR. DiFRANCESCO: So if it's a cabinet shop --
3 MR. MIRANDA: It wasn't a cabinet shop. We
4 just -- we rented it and we put a cab -- we put a
5 whole kitchen in there, wood appliances and granite
6 and -- just to show the customers the tile and
7 stuff that we were -- we were selling.
8 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Okay. So I see the deposit
9 check receipt from Sylvia and Jerry Lawson. It
10 says TC Custom Homes on there --
11 MR. MIRANDA: Well --
12 MR. DiFRANCESCO: -- but there is no TC Custom
13 Homes?
14 MR. MIRANDA: No, probably they made a mistake
15 with it, because we -- we usually wrote a receipt
16 from when they paid and the girl writing it
17 probably made a mistake, but the check's made out
18 to Group One Construction.
19 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Yeah, I see that.
20 MR. MIRANDA: It was just a -- it was a
21 mistake. She probably didn't have a receipt made
22 out with Group One Construction.
23 MR. DiFRANCESCO: When you signed the
24 contract, were the plans already completed?
25 MR. MIRANDA: No.
Page 121
1 MR. DiFRANCESCO: They weren't completed?
2 MR. MIRANDA: Uh-huh.
3 MR. DiFRANCESCO: So you didn't have any plans
4 to build the house on, it's a custom home? The
5 reason why I ask, is I'm a builder, and before I
6 enter a contract with somebody, I'm going to know
7 exactly --
8 MR. MIRANDA: You're in Jensen Beach, right?
9 MR. DiFRANCESCO: -- what the house is going
10 to cost me to build?
11 MR. MIRANDA: Are you in Jensen Beach?
12 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Pardon me?
13 MR. MIRANDA: Are you in Jensen Beach?
14 MR. DiFRANCESCO: No, I'm not.
15 MR. MIRANDA: Oh, okay.
16 MR. DiFRANCESCO: But when I enter a contract
17 with someone -- I've been in business for 36 years
18 also --
19 MR. MIRANDA: Okay.
20 MR. DiFRANCESCO: -- and I've never been in
21 front of this Board, but -- it's irrelevant. The
22 question I have is, how could you derive a $248,000
23 bid and a contract without having a complete set of
24 plans to bid on something?
25 MR. MIRANDA: Because we -- we -- no, we --
Page 122
1 MR. DiFRANCESCO: You didn't just pick a
2 number?
3 MR. MIRANDA: No, we had -- we had plans that
4 we had in the office that were a similar square
5 footage so -- and they made some changes, because
6 we had to make some changes for the lot. So we had
7 to basically move some walls, but the square
8 footage was the same.
9 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Okay. So you went off of
10 basically a square-footage price?
11 MR. MIRANDA: Correct.
12 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Okay. The -- when you
13 closed, did you close with a title company?
14 MR. MIRANDA: No.
15 MR. DiFRANCESCO: You didn't. So you just
16 closed in your office, you --
17 MR. MIRANDA: Yeah, we closed in the office.
18 They gave us the deposit. We -- we went to -- we
19 sat down and we did the draw -- you know, did --
20 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Right. Draw schedule.
21 Right. I understand.
22 MR. MIRANDA: Sent it to the -- to the
23 engineer, and I got the drawings back and got the
24 permit and -- and got started on the house.
25 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Okay. So had you closed
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Page 123
1 with the title company, the title company would
2 have requested that they put the funds in escrow.
3 And I know you've already said you made a
4 mistake --
5 MR. MIRANDA: Probably.
6 MR. DiFRANCESCO: -- about not doing that.
7 MR. MIRANDA: Probably. Yes.
8 MR. DiFRANCESCO: But why did it take your
9 engineer nine months to make changes on the prints.
10 I mean --
11 MR. MIRANDA: I went there twice a week.
12 MR. DiFRANCESCO: -- as a builder, after two
13 weeks I'm going, where's my plans?
14 MR. MIRANDA: I went there twice a week.
15 They -- they had -- you know, it's funny because
16 they do inspections too. So they do -- they had --
17 they had this -- inspections they had to do in
18 Palm Beach. So they -- they didn't tell the truth
19 to me. So they were just behind. So they were
20 behind. And I went there twice a week to try and
21 get everybody's plans, because this was a big
22 problem for us. Because when you get that far
23 behind and -- you know, the customers had sold
24 their house and they're living in a one bedroom,
25 it's a real problem. It's a real problem.
Page 124
1 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Yes, sir, it's a problem.
2 It's a problem for me when I take $24,000 of
3 somebody's money and wait nine months just to apply
4 for a permit.
5 MR. MIRANDA: Now, we --
6 MR. DiFRANCESCO: That's a big problem. I
7 don't like to sleep at night if I've got to wait a
8 month --
9 MR. MIRANDA: It's --
10 MR. DiFRANCESCO: -- for an engineer.
11 MR. MIRANDA: I know. What was I going to do,
12 sir? What we did was, we hired another architect.
13 And we had gotten the plans within two weeks.
14 And --
15 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Okay. So you signed a
16 contract February 14 --
17 MR. MIRANDA: I mean, you know, we did get
18 them. Some of the people here can say that.
19 MR. DiFRANCESCO: All right. So you signed a
20 contract February 14, 2018. That's when they gave
21 you a deposit of 24,800.
22 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
23 MR. DiFRANCESCO: You didn't receive a permit
24 until October 25, 2018.
25 MR. MIRANDA: Right.
Page 125
1 MR. DiFRANCESCO: So you -- but you didn't
2 start the project until January 2019, which is 11
3 months later that --
4 MR. MIRANDA: Wait. Wait. Hold on a second.
5 MR. DiFRANCESCO: That's okay.
6 MR. MIRANDA: Wait. So -- say that again.
7 You -- I just want to make sure.
8 MR. DiFRANCESCO: You -- you pulled the -- you
9 closed with your customers on February 14, 2018.
10 Now, eight months later you received a permit.
11 October 25th you pick up the permit. Actually,
12 paid --
13 MR. MIRANDA: Correct.
14 MR. DiFRANCESCO: You actually paid $17,000
15 for that permit. The -- but you didn't start the
16 job until January 2019.
17 MR. MIRANDA: What makes you think that? Why
18 do you have that number?
19 MR. DiFRANCESCO: I have to find -- I'm
20 looking at when you had the materials delivered for
21 the job from Nustar.
22 MR. MIRANDA: No, that -- Nustar was -- that
23 was, like, stucco material that we were -- but
24 we --
25 MR. DiFRANCESCO: SPS. SPS is -- right here.
Page 126
1 The bill is for SPS. But had 1,343 pounds of
2 rebar, 2 rolls of Visqueene, 2 rolls of vinyl tape,
3 and they didn't drop off the foundation chairs on
4 1/19/19.
5 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. So --
6 MR. DiFRANCESCO: So that tells me that's when
7 you -- that's when you started your form boards.
8 MR. MIRANDA: When we started the form boards,
9 yes.
10 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Okay. From October -- so
11 you were clearing the lot from October -- October,
12 November, December and it took you two -- almost
13 three months to clear the lot and get it ready.
14 MR. MIRANDA: Don't forget, we had holidays
15 going on there and --
16 MR. DiFRANCESCO: I'm --
17 MR. MIRANDA: -- all that stuff.
18 MR. DiFRANCESCO: As a builder, I know we got
19 holidays too. Business is slow.
20 MR. MIRANDA: That really caused a little
21 problem.
22 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Within the last two weeks,
23 nobody wants to do anything. I understand that.
24 MR. MIRANDA: And, you know, we had to haul
25 some fill in there and we had to clear it. It
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Page 127
1 was -- you know, so we got the permit. So we're
2 already in November. So you've got to remember
3 we're -- we had Thanksgiving. We're in November
4 and now Christmas comes and, you know, those are --
5 those are times that it's hard for us to -- to go
6 quickly.
7 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Thank you.
8 MR. MIRANDA: Once Thanksgiving comes and we
9 try to get houses closed, it's very difficult.
10 It's one holiday after next.
11 MR. DiFRANCESCO: I understand.
12 MR. JERGER: Mr. Chairman. I have a question
13 for you Mr. Miranda. How much of the -- of
14 Mirandas' money did you take?
15 MR. MIRANDA: I'm sorry?
16 MR. JERGER: How much of the Mirandas' money
17 did you take? Lawson.
18 MR. MIRANDA: The Lawsons?
19 MR. JERGER: I'm sorry, the Lawsons' money did
20 you take, and number two -- roughly -- $160,000
21 roughly?
22 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
23 MR. JERGER: How much of that was put on --
24 put towards the house?
25 MR. MIRANDA: All of it.
Page 128
1 MR. JERGER: 169,000?
2 MR. MIRANDA: Yeah.
3 MR. JERGER: And how far did you get?
4 MR. MIRANDA: Well, we got -- like I said, we
5 probably -- we had the roof dried in. Probably the
6 shingles were on. The windows were in. I don't
7 know if we had -- I know I ordered the interior
8 trim from East Coast Lumber. We were getting all
9 the fill for the outside and we were getting -- we
10 got all our inspections. So that's -- that's where
11 we're at.
12 MR. JERGER: Well, if you're able to
13 communicate with us, why don't get the Lawsons in
14 and communicate with them, talk to them and tell
15 them what was going on rather than running out on
16 them and making them feel like that you wasn't
17 going to help them? I think that's their problem.
18 That you're running off, feeling like that you're
19 not going to help you (sic).
20 If it was me, I wouldn't have given you my
21 money either. If -- if I can't talk to you and you
22 tell me what's going on, like you're doing right
23 now, you're asking for leniency --
24 MR. MIRANDA: Right.
25 MR. JERGER: -- you should have talked to the
Page 129
1 Lawsons and asked for their -- told them exactly
2 what you was doing, the time frame, perhaps that
3 would have helped them out.
4 MR. MIRANDA: You've got to understand that --
5 I don't know if you understand the situation we
6 were in at -- at that time. We tried. I sent
7 you -- I gave you all the emails back and forth,
8 back and forth, back and forth. Now (inaudible)
9 and when we -- when we had this little problem,
10 with my partner leaving, and one customer,
11 (inaudible), made this -- made the wife go to
12 everybody's house and tell them we were no good,
13 which was a lie, this was very -- this caused
14 everybody up -- in an uproar. This made it very
15 difficult. You've got to understand, I -- I,
16 myself, have not gotten any money since October.
17 None. And we tried so hard to make this come
18 together. And now the deals that I have, that I'm
19 pulling out and trying to help people, it's very --
20 I mean, I'm on a fine line. And I have customers
21 that I'm working with, that were sitting back here,
22 that I pulled out and said I'm going to help you.
23 No, it's just that they understood the situation
24 that I was in. I was in a bad situation. That
25 when Roger left, my partner, when all this was
Page 130
1 going down, and I had people that -- they could --
2 they knew a little bit. They laid tiles said they
3 were a contractor. They canceled me. No orders.
4 They could do it cheaper. So it didn't matter.
5 They could go and cancel my job.
6 Like I said, I lost a half a million dollars.
7 Not only that, I lost all my cash flow. None. And
8 I'm surviving. I'm paying rent. Okay. I'm going
9 to lose my house. I'm going to lose my car. I put
10 everything into this. And that's the truth. And I
11 would not do anything to hurt the Lawsons. Alls I
12 wanted was to stop. And they couldn't stop. And I
13 know their situation. I understand. But I just
14 needed some time. There was that time that I was
15 getting pulled in so many directions I -- I could
16 only just stop. And the people that waited and we
17 made a deal with and everything was going good
18 and -- you know, like the Ferrells, there job is --
19 like, we were so good with their job and that's
20 when we got a new architect. Their job was fast,
21 and I was saying, Wow, we got them. We're on a new
22 architect, had the lot prepped, filled, we got the
23 form boards up there. We ready to go. I was just
24 waiting for the plumber to get caught up to get
25 over there. And -- but we -- we were good.
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Page 131
1 Anybody -- and -- and people get under the
2 impression -- and I'm not saying anything about you
3 guys or anything, but just people get under the
4 impression that we couldn't do it anymore. We
5 had -- most of our deals were bank loans. We only
6 had two cash customers. They were all with
7 SeaCoast Bank. We do their work, they pay us.
8 With -- with -- I have to sign a -- releases.
9 There was no nonsense. This caused so much
10 problems. So many problems when Roger left. Roger
11 claimed bankruptcy all by himself individually, not
12 on the company. But he called all the customers
13 when he left. He was the one that sold the deals.
14 That's why Mr. Lawson said, Hey, he never seen me.
15 The only reason why he didn't see me is because
16 Roger's job was to sell the houses and I was the
17 contractor.
18 MR. DiFRANCESCO: I'm sorry, when you say
19 Roger, he was your partner?
20 MR. MIRANDA: He was a partner. He was a
21 Realtor.
22 MR. DiFRANCESCO: But who holds the license?
23 MR. MIRANDA: I do.
24 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Who does it come down on?
25 MR. MIRANDA: I understand.
Page 132
1 MR. DiFRANCESCO: You understand (inaudible)
2 upset when they look at -- you paid -- the Lawsons
3 paid you on January 2019, they had paid you
4 $150,000. And I'm looking at that picture up there
5 dated 9/19/2019, nine months later. And you
6 started the house. You started the house. You
7 poured the slab in January. Nine months later all
8 you have is a frame all done.
9 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. So --
10 MR. DiFRANCESCO: I could understand the
11 frustration.
12 MR. MIRANDA: All right. You can understand
13 my frustration.
14 MR. DiFRANCESCO: What held you up? I mean --
15 MR. MIRANDA: But you understand that we have
16 a contract and we have to be done by October. And
17 we have jobs scheduled that we have to get done and
18 we had -- we sold 40 houses, 40 houses, in a -- in
19 a short period of time. We were really busy. You
20 know, we were busy, busy and we could only go as
21 fast as we could go.
22 MR. DiFRANCESCO: No, I understand. But you
23 have a responsibility.
24 MR. MIRANDA: I understand that.
25 MR. DiFRANCESCO: People are paying you money.
Page 133
1 MR. MIRANDA: We tried to -- if we did not
2 have that architect, which is my -- now, you
3 know --
4 MR. DiFRANCESCO: You're past the architect.
5 You had your permit.
6 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
7 MR. DiFRANCESCO: You had your permit in
8 October.
9 MR. MIRANDA: Yes.
10 MR. DiFRANCESCO: November, December, January.
11 Three months to get it cleared and filled, right?
12 MR. MIRANDA: Yep.
13 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Three months to get it
14 cleared and filled. Nine months later all you have
15 is just a frame all done.
16 MR. MIRANDA: Okay.
17 MR. DiFRANCESCO: But that's it. I mean, nine
18 months.
19 MR. MIRANDA: Okay. Listen, I understand.
20 I -- we like to build houses in six months.
21 MR. DiFRANCESCO: They'd love you.
22 MR. MIRANDA: You know, I reckon -- the longer
23 it takes, the less money I make so, yeah, I want to
24 build it fast, but you got to remember, we --
25 besides having all those houses and as busy as we
Page 134
1 were and then when Roger left, differences, and
2 calling all the people, I had to deal with every
3 single one of those people and that was not easy.
4 That was not an easy job. The ones that were able
5 to wait. It's okay. It's turning out all right.
6 But some can't -- couldn't wait.
7 MR. PARKER: I've got something to say. I'm
8 going to say it. We've been listening to this for
9 three hours up here. It's your license. Your
10 responsibility for it. If you took on 40 houses,
11 that's your responsibility, instead of taking on 10
12 houses that you could have took care of.
13 I think we should move on from this whole
14 thing and for this Board to make some type of
15 decision what to do. It's been three hours. We've
16 heard the same thing over and over and over. You
17 came in. You have no representation. Thinking
18 that this was going to be a big joke.
19 MR. MIRANDA: No, I didn't.
20 MR. PARKER: You're going to go right through
21 these people.
22 MR. MIRANDA: I did not.
23 MR. PARKER: I don't agree with that at all.
24 MR. MIRANDA: The last time --
25 MR. PARKER: Then you want a continuation --
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Page 135
1 MR. MIRANDA: -- I brought my attorney.
2 MR. PARKER: -- two hours after. We need to
3 move on from this.
4 MR. MIRANDA: Okay.
5 MR. CHAIRMAN: I have a question, Mr. Miranda,
6 as we look at the charges that Staff has put
7 against Mr. Miranda and then the findings that
8 we're going to need to make and what course we take
9 from there, the biggest question I've got on my
10 mind is the lien issue. And you had submitted draw
11 requests and been paid for work performed, but yet
12 there's liens that didn't get satisfied. So I
13 think that that's the key thing for you to respond
14 to me on, if there's a reason why you would draw,
15 be paid, and have liens that show themselves after
16 payment.
17 MR. MIRANDA: Well, I know the stucco we
18 weren't paid for and that -- and that was a lien.
19 The other lien's after I was gone and -- and --
20 when I got terminated. Those liens were filed
21 then, okay? And they still owed me 71 -- 70,000,
22 okay?
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: No, that would be if you had
24 finished the project to get you to total completion
25 248 plus --
Page 136
1 MR. MIRANDA: Right.
2 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- plus or minus, which you
3 didn't do that? You only completed, whatever, 60
4 or 70 percent of the project, so you can't -- you
5 can't go there.
6 MR. MIRANDA: Right. But it wasn't my --
7 MR. CHAIRMAN: You can draw for work complete
8 and you get paid for work complete.
9 MR. MIRANDA: Right.
10 MR. CHAIRMAN: So that's the big issue -- I
11 think that's the big question mark. Where -- you
12 know, those funds didn't get applied in the way
13 that they should have or else liens would not have
14 shown up.
15 MR. MIRANDA: Like I said, I don't -- with
16 SPS, I'm not sure on the cost breakdown, what was
17 paid, you know, because it's -- I -- you know, I do
18 a lot of business with them and I -- they're
19 usually not a problem but this wound up being a
20 problem when all this happened, okay? And, you
21 know, we -- if we would have kept going and they
22 wouldn't have canceled, we would not be here right
23 now.
24 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. All right. Which
25 that -- that's not the right answer, because if you
Page 137
1 would have kept going, then you would have been
2 charging them for work that -- that money should
3 have already been set aside for --
4 MR. MIRANDA: But --
5 MR. CHAIRMAN: -- things that were getting
6 ready to happen, not for things that have already
7 happened. So that's just not -- that's --
8 MR. MIRANDA: No, but that would -- it would
9 have been paid. It would have been paid.
10 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yeah. All right.
11 MR. MIRANDA: Absolutely would have been paid.
12 I couldn't leave that lien on there. I couldn't,
13 you know, do that. I could not -- everybody has to
14 get paid on the job.
15 MR. CHAIRMAN: You were paid.
16 MR. MIRANDA: I'm sorry?
17 MR. CHAIRMAN: You were paid.
18 MR. MIRANDA: I'm saying all the subs have to
19 get paid on that job to -- at the end.
20 MR. CHAIRMAN: Which is your responsibility.
21 MR. MIRANDA: Absolutely.
22 MR. CHAIRMAN: Yeah.
23 MR. MIRANDA: And I lost the job so I -- you
24 know.
25 MR. CHAIRMAN: And evidently for good cause as
Page 138
1 far -- you know, I'm speaking out of turn on that
2 one, but you kind of feel my frustration as well
3 for sitting through this for three hours. Are
4 there other -- I'm not --
5 MR. MIRANDA: Sorry.
6 MR. CHAIRMAN: No, no. Go ahead, because I
7 want to give you your full due and then I want
8 to --
9 MR. MIRANDA: (Inaudible) I just got this. It
10 was 240 pages on the Complaint. It's a lot.
11 MR. CHAIRMAN: Well, let's not lean back on
12 that. You've -- you've said you had it in time and
13 you were prepared to come in this meeting so let's
14 not go there because we gave you that option if you
15 needed more time and you did not.
16 MR. MIRANDA: Okay.
17 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Anything else that
18 you would like to share with the Board?
19 MR. MIRANDA: No.
20 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Thank you. Again, I'm
21 going to lean on legal counsel to give me direction
22 at this point in time what is our next step. If
23 there's any other process that needs to occur.
24 MS. BARBIERI: I think if Mr. Miranda has no
25 other evidence Staff's attorney was asking for a
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Page 139
1 few minutes to do a brief closing. I think it will
2 be brief, and then Mr. Miranda would have the same
3 opportunity and then you'll make your deliberations
4 and your motions.
5 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Thank you. If you
6 would then -- yes, Ms. Falce.
7 MS. FALCE: Thank you for your time this
8 morning and for bearing with us as we go through
9 some irregular procedure and I'm going to move over
10 to here because it's easier for me to talk to them.
11 Okay. Thank you for your time. Substantial
12 competent evidence exists in the record before you
13 today either submitted through testimony that we
14 heard today through individual people or through
15 the documentary evidence that has been submitted by
16 Staff and as well as Mr. Miranda through this
17 procedure to support Staff recommendation of
18 revocation of his Certificate of Competency in this
19 matter. And I'd like to just go through the main
20 points that the Staff is recommending to sum this
21 all up.
22 Staff findings for the Group One Construction
23 & Development, Inc. is in violation of St. Lucie
24 County Code Sections 10-26 Subsections, 9, 3 and
25 10, as well as Subsection 10-26 and 10-67. I
Page 140
1 apologize, I went out of order. 10-67 Subsections
2 9, 3 and 10.
3 And due to the egregious nature of the fraud
4 evidenced in this case, it's the Staff's
5 recommendation, as well as the financial hardship
6 placed on Mr. and Mrs. Lawson, Staff recommends
7 that the contractor licensing Board revoke the
8 license of Mr. Michael J. Miranda, Group One
9 Construction for a time period not to exceed one
10 year.
11 If Michael J. Miranda or Group One
12 Construction desires to reapply for a Certificate
13 of Competency in St. Lucie County, the contractor
14 will have to present his case before the
15 Contractor Licensing Board no less than one year
16 from the date of revocation.
17 And I believe you all touched on the main
18 evidence that exists in the record today to support
19 that finding, which are the liens that were not
20 paid but money was collected from the Lawsons for
21 the work completed. It was the check submitted
22 for -- and returned for insufficient funds on
23 another subcontractor, and also the time frame and
24 the length of time that no work was conducted on
25 this project.
Page 141
1 There was reference from Mr. Miranda that the
2 liens were placed after he was gone and terminated.
3 There's evidence in the record that he was not
4 terminated until September, although the Lawsons
5 tried to terminate him in June. He then terminated
6 the contract in September, and those liens all
7 occurred in July of 2019 prior to final
8 determination [verbatim] of this project. Other
9 evidence exists but that at a minimum, which is
10 attached to the Staff's evidence that was submitted
11 into the record here today, supports revocation of
12 the license. And if there are no further
13 questions --
14 MR. CHAIRMAN: Any questions of the Board?
15 MS. FALCE: -- that you have, Staff will rest.
16 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. Thank you very
17 much.
18 MS. FALCE: Thank you.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: And then we would then give
20 Mr. Miranda the same opportunity in a closing
21 statement.
22 MR. MIRANDA: (Inaudible.)
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. That will conclude the
24 testimony in today's case. Does the Board have any
25 other statements or comments or questions that they
Page 142
1 may have, and if not, I would receive a motion?
2 MR. JERGER: I'll make a motion to accept
3 Staff recommendation.
4 MR. LANGEL: I second the motion.
5 MR. LEONARD: Excuse me, Mr. Chair. I would
6 like to also add to Mr. Jerger's motion that a copy
7 of the minutes of this meeting be also attached and
8 sent to the State, as well as our surrounding
9 municipalities.
10 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. There is a motion and a
11 second and so that then opens it up for discussion,
12 and with the request of Mr. Leonard -- the motion
13 was by Mr. Jerger and a second was by Mr. Langel.
14 Okay. With an amendment by Mr. Leonard. With
15 that, is there any discussion of the Board
16 concerning the amendment? Is that acceptable to
17 Mr. Jerger and Mr. Langel?
18 MR. JERGER: Yes.
19 MR. LANGEL: Yes.
20 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Thank you. All right.
21 With that, Staff, do we have that recorded?
22 MADAM SECRETARY: Yes.
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Any other questions or
24 discussion concerning the motion with the
25 amendment?
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1 Hearing none, Madam Secretary, if you would
2 take a voice vote, please.
3 Mr. Davis?
4 MR. DAVIS: Yes, ma'am.
5 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. DiFrancesco?
6 MR. DiFRANCESCO: Yes, ma'am.
7 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Langel?
8 MR. LANGEL: Yes, ma'am.
9 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Jerger?
10 MR. JERGER: Yes, ma'am.
11 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Leonard?
12 MR. LEONARD: Yes, ma'am.
13 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Pride?
14 MR. PRIDE: Yes, ma'am.
15 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Zrallack?
16 MR. ZRALLACK: Yes, ma'am.
17 MADAM SECRETARY: Mr. Parker?
18 MR. PARKER: Yes, ma'am.
19 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. With that, that is
20 a unanimous vote supporting your recommendation to
21 Staff for the revocation not to exceed one year and
22 with that I appreciate everybody's time and effort
23 today, and I would ask Staff if there is any other
24 business before this Board this morning.
25 MS. WILLIAMS: Yes, Mr. Chairman. Real quick.
Page 144
1 Under Staff business we have to discuss our dates,
2 our meeting dates. In the package, I gave you a
3 copy of the ordinance. It was brought to our
4 attention that we have to have no less than four
5 meetings. One in January, one in July, one in
6 October and one in April. We currently have six
7 meetings, but we don't have one in April nor in
8 July, which is in violation of our ordinance. I
9 propose on the next sheet upcoming dates that -- I
10 don't know if you guys want to agree on the new
11 dates, to make sure we coincide with our ordinance.
12 MR. CHAIRMAN: So that I -- let's back up for
13 a second. At a minimum four dates per year?
14 MS. WILLIAMS: Yes.
15 MR. CHAIRMAN: And what was the second
16 minimum?
17 MS. WILLIAMS: We have six. We do every --
18 every other month, but according to ordinance, we
19 don't have one in April nor in July, which is in
20 violation of our code. So I propose new dates to
21 make sure we coincide with our ordinance.
22 MR. CHAIRMAN: There's a specific month that's
23 required in order to achieve the four total?
24 MS. WILLIAMS: Yes.
25 MR. CHAIRMAN: And those two months are
Page 145
1 required, July and April.
2 MS. WILLIAMS: Yes. Normally we don't have a
3 July nor April. We do every other month. And July
4 and April is normally missing from our normal
5 operating. So I'm proposing that we meet in
6 January, February, in April, and July and October
7 and December. It's up to the Board to make sure
8 you guys agree on that that will be our new dates.
9 MR. CHAIRMAN: Does Staff recommend that we do
10 need to keep every other month instead of every
11 three months as a four times per year minimum would
12 require?
13 MS. WILLIAMS: As long as we meet those four
14 months, which is January, April, October and July,
15 we can do more than that also, then I'm fine with
16 that. Those four months we have to meet.
17 MR. CHAIRMAN: So if -- well, I guess, my --
18 my suggestion just for discussion would be what if
19 we went to four meetings per year, which would be
20 January, April, July and October, correct, would
21 that meet Staff needs? I mean, is there a reason
22 why we need to be every other month because of the
23 timeliness of maybe approving someone's licensure
24 and they're being held out for that extra month
25 or --
Page 146
1 MS. WILLIAMS: Well, we do have the option at
2 Staff level that if -- if an applicant comes in,
3 they have everything that they need and they need
4 to start a job, we do the temporary permit --
5 license until when they come before you. So we can
6 continue doing that, if you guys decide that you
7 only want to do four meetings a year we can
8 continue doing that. If there's a need and they
9 want a license right away, we do give a temporary
10 license to them before you (inaudible).
11 MR. CHAIRMAN: Any other comment from Staff
12 concerning that suggestion that I just threw out,
13 and if not, then I would just for conversation of
14 the Board -- I don't make the motions but that
15 would be able to give us the regularity of April
16 and July and that adds us a January and October.
17 We've got our four months. There's a provision
18 already given so that if someone -- so someone's
19 not being held up to be able to perform work when
20 there's no issue from Staff and then it comes to us
21 in the next Board meeting so that's where I think
22 we might want to lean.
23 MR. LEONARD: The only thing I would say is
24 that what happens if one of those four -- if we're
25 tailoring it down to four, our minimum requirement,
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Page 147
1 what happens if we don't have a quorum? So having
2 five or six allows us an opportunity to have a
3 little buffer.
4 I don't mind coming six times a year. I don't
5 know what everybody else is but --
6 MR. ZRALLACK: If we don't have a quorum, then
7 we would propose the following month --
8 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay.
9 MR. ZRALLACK: -- to catch up. And our last
10 one is October and we would have plenty of time to
11 get one in by the end of the year.
12 MR. DiFRANCESCO: So I guess when we have
13 cases like this we would have a special --
14 MS. WILLIAMS: Special meeting, yes.
15 MR. DiFRANCESCO: -- special meeting, this way
16 we don't let them continue on doing what they're
17 doing.
18 MR. CHAIRMAN: We have a recommendation from
19 Staff, which is proper, and then we have a
20 suggestion of Chairman. So what's the pleasure of
21 the Board?
22 MR. DiFRANCESCO: I would like to possibly
23 keep it at six meetings a year, if we can.
24 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay.
25 MR. DiFRANCESCO: I got no problem being here.
Page 148
1 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. We have it, as laid
2 out here, that would be -- as laid out in the
3 schedule given to us then. Any other comments?
4 MR. LEONARD: Other than not a big fan of
5 April 15th but that's okay.
6 (Laughter.)
7 That's great. Maybe I'm the only one.
8 (Laughter.)
9 Tax day.
10 MR. CHAIRMAN: All right. So any other
11 discussion? All in favor in taking the recommended
12 schedule as given by Staff for the year 2020 and
13 2021 say aye.
14 THE BOARD: (Indicates by saying aye.)
15 MR. CHAIRMAN: Any opposed?
16 THE BOARD: (No response.)
17 MR. CHAIRMAN: Okay. Very good. That it
18 shall be. How about any other new business?
19 Please tell me no.
20 (Laughter.)
21 MS. GRAZIANI: Wait. Let's see if we can
22 think of something.
23 MR. CHAIRMAN: This was a special meeting
24 indeed. We are adjourned.
25
e7064bf4-9b10-48bc-8c9d-7ce7cfde98cbElectronically signed by Karen M. Bellemare (301-293-169-3900)
Page 149
1 STATE OF FLORIDA )
:SS
2 COUNTY OF ST. LUCIE )
3
4 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE
5 I, KAREN M. BELLEMARE, FPR, a Shorthand
6 Reporter, certify that the foregoing meeting was
7 prepared by audio recording, Pages 1 through 148,
8 and is an accurate transcription to the best of my
9 ability.
10 I certify further I am neither attorney nor
11 counsel for, nor related to, nor employed by any of
12 the parties to the action in which the meeting is
13 taken and, further, that I am not a relative or an
14 employee of any attorney or counsel employed in this
15 case, nor am I financially interested in the outcome
16 of this action.
17 Dated this 26th day of March, 2020.
18
19 _________________________
20 Karen M. Bellemare, FPR
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