State Revokes Robbins’ Real Estate License

Despite his emotional plea that “I’ve paid my price,” former state Sen. Alan Robbins was stripped of his real estate license Friday, five weeks after he told an administrative law judge he had been punished enough as a convicted felon.

Robbins, who is scheduled to be released from a Hollywood halfway house next week after serving less than two years of his original five-year sentence, pleaded guilty in 1992 to political corruption charges for using his Van Nuys senate seat to extort money from people seeking legislative favors.

He is awaiting sentencing on a federal bank fraud conviction for failing to disclose information in seeking a $900,000 loan from Independence Bank of Encino.

State Real Estate Commissioner Clark Wallace ruled Friday that Robbins’ license should be revoked because his crimes went to the heart of the issues of truthfulness, honesty and moral turpitude, said Dan Garrett, spokesman for the state Department of Real Estate.

“There was clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Robbins’ crimes were relevant to the qualifications of licensure,” Garrett said.

But Robbins, saying he will consider an appeal, reiterated Friday that he felt he had paid his debt to society.

“It doesn’t seem fair that after I’ve paid my price for the things I did that were illegal, that I would be punished further by the state Department of Real Estate,” Robbins said in an interview.

Robbins, 50, said he has already been denied the use of his broker’s license during the nearly two years he spent in the Lompoc federal prison and the halfway house.

Now, with no future in politics, no license to practice law and no broker’s license, Robbins--who amassed his wealth through real estate deals--said he is uncertain how he will make a living.

“That’s something I’ll have to work out,” Robbins said. “I suspect there are several options that I can go over with my attorney, but I’m not sure what they are at the moment.”

In making his case to an administrative law judge Jan. 28, Robbins presented numerous letters of support from onetime politicians such as former state Sen. Ed Davis and former Assemblyman Tom Bane.

Other letters testifying to Robbins’ character came from UCLA Chancellor Charles Young; Charles Fuentes, a former aide to City Atty. James K. Hahn, and James Montgomery, a leader in the San Fernando Valley chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People.

But Administrative Law Judge Richard J. Lopez nevertheless recommended that Robbins be denied his license, Garrett said.

“He was trying to convince the judge he was essentially reformed--with character witnesses and all,” Garrett said. “But it didn’t work. It was a pretty straightforward case.”

Robbins, who championed San Fernando Valley issues in the Legislature for nearly two decades, can ask for a 30-day stay of Wallace’s decision while he files an appeal, Garrett said.

Failing the appeal, Robbins can wait two years and reapply for his license, which enables brokers to take part in a range of industrial, commercial and residential transactions, Garrett said.

Between 500 and 600 brokers lose their licenses in California every year, he said.