Florida Bar In re Hessler

In 1980 Hessler, a member of the Florida Bar, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree grand theft for misappropriating $80,000 from the estate of one of his clients. The trial court sentenced him to a five-year term of imprisonment, and this Court suspended him from the practice of law. Hessler was paroled in August 1982 with his full civil rights restored in December 1983. He petitioned for reinstatement to the bar in 1985.

After the hearing on reinstatement, the referee found that Hessler had rehabilitated himself and that he should be readmitted to the practice of law. The referee…