Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 17, 1990 TAG: 9007170429
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: DOUGLAS PARDUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The belated action came just six weeks before Craft is scheduled to begin serving an eight-year sentence he was given by a federal judge last month for racketeering.
Al Whitley, a spokesman for the board and the Department of Commerce, said today that the board voted in a closed session late Monday to revoke Craft's license because of his conviction for a felony.
That conviction was last September when Craft pleaded guilty in federal court in Roanoke. His sentencing was delayed under a plea agreement until he testified against Stephen Lucion, his partner in the racketeering scheme. Lucion received a 10-year sentence last month.
Under state law, the board could have revoked Craft's license at any time since September when a federal judge accepted his guilty plea and found him guilty. But Whitley said the board's postion in the case is that it had to wait until an official order of conviction was entered with sentencing.
Whitley said board members refused a request to discuss the case publicly and would reveal only that they acted on advice of legal counsel from the attorney general.
A spokesman for the attorney general said that even though a judge finds someone guilty, in license revocation cases boards historically have waited to act until a final order of conviction is entered with sentencing.
The board's hesitancy to revoke Craft's license since last September stands in marked contrast to the board's swift action two years ago when Craft neglected to pay his license fee. In that case the board refused to let Craft call himself a certified public accountant until he reapplied to pay his license fee. The board went so far than as to make him tape over the word "Certified" on the plaque outside his Vinton office.
Craft, who was given until Aug. 27 to begin serving his 8-year sentence, said today that he plans to keep his office open despite his prison sentence and loss of license.
"I'm still going to be here," he said. While he is in prison, he said, his business, called Circle C Consultants, will be run by his wife and a few certified public accountants who have agreed to do some of the work.
Craft, 42, said the revocation of his license as a CPA was a matter of routine and he hopes to get it back after serving his time and getting off probation. The license is a matter of prestige, but has little to do with most of his accounting work in bookkeeping and preparing income taxes, he said.
"I'm planning to remain open . . . continue doing about some of the same things I've been doing."
by CNB