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Citizens job came after few checks

The state-backed insurer is not required to run screenings for executives as vigorous as those conducted by private insurers.

By JONI JAMES
Published September 20, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - Citizens Property Insurance Corp. ordered only limited background checks before it hired a former chief operating officer now at the center of a criminal bribery investigation.

Before winning a $150,000-a-year job on Jan. 31 at the state-backed insurer, R. Paul Hulsebusch, a New Jersey-based consultant, was subjected to only a Florida criminal background check, public records show. That's far less than the financial, fraud and national criminal background checks that state regulators require for private insurance executives.

Under law, those same background requirements, however, don't apply to Citizens, which has grown into the state's second largest property insurer as it provides coverage for owners who can't find it in the private market.

The lack of scrutiny was in part because Hulsebusch had worked for Citizens since May 2004 as a consultant and he had the strong recommendation of the outgoing chief operating officer, said Justin Glover, spokesman for Citizens.

"He'd been doing a good job for us," Glover said. "We did lend a lot of weight to that recommendation."

As the St. Petersburg Times first reported last week, Hulsebusch resigned Sept. 9 after allegations laid out in a Texas lawsuit that says he accepted a $28,095 Big Dog Motorcycle from a vendor who had won a contract from Citizens while he was chief operating officer. Also under scrutiny is a business Hulsebusch allegedly sold to the same vendor for $200,000 that he never disclosed to Citizens.

The state's chief financial officer, Tom Gallagher, who launched the criminal investigation Thursday, said Hulsebusch appears to hold a $100,000 note connected to that sale.

Hulsebusch has referred questions to his attorney, Stephen Durant of Jacksonville, who could not be reached for comment.

Citizens hired Hulsebusch in May 2004 at $110-an-hour as a consultant to improve Citizens' underwriting operation, five months earlier than Citizens has said before. Glover said the omission was an oversight.

Then in October, after four hurricanes hit Florida, Hulsebusch moved to overseeing the company's claims processing in the wake of customer outrage at its sluggish response.

Records provided to the Times on Monday in response to a public records request included Hulsebusch's resume. They show the 39-year-old, who maintains a home in Pennsylvania, began his career as an adjuster in Arizona, then worked for an assortment of firms in Alabama, Massachusetts and New Jersey. His last work before Citizens was a start-up underwriting firm based in Coopersburg, Pa.

--Joni James can be reached at 850 224-7263 or jjames@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 20, 2005, 01:54:19]