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Lawyer at center of real estate dispute dies

A St. Petersburg Realtor is accused of forging a listing agreement for Harry Lieffers Jr. He died Friday at age 78.

By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published November 14, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - The elderly man whose family is embroiled in a dispute with local real estate agent Cary Bond Thomas over whether she had permission to sell his Snell Isle home died Friday.

Harry Lieffers Jr., 78, had suffered from dementia for several years. His son-in-law, Ken Reibel, said Lieffers' health took a sudden turn for the worse in the past week. Lieffers died at Carrington Place, an assisted living facility in St. Petersburg.

Lieffers' death won't halt the ongoing investigation into Thomas, who is accused of forging a listing agreement that would have given her exclusive rights to sell a retired lawyer's $880,000 home on Brightwaters Boulevard in 2003.

Pinellas-Pasco Assistant State Attorney Bob Lewis said the investigation into Thomas is nearly finished. No criminals charges have been filed.

Thomas, who did not return a phone call seeking comment, has denied any wrongdoing. Her St. Petersburg attorney, Seymour Gordon, said he has not heard from prosecutors.

Lieffers was born in Grand Rapids, Mich. He served briefly in World War II and attended Northwestern University College of Law in Chicago. He practiced insurance law in Michigan for 32 years before retiring to Snell Isle in about 1985.

The inquiry into Thomas began after prosecutors learned of a separate investigation by the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which oversees real estate agents. The agency said Thomas admitted to forging Lieffers' name on a listing agreement when she knew he already had listed the property with another agent.

Reibel, who is married to Lieffers' daughter Jennifer, said Thomas has called him several times to ask him to drop the complaint.

"She started pleading poverty - this woman who sells million-dollar homes," Reibel said. "It's kind of embarrassing to Realtors. At least to the honest ones."

The allegations revolve around the sale of Lieffers' former home at 801 Brightwaters Blvd. He decided to sell in 2003 after he lost his wife of 32 years, Betty Lieffers.

Betty Lieffers had apparently talked to Thomas about selling the house about two months before she died, according to family members. According to Thomas, Lieffers told her to handle the sale at his wife's memorial service on May 25, 2003.

But about a week after the service, Lieffers decided he wanted another agent, Gerard Growney, to sell the house, and he signed a listing agreement with him.

Thomas told family members that Lieffers already had signed a listing agreement with her. She faxed them a copy of the agreement with Lieffers' signature.

But relatives did not think it looked like his handwriting. It was signed "Harry Lieffers," but he usually signed his name "Harry Lieffers Jr.," Reibel said.

The family went with the other agent, Growney. They also filed a complaint against Thomas with the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

In August, regulators said there was probable cause to prosecute Thomas civilly, saying she admitted to the forgery.

Thomas switched her license from Tourtelot Brothers to Richard Rahall Real Estate in Tierra Verde, according to her Web site. She is currently selling two properties: a two-story waterfront home on Snell Isle listed at $2.7-million and a $729,000 home in Maximo Moorings.

So far this year, she has made at least 12 sales with an average price of $840,000, according to the Kenst Report, a local compilation of real estate data.

Lieffers' house eventually was sold for $880,000.

-- Carrie Johnson can be reached at 727 892-2273 or cjohnson@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 14, 2005, 17:31:03]