Orlando Realtor leader investigated for messages about women in Panama

Orlando Regional Realtor Association CEO Cliff Long was investigated for writing messages that suggest he was soliciting prostitutes on a work trip in Panama, according to a 2021 confidential report from the law firm hired by the Association.

Long, the public face of an industry group representing about 20,000 Realtors in Central Florida, denied he paid for sex on his March 2020 trip or did anything illegal, the report said.

About the messages, Long called it “guy talk.”

But the law firm did not believe him.

“Explanation lacks credibility,” according to the investigation conducted by Polsinelli. 

The Realtor Association said in a statement: “The matter in question was investigated and closed four years ago with no findings of any illegal activity. Mr. Long continues to work tirelessly on behalf of ORRA’s members, homebuyers and sellers, as well as promote Orlando as one of the best real estate markets in the country.”

Polsinelli attorney Scott Gilbert, who wrote the report, said the document was confidential and cited attorney-client privilege when Florida Politics reached out for comment.

Long denied to comment.

“Hello. I met (your) cousin Melvalyn while staying at the Sheraton. She told me that you could recommend where I should go to meet beautiful girls and have fun while here in Panama. My name is Cliff,” Long wrote to someone named Marvin while in Panama in 2020, according to the message snapshots included in the report.

“Let me know if you want city tour,” Marvin wrote back, and soon began sending nightly rates and sharing photographs of scantily clad women in thongs, lingerie or taking selfies more fully clothed.

“Just all the girls in my phone,” Marvin responded. “Send you a few so you can see if there’s anyone you like.”

“o…….m………g……..,” Cliff wrote back. “How much?”

“It depends on how long an hour or 2 could be 200$ to 250$ all night from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., 500$ to 600$. It depends on the girls you pick, some more exclusive than others,” Marvin wrote. “We also have the low ball ones 100$ 150$, or 300$ to 400$ for an all night.”

“Lol,” Long wrote. “Hit me up on WhatsApp,” and gave Marvin his number.

Long was in town for a ceremony for new officers with the Association’s sister group in Panama, the report said.

“With a bunch of dignitaries and the ministers of commerce right, Joe,” Long wrote Marvin at one point, according to the report.

A 2017 U.S. Department of State report described Panama as “a source, transit, and destination country for men and women subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor.”

The law firm’s report also determined, “There is no independent evidence (that) refutes CL’s assertion that he did not engage in illegal or improper conduct during the Panama Trip.”

Long was in the news last month after his ties to controversial former Orange County Supervisor Glen Gilzean were revealed. Records obtained by Florida Politics through a records request showed the Realtor Association appeared to organize and pay for Gilzean’s $16,500 swearing-in ceremony last year. Long gave the opening remarks at the event.

A few months later, Gilzean wrote a $45,000 grant check to the Realtor Association’s foundation, which Susan Plasencia, a state lawmaker, runs.

When pressed to account for the funding after Gilzean left office, the Realtor Association later returned the full $45,000 to the Election Supervisor’s office.

The law firm determined that not only did Long misbehave in Panama, but the Orlando Regional Realtor Association also failed to conduct a proper investigation, and the Board had not been adequately briefed on the circumstances. 

The situation also “created an impression among some staff that executive staff are not responsible for actions,” as well as “undercut ORRA’s values of creating and maintaining a work environment in which people are treated with dignity, decency, and respect.”

The law firm also said the Association needs “clear reporting guidelines for staff when concerns involve executive leadership.”

Long’s and Marvin’s correspondence appeared inadvertently on Long’s professional Facebook page, which is how the direct messages caught the attention of a Realtor Association marketing employee whose job was to monitor the page. “Cliff Long’s Instagram account is linked to the ORRA CEO Facebook page,” the report said.

The communications manager for the Realtor Association alerted a marketing and communications coordinator and the two employees reported the messages to La’Tonya Stark, the Association’s vice president of engagement. Stark, in turn, escalated it to Human Resources Vice President Melinda Skinner.

“Skinner tells Stark that she would ‘handle it,’ and met with Long the same day,” the law firm’s report said. 

On Sept. 9, 2020, the day Skinner and Long met, Long made a Facebook post that appeared to acknowledge the situation.

“Two things came back to ‘bite me in the butt’ today. Lesson learned. Bonus lesson: hitting DELETE doesn’t always mean it’s deleted!” Long posted, according to the report, which captured a screenshot of the message.

Long’s CEO bio notes he is married.

In the meeting with Long, Skinner briefed him about the messages and how the employees found them. Long told her “nothing had happened,” the report said.

Meanwhile, “Skinner felt the matter was personally embarrassing for Long, but saw no evidence of an actual policy violation or illegal transaction,” the report said. “Skinner asserted that Long originally wanted to bring the matter to the attention of the entire Board. Skinner instructed Long to disclose the matter to the Board President, who was Reese Stewart at the time, and ORRA’s outside counsel at Holland and Knight, Brian Hanafin.”

Later, Long told Skinner that he had reported the situation to Stewart and Hanafin.

But instead, the leaders of the Realtor Association were never fully briefed about messages from the Panama trip,

The report also noted Skinner never spoke with Stewart or Hanafin directly about the matter, so she could not confirm what Long told them, if anything.

Instead, Long emailed Hanafin and Skinner on Sept. 14, 2020, and wrote the messages “were sent to me while I was in another country from someone in that country and contained pictures of women (none nude).”

Long’s Sept. 14, 2020 email also said, “My contact with the email sender did NOT result in any form of known illegal activity, prostitution, etc. … Per our discussion and your advice I will NOT contact the entire ORRA BOD to discuss this issue which is as you have advised a personnel issue and that you are aware that I have discussed this with HR and several other Directors.”

According to the report, Long claimed he alerted Stewart a week later; however, Stewart denied that it happened and said Long never told her about the Panama situation. Stewart never read the actual messages.

The law firm added, “The manner in which Long reported it would not have made clear to Stewart what the actual issue was. Long claims to have reported only that ‘someone sent me some pictures of some girls,’ and that ’a staff person had violated my inbox and the staff person would have jumped to their own conclusion.’”

The report also details Long’s version of events from Panama.

Long said he met a server at the Sheraton Hotel where he was staying in Panama City who wanted to introduce him to her cousin Marvin to take him on a tour. The server said Marvin knew beautiful girls, which is why Long started his message referencing women, the report said.

By “have fun,” Long intended to go on a genuine tour, the report said.

“Long reported that Marvin claimed to have access to helicopters, sprinter vans and other forms of transportation for tour purposes,” the law firm said, although the report noted Long and Marvin didn’t mention anything about helicopters in the messages. And Long “could not recall” whether he and Marvin talked on WhatsApp or any other platforms.

As Marvin and Long discussed prices, Marvin said, “We were not talking in the context of him getting me girls. We were in the context of ‘guy talk,’” the report said.

“Long met Marvin in person later that evening in the lobby of the Sheraton, where Long asserts Marvin discussed locations and places for tours, as well as possible investment properties,” the report also said.

Long believed the employee who saw his messages with Marvin had “improperly accessed” his account as part of “a vendetta against him.” However, the law firm investigation found, “No evidence supports this belief.”

The situation with their boss affected the Realtor Association employees caught up in it. People who reported the messages up the chain of command were scared of losing their job or felt their work suffered, the report said, although the situation was “likely insufficient to meet legal standard of hostile work environment,” nor was it a “direct violation of harassment policy.”

“Another witness reported that the incident reinforced an already present feeling that management would not protect staff,” the report said.

The 37-page law firm’s report, obtained by Florida Politics, only addresses Long’s Panama trip, although the law firm hints at other problems of “RPAC contributions, RPAC fishing trip, live monitoring of election results, high turnover, and toxicity” without providing any further details.

Long leads the Realtor association that represents nearly 20,000 people in the Central Florida real estate industry. According to the foundation’s 990 tax form, Long was paid more than $500,000 in 2023. 

Long has received praise and accolades for his work in the past, including recognition from the Orlando Business Journal as one of the top CEOs in the area.

When asked about his mindset for making tough decisions as CEO, Long told the OBJ in 2023, “The first thing I always do is ask God to guide me through the decision. Then, I consider everything about that decision from a 360-degree angle. I especially look for unintended consequences. Lastly, will I sleep well tonight? If I’m not going to sleep well, then, chances are, the decision can be delayed.”