TALLAHASSEE - As Florida lawmakers tried to freeze the largest telephone rate hike in state history, a top-ranking official at BellSouth made an alarmed call to a lawmaker on the House floor -- shaking up the legislator so badly that it outraged his colleagues.

The caller: Eliseo ''Tito'' Gomez, a BellSouth vice president and lobbyist. On the other end: Rep. Julio Robaina, a Miami Republican and a veteran BellSouth employee.

Gomez pressured Robaina so hard into voting against the measure that the lawmaker ended the phone call flustered and teary-eyed, lawmakers familiar with the conversation told The Herald.

''It's despicable what BellSouth put one of its employees through. It's absolutely disgraceful they brought that man to tears under the pressure they put him through,'' said Rep. Manny Prieguez, R-Miami. ``I have never seen a member put through the grinder the way he was by BellSouth and Tito Gomez. Absolutely despicable, despicable. Horrible. BellSouth should reevaluate its relationship with [Gomez].''

Gomez, a Miami political insider with strong ties to County Hall, denied putting undue pressure on the lawmaker.

The call, however, clearly perturbed Robaina, who changed his vote three times. Robaina, who has worked for BellSouth for 24 years installing phone lines, would not talk about the content of his conversation with Gomez, saying he didn't want to ''pick a fight'' with anyone.

''I was very distraught because I am an employee of the company. But at the end of the day, I voted my conscience. I feel very good about my final vote,'' said Robaina, who ultimately supported the rate-hike freeze.

Several other legislators who spoke with Robaina after the conversation with Gomez labeled the call ''arm-twisting.'' They said they were outraged by the company's behavior, but not surprised considering the high-pressure lobbying techniques employed by the telecommunications industry.

''They put pressure on him to toe the company line. They twisted his arm pretty hard,'' said Rep. Juan Zapata, R-Miami, who voted against the freeze. ``I don't know if he threatened him with his job. I just know they put a lot of pressure. The fact is, it's not a secret he works for his company. Your employer is telling you to do something. If you don't do something, what do you think could happen?''

Gomez told The Herald on Tuesday that he never made any threats, veiled or otherwise. He said he was just ''advocating'' BellSouth's position as he does with any legislator, and that Robaina's employment with the company would not be affected by the way he votes.

The call lasted so long that Robaina was off the House floor and missed the March 31 vote entirely. When he asked the House clerk to record his vote after the fact, Robaina said he was so bothered that he accidentally voted for the measure.

After Gomez called him again, Robaina said he switched his ''yes'' vote to a ''no.'' Then House leaders spoke to Robaina about the measure and explained its merits, he said. He then switched his vote back to yes. In the end, the measure passed 70-47, according to the House's daily session journal, which reflects the rare and erratic voting by Robaina.

After the votes, Robaina groused to Prieguez as well as Miami-area state Reps. Gaston Cantens and Gus Barreiro, all of whom voted to freeze the hike. Each said he felt that the representative was under pressure that wasn't called for.

''To me, what happened with Robaina just crosses the line,'' Barreiro said. ``It isn't acceptable for one of our colleagues to be put in that position. Tito crossed the line. It was unacceptable.''

The legislation the phone companies oppose would freeze rate hikes the Legislature approved last year, when the companies pumped more than $5 million into political campaigns and parties.

The companies won the rights to seek a rate increase of almost $350 million. But the measure has been challenged in court, leading House Speaker Johnnie Byrd to attempt to repeal it this year. Facing opposition, Byrd then proposed a measure to temporarily freeze rates until the Legislature can look at the matter next year.

When the freeze came up for a vote before the full House last week, the telephone companies went to work. They had already made sure the measure was dead in the Senate, as they continued to peel representatives away from Byrd.

On the day of the vote, Gomez said he called Robaina on the House floor to get a sense of the lawmakers who were ''sitting on the fence.'' Gomez said Robaina ``is someone we have a very close working relationship with.''

This is the second time Gomez, 57, has run into controversy recently.

For three years, the U.S. Attorney's Office has been investigating a payment of $1 million that a contractor at Miami International Airport made to Gomez's wife as part of a minority-fronting scheme. The investigation centers on whether the money was actually meant to buy her husband's political influence.

Gomez's attorneys have denied any wrongdoing, and say investigators are misguided.

Gomez -- BellSouth's main in-house lobbyist in Florida -- conducts extensive political polling, and plays a key role in deciding which legislators the telecommunications giant will support.

Gomez said he guessed Robaina's colleagues misinterpreted his calls to a lawmaker who was deeply conflicted over the issue.

Herald staff writers Joe Mozingo and Gary Fineout contributed to this report.