STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

MALIK A. MATEEN, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 81-1762

)

DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONAL ) REGULATION, BOARD OF REAL ESTATE, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, this cause was heard by Linda M. Rigot, the assigned Hearing Officer of the Division of Administrative Hearings, on October 2, 1981, in Miami, Florida.

The following appearances were entered: Malik A. Mateen, Petitioner, represented himself; and Jeffrey A. Miller, Esquire, appeared on behalf of the Respondent, Department of Professional Regulation, Board of Real Estate.

Petitioner's application for licensure as a real estate salesman was denied by the Respondent, Board of Real Estate, due to Petitioner's criminal record.

Accordingly, the issue for determination is whether Petitioner's application for licensure as a real estate salesman should be approved.

Petitioner testified on his own behalf and presented the testimony of Iman Abdul Fakir, Mark Glalber, and Charlie L. Laughlin. The Respondent presented the testimony of the Petitioner as Respondent's only witness. Additionally, Petitioner's Composite Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 2 were admitted in evidence.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. On October 14, 1949, the Petitioner, then known as Freddy Lee Laughlin, was born. Upon reaching the proper age for military service, he enlisted in the United States Army. After completing his enlistment term and receiving an honorable discharge, he reenlisted.

   
   

2. During his second term of enlistment, there came a time when his wife was six months pregnant, and he was behind in his rent and car payments and unable to find additional employment. In answer to those financial pressures, he and another person serving in the military with him robbed a liquor store; however, they were apprehended during the chase that ensued. As a result of this robbery in September of 1972, Petitioner was convicted and incarcerated by the Kansas Adult Authority for two and one-half years. He was released on parole on April 11, 1975. He received a general discharge from the Army at the end of his second enlistment due to his conviction.

   
   

3. Petitioner's only arrest is that for the 1972 liquor store robbery. He has no prior or subsequent criminal record.

4. After Petitioner was released from prison, he returned to his hometown. He worked for approximately a year as an insurance salesman during which time he handled money belonging to other persons, since he both collected premiums and disbursed benefits. He also managed an escrow account containing security deposits and advance money paid by tenants in an apartment building he owned.

   No complaints were made, and he experienced no difficulties as a result of managing any of these moneys belonging to other people.

   
   

5. On September 2, 1976, Petitioner was employed by Metropolitan Dade County, Florida, in its Elections Department as a semi-skilled laborer. He quickly became known to his supervisors there as an outstanding employee and as a hardworking, trustworthy, and courteous individual. When Mark Glaiber, one of Petitioner's supervisors, left the Elections Department to become the Assistant Director of the Dade County Solid Waste Department, he watched for an employment opening in the Solid Waste Department so that he could have Petitioner as one of his employees once again. On July 9, 1979, such an opening occurred, and Petitioner transferred departments within Dade County to become a trash truck driver. During the time that Petitioner worked in the Solid Waste Department, Glaiber frequently enlisted his assistance in situations involving problems with other employees, since Petitioner had the ability to be a comforting influence on his co-workers and was able to stabilize volatile situations. By the time of the final hearing in this cause, Petitioner had again transferred within departments; he was employed by the Dade County Fire Department and was attending fire college.

   
   

6. After he returned to Dade County in 1975, Petitioner became, and remains, very involved in Masjid Ala-Sar, a Muslim mission. Within that church community, Petitioner is active in its various programs as a teacher, as a boy scoutmaster, and as an outside worker in the non-church community. He has become a highly respected individual in both his church and non-church communities. On March 3, 1980, his name was legally changed from Freddy Lee Laughlin to Malik Abdul Mateen.

   
   

7. On January 31, 1979, Petitioner was discharged from his Kansas sentence and parole, and his civil rights were restored to him.

   
   

8. If Petitioner is licensed, he has arranged employment as a real estate salesman as additional employment, most probably, to his employment as a fire fighter, and to his commitment as a student minister in his church.

   
   

9. Petitioner has favorably impressed those for whom he has worked since his parole. Mark Glaiber would have no hesitation in using Petitioner as his real estate agent should Petitioner be licensed, and David C. Leahy, Dade County's Supervisor of Elections, would not hesitate to recommend him for any position of responsibility.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

10. Chapter 475, Florida Statutes, regulates the licensure and conduct of real estate salesmen. Section 475.17(1), Florida Statutes, provides that:

    
    

    An applicant for licensure who is a natu- ral person shall be 18 years of age, a bona fide resident of the state, honest, truthful, trustworthy, and of good charac- ter and shall have a good reputation for

    fair dealing. . . . An applicant for . a salesman's license shall be competent and qualified to make real estate trans-

    actions and conduct negotiations there for with safety to investors and to those with whom he may undertake a relationship of trust and confidence. . . . [I]f the applicant has been guilty of conduct or practices in this state or elsewhere which would have been grounds for revoking or suspending his license under this chapter had the applicant then been registered, the applicant shall be deemed not to be qualified, unless, because of lapse of time and subsequent good conduct and reputation, or other reason deemed insuf- ficient, it shall appear to the board that the interest of the public and investors

    will not likely be endangered by the grant- ing of registration.

    
    

    Additionally, Section 475.25(1)(f), Florida Statutes, authorizes the Board of Real Estate to deny an application for licensure if it finds that the applicant has:

    
    

    Been found guilty . . . of a crime against the laws of this state or any other state or of the United States, which crime directly relates to the activities of a licensed broker or salesman or involves moral turpitude . . .

    
    

11. In the case at bar, Petitioner's application for licensure as a real estate salesman has been denied solely due to his conviction in 1972. Prior to that conviction, Petitioner had never been arrested. Subsequent to that conviction, Petitioner has not been arrested. Pursuant to that conviction, he completed his prison term, completed his parole term, and regained full restoration of his civil rights. He has traveled the distance from his confinement to becoming a valuable public employee. He has chosen a service profession dedicated to saving lives and property as a fire fighter. He has become religious in an active and serving manner. He is a student minister, scoutmaster, father, and husband. In short, Petitioner appears to be a fine example of that level of rehabilitation to which the criminal justice system is ideally geared. Petitioner's crime and punishment clearly relate to an earlier chapter in his life, and all evidence indicates that that chapter is closed. No evidence was presented to indicate that Petitioner's rehabilitation is less than complete; rather, the evidence clearly indicates that both the lapse of time and Petitioner's subsequent good conduct and reputation make it highly improbable that the interest of the public and investors would be endangered by licensure of the Petitioner as a real estate salesman. Accordingly, Petitioner has met his burden of proving entitlement to licensure as a real estate salesman.

RECOMMENDATION

Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is, therefore,

RECOMMENDED THAT:

A final order be entered approving the application of Petitioner, Malik A. Mateen, for licensure as a real estate salesman.

RECOMMENDED this 11th day of December, 1981, in Tallahassee, Florida.

LINDA M. RIGOT, Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings The Oakland Building

2009 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this day of December, 1981.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Mr. Malik A. Mateen Mr. Carlos B. Stafford 2355 West Sixth Lane Executive Director Hialeah, Florida 33010 Board of Real Estate

Department of Professional Jeffrey A. Miller, Esquire Regulation

Assistant Attorney General Post Office Box 1900 Department of Legal Affairs Orlando, Florida 32802 The Capitol

Tallahassee, Florida 32301 Frederick H. Wilsen, Esquire

Assistant General Counsel Mr. Samuel R. Shorstein Department of Professional Secretary, Department of Regulation

Professional Regulation 130 North Monroe Street

130 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32301 Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Docket for Case No: 81-001762

Orders for Case No: 81-001762