It's not hard to find examples of Florida health professionals who have criminal records but maintain a clear license on the Department of Health website, as described in DOH flying blind on crime.
Checking dentists and mental-health practitioners, Health News Florida found nine examples. No special databases were required; the information was free and available just by searching public web sites.
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Here are some of them:
--Mary Centrone, PhD, a clinical psychologist in Fort Lauderdale, was sentenced last September to four years of probation on a felony conviction for cocaine possession. Her psychologist license is marked “clear/active,” with no past discipline or pending complaints.
The Department of Corrections said Centrone, 63, is not practicing at this time.
She did not return calls from Health News Florida or answer the door at her home.
The Florida Channel |
| Reimer |
--Matthew Reimer, a licensed clinical social worker from Clearwater, pleaded guilty in December to possession of cocaine and morphine. He was placed on 18 months' probation.
He was undergoing outpatient treatment at a facility in Clearwater in March when he had a positive drug test and was cited for violating probation, said Bill Loughery, felony division director for the Pinellas State Attorney's Office.
Reimer, 49, now lives in Fort Myers, the Department of Corrections said. He reportedly is not working at this time.
According to the DOH web site, Reimer’s license is “clear/active” with no past discipline or pending complaints.
The Florida Channel |
| Maggert |
--Mark Maggert, a Lake County dentist, was found guilty of tax evasion after becoming involved with the same tax-protest movement that ensnared actor Wesley Snipes. The dentist failed to file tax returns or pay taxes on $900,000 income from 2002 through 2005, records show.
Maggert, 58, is now an inmate at the federal prison camp in Montgomery, AL, according to the Bureau of Prisons. He is scheduled for release in 2013.
According to the DOH web site, Maggert has a “clear/active” license with no past discipline or pending complaints.
--Julio Madrid of Pasco County, a registered mental health counselor intern, was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 on
The Florida Channel |
| Madrid |
a charge of sexual battery on a child younger than 12.
Madrid, 61, is an inmate at Northwest Florida Reception Center in Chipley.
His DOH license is marked “Clear,” with no discipline or pending complaints, and was listed as “Active” for two years after he entered prison.
Last month, when Madrid failed to renew the license, the designation was changed to “Delinquent.”
--William Earl Hayes, a now-retired mental health counselor in Miami, kept a clear DOH license with no discipline and
| Hayes |
no complaints for a decade, even though the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had him listed on its Sex Offender Registry in connection with a case from November 2000.
Hayes, contacted by a reporter, said the “lewd and lascivious” charge was unwarranted, a misunderstanding caused by his allergic reaction to an anesthetic. “I got railroaded for something stupid,” he said.
He had been a school psychologist with Miami-Dade for 27 years when he was asked to resign, he said.
He didn’t use his license after 2000, he said, but kept it because “it gives me credibility.”
It expired last month. His listing on the DOH website, which says he is “Retired,” shows no discipline or complaints.
