DRUG DEALER IS DENIED BID TO BE MORTGAGE BROKER

VANCOUVER - A convicted cocaine trafficker and associate of the late
Bindy Johal has lost his bid to become a mortgage broker anytime in
the near future.

Eugenio Pugliese, who remains on parole after his 2001 conviction, had
challenged a decision by B.C.'s registrar of mortgage brokers banning
him from holding a licence until at least 2014 because of his criminal
past.

But B.C. Supreme Court Justice Richard Goepel said in a ruling
released Tuesday that W. Alan Clark was within his mandate to find
Pugliese "unsuitable and his proposed registration
objectionable."

"Given Mr. Pugliese's criminal past, the nature of those crimes and
the responsibility of the registrar to ensure public confidence in the
industry, it was open to the registrar to require a period of time to
pass before Mr. Pugliese would be eligible to work as a sub-mortgage
broker," Goepel said.

"This holds especially true given that the profession involves
financial transactions that involve large sums of money and entailing
access to personal information, including credit histories and banking
records. Public confidence and public accountability impact on whether
an applicant is objectionable. The registrar's conclusion that Mr.
Pugliese would be objectionable until at least five years had passed
from the end of his sentence is not patently unreasonable."

Pugliese was convicted six years ago of conspiracy to traffic in
cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. When
he and a co-accused were arrested in February 1998, police found $3
million worth of drugs.

When he was sentenced to five years, the trial judge said that
"notwithstanding Eugenio Pugliese's expressions of remorse, his
involvement in cocaine distribution was hardly peripheral or fleeting."

He remained out of jail until September 2004, when all his appeals
were exhausted. He got accelerated day parole in May 2005 and will
remain on parole until his full term expires on July 11, 2009.