Keith Admits 6 Felony Counts, Agrees to Aid Moriarty Probe

Richard Raymond Keith again has agreed to cooperate with the government in the wide-ranging investigation of Orange County businessman W. Patrick Moriarty after pleading guilty in Los Angeles federal court to charges of income tax evasion, bankruptcy fraud and making false statements on loan applications.

The guilty pleas entered Monday to six felony counts came two months after Keith, 47, of Cathedral City, backed out of an earlier plea bargain with the U.S. attorney’s office, complaining that the Orange County district attorney’s office was leaking information about his activities to the news media.

Neither Keith, a self-described real estate promoter who says he does most of his business in bars and restaurants, nor his attorney, Brian O’Neill, would discuss why he finally decided to plead guilty.

‘Gag Order’ Imposed

As part of the plea bargain recorded before U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr., a “gag order” was imposed on Keith, who previously has granted several press interviews in which he said he laundered political contributions and provided prostitutes to several Southern California public officials at Moriarty’s behest.

Although no specific deal was made on Keith’s sentencing, which carries a maximum of 24 years in prison and $45,000 in fines, Chief Assistant U.S. Atty. Richard Drooyan made it clear in court Monday that the government would inform Hatter of the scope of Keith’s cooperation in future grand jury investigations and trials.

The surprise move by Keith occurred on the eve of the government opening its case against Moriarty in a trial charging Moriarty with bribing four City of Commerce officials by granting them secret shares of a poker casino in return for a gambling license in that city.

It was a Times report of Keith’s $63,000 in campaign contributions to state legislators through shell corporations--one of which used a vacant lot in Irvine as a mailing address--that in 1983 put authorities on the trail of an estimated $450,000 in political contributions made in a lobbying effort for legislation favoring Moriarty’s Anaheim-based fireworks businesses.

Keith initially was indicted Dec. 13 by the same grand jury that indicted Moriarty in the card club case and is conducting an ongoing investigation into Moriarty’s relationships with politicians.

At the time of the December indictment, Keith indicated that he was going to plead guilty and cooperate as a witness for the government. But, in early January, he said he had changed his mind and was re-indicted.

He pleaded guilty Tuesday to evading almost half a million dollars in taxes for the years 1980, 1981 and 1982. He also admitted that he falsely claimed no net income for 1979 when he filed for bankruptcy the next year and that he made false claims about his stock holdings in obtaining bank loans in 1982.