5-to-7-Year Term Advised for Moriarty

Federal prosecutors recommended Thursday that admitted political corrupter W. Patrick Moriarty receive a five-to-seven-year prison sentence for bribing elected officials and bankers, laundering campaign contributions and for other crimes in a scheme to aid his fireworks and other businesses.

U.S. District Judge William Rea is scheduled to decide today on a sentence for Moriarty, 54. He faces a maximum 35-year sentence, but prosecutors said he had cooperated in some areas of the investigation. They said the probe will continue after Moriarty’s sentencing.

The prosecution’s recommendation was contained in a 12-page sentencing memorandum prepared for Rea by Chief Assistant U.S. Atty. Richard E. Drooyan and Special Assistant U.S. Atty. Michael Capizzi. In handing down his sentence, the judge considers recommendations by the prosecution, the defense and the federal probation department. Probation reports are confidential.

Jan Lawrence Handzlik, Moriarty’s attorney, declined to comment on the prosecutors’ recommendations but, in his own report to Judge Rea, urged that his client receive a year and a day in jail, five years probation and 6,000 hours of court-supervised community service work.

Handzlik cited more than 60 letters sent to the court by Moriarty supporters ranging from political and religious figures to business associates, friends and relatives. Handzlik also cited a letter to the judge in which Moriarty “acknowledged responsibility for his conduct and expressed deep remorse for the harm he has caused.”

The prosecutors’ memo outlined Moriarty’s criminal activities since 1980 and said: “Although we believe that seven years is the appropriate sentence in this case, five years is the minimum sentence this court should consider given the widespread and lengthy nature of Moriarty’s corrupt activities.

“Mr. Moriarty is an intelligent, sophisticated and wealthy businessman who chose to exploit the weaknesses of politicians and bankers to obtain favorable treatment by these individuals,” the prosecutors wrote.

On March 12, 1985, Moriarty, who founded Pyrotronics Inc., once one of the largest fireworks manufacturing firms in the nation, pleaded guilty to seven counts of mail fraud in connection with bribing and corrupting political figures and bankers. He forfeited $3.4 million in profits from the sale of his stock in the California Commerce Club poker parlor--which the prosecutors indicated the government may never collect because Moriarty is in involuntary bankruptcy. When he made his guilty plea, Moriarty agreed to cooperate with investigators.

Value of Cooperation

The sentencing memorandum said “. . . it is difficult to assess the value of Moriarty’s cooperation,” adding that government investigators already had “substantial information about Moriarty and his association with various politicians, bankers and businessmen throughout California” before he decided to cooperate.

“Moriarty has not provided much new information about his activities with these individuals,” the prosecutors wrote. “Moriarty has, however, provided new information about other individuals which may be valuable in the ongoing investigation.” He did not elaborate.

The sentencing memorandum also indicated that Moriarty “has been somewhat reluctant to cooperate completely . . . due, most likely, to his close personal relationships with some of the individuals who are subjects of the investigation.” But, the memo said, prosecutors believe that Moriarty “is a reliable and credible witness.” (Moriarty’s credibility was called into question last summer when he testified at another trial that he had provided prostitutes to politicians but could not remember their names.)

In the two years since federal investigators joined Orange County district attorney investigators looking into Moriarty’s varied dealings, 10 men, including Moriarty, have been indicted, convicted or pleaded guilty to mail fraud, bribery, income tax evasion and other charges. One banker was acquitted.

Bribery Plot

The prosecutors’ memo outlined how Moriarty “knowingly” entered into a scheme to bribe three City of Commerce councilmen, Robert Eula, Arthur Loya and Ricardo Vasquez, and former economic development director Phil Jacks to obtain a license for the poker club, “willingly agreed to continue the bribery agreement” by promising the officials hidden interests in the club and later made cash payments to three of the officials.

All four Commerce officials and Las Vegas gambling figure Frank Sansone last year received prison terms of three to 10 months for their part in the scheme.

The prosecutors also outlined how Moriarty obtained $3 million from club investors, bought up the stock for himself at $5,000 a share and resold it at $100,000 a share. The proceeds were used for his other business deals.

“As a result, the California Commerce Club was woefully undercapitalized and, indeed, was virtually bankrupt from the moment it opened for business on Aug. 1, 1983,” the prosecutors said. The club went further into debt to keep running and investors only now are beginning to “receive a minimal return on their investments.”

Beneficial Bill

In 1981, Moriarty had a bill introduced in the Legislature that would have substantially benefited his fireworks business by clearly prohibiting cities and counties from banning the sale of so-called “safe-and-sane” fireworks, the kind sold by Pyrotronics and its subsidiary, Red Devil.

The sentencing memo said that to “influence” unnamed government officials to support the bill, Moriarty “afforded certain officials an opportunity to invest in a condominium project and promised them a 100% return on their money regardless of the success of the project.”

Legislators who invested in the 64-unit Baldwin Hills project included Assembly Democratic Leader Mike Roos of Los Angeles and former Assemblyman Bruce Young (D-Norwalk), who sponsored the bill in the Assembly. Both legislators have been named as part of the investigation.

The prosecutors’ memo also states that between 1980 and 1983 Moriarty illegally laundered more than $100,000 in political campaign contributions by having associates make the donations and then reimburse them.