The State - News from March 16, 1986

Former fireworks manufacturer W. Patrick Moriarty, the central figure in a government investigation of political influence peddling in California, said in a television interview that he hoped to gain “access” to Gov. George Deukmejian by contributing money to the governor’s campaign. Moriarty, in an interview on KNBC, would not say how much money he contributed to Deukmejian. “I intend to answer that on a broader scale very shortly,” Moriarty said. He later added that “I’m given credit for more than I gave to the governor’s campaign.” Asked what he hoped to obtain with the donations, Moriarty replied: “Nothing. Access, and I couldn’t get access.” Two former Moriarty associates, the late John E. (Pete) Murphy and former state Fire Marshal Al Hole have said they testified before grand juries to laundering a total of about $17,000 given to Deukmejian’s campaign on behalf of Moriarty. Moriarty is scheduled to begin serving a seven-year federal prison sentence later this month for influence peddling.