Ex-O.C. Bank Head, 2 Alleged Mob Figures Accused of Fraud

A former Orange County bank president and two alleged associates of a Los Angeles organized crime family have been indicted by a federal grand jury for wire fraud and conspiracy, the U.S. attorney’s office announced Wednesday in Los Angeles.

The indictments, which stemmed from two separate investigations, were issued in October, 1987. But they were kept under seal until Aug. 24 and not disclosed until Wednesday because of another investigation that was recently concluded, officials said.

Indicted in the first case Wednesday were Roger McGinnis, 52, of Orange, former President of Far Western Bank in Tustin, and Morton Goodman, 53, of West Hills, an alleged Los Angeles organized crime family associate, according to the announcement by U.S. Atty. Gary A. Feess.

McGinnis was charged with 18 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 5 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

The indictment alleges that McGinnis, while president of Far Western in 1984, supplied casinos in Las Vegas with fraudulent credit information, allowing Goodman and his associates to obtain large credit lines for gambling.

Goodman is being held on $250,000 bail pending his arraignment in Los Angeles, also scheduled for Sept. 5.

Wednesday’s announcement follows a lengthy investigation and other indictments.

In April, 1988, John DeMattia, 52, a reputed mob associate of Goodman, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the alleged scheme to arrange for gambling credit at the Las Vegas casinos by inflating bank account records at Far Western. At the time, prosecutors said DeMattia had the help of an unnamed bank official.

Former federal prosecutor Richard Stavin said last April that Far Western provided financial references for clients of several casinos, including the Las Vegas Hilton, the MGM Grand and the Desert Inn and Country Club.

DeMattia also pleaded guilty in April, 1988, to extortion in another case involving several organized crime figures in Los Angeles. He is still serving his three-year sentence in Lompoc federal prison, according to Steve Nielsen, one of the two Los Angeles Police Department organized crime investigators who worked on the case.

William A. Dougherty, a Villa Park attorney representing McGinnis, said he was surprised by Wednesday’s announcement. “The matter has been pending for over five years” he said. “We’ve cooperated, given hand-writing samples. All of a sudden we get an unsealed indictment. We’re planning to plead not guilty.”

Dougherty also asserted that all the bank accounts that McGinnis had vouched for “were good. They didn’t put kited checks in the account.” McGinnis faces a maximum of 100 years in prison if convicted.

Neither Goodman nor his attorney could be reached for comment. Goodman faces a maximum of 25 years if convicted.

McGinnis is no longer with Far Western. The institution is a small bank with an unusual niche in the industry. After McGinnis left, the bank grew 17-fold between 1986 and 1988 by purchasing auto loans made by dealers.

In the second indictment announced Wednesday, stemming from a separate investigation, Feess said that Rocco Toce, 46, of Marina del Rey, also an alleged associate in Los Angeles organized crime, was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department on Aug. 24 after being charged in a federal indictment with making false statements on a loan application and with conspiracy. This case also stems from a 1987 sealed indictment.

The charges involve activities at Sunwest Bank in Tustin, where Donald Hinrichsen, a former bank vice president, allegedly accepted bribes in return for granting unsecured loans to several reputed mob figures, including DeMattia and Toce. A trial has been scheduled for Oct. 31.