Local News in Brief : Countywide : Claim Against County Cites Moriarty Inquiry

A former target of the investigation of Anaheim fireworks magnate W. Patrick Moriarty has charged in a claim against Orange County that because of the case his business suffered, he lost his financial credit standing and he was under mental duress.

Patrick N. DiCarlo, an investment banker from Tustin, said detectives followed him for several years and sometimes notified police when he left a bar so they would stop him for a drunk-driving citation.

He also charged that the Orange County district attorney’s office tapped his business conversations on the telephone and that the information eventually was used in an unrelated civil suit that damaged his career.

Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi, who is named in the claim, said Tuesday: “It sounds like mindless babbling to me. As usual with him, there’s a shred of truth and then imagination and creativity take over.”

Capizzi said DiCarlo was never wiretapped.

The claim will be considered by the county’s Risk Management Office. But, Capizzi said, “It is groundless, and it will be denied.”

DiCarlo was investigated by the county for several years in connection with the Moriarty case, which focused on influence peddling and bribery of state and local officials. Moriarty pleaded guilty to seven counts of mail fraud and was sentenced to federal prison in 1985. DiCarlo was never charged.