Settlement Made on Suits Involving Moriarty Notes

Two firms once directed by convicted political fixer W. Patrick Moriarty have agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to settle lawsuits on $3.7 million in notes bearing his signature.

The money will be paid to Edgar E. Pankey, a former majority shareholder and director of the now-defunct Bank of Irvine, who was at one time close personally and professionally to Moriarty.

The deal ends all claims in the lawsuit except those involving Moriarty, who is serving a five-year sentence for mail fraud in a federal prison in Lompoc, and Henry Bear, a Moriarty associate.

Moriarty, an Anaheim fireworks manufacturer, was the central figure in political corruption cases involving kickbacks and illegal campaign contributions.

The undisclosed sum in settlement of the lawsuits will be paid by the California Commerce Club, which is a poker club, and Telegraph Properties Ltd., which owns the City of Commerce property where the large poker club sits. Moriarty and Bear were both officers of the Commerce Club and general partners of Telegraph Properties.

The conclusion of the Superior Court litigation in Santa Ana also involved canceling a deed of trust for the card club property, according to Telegraph Properties attorney Thomas H. Greenwald. “The settlement in this case provided, among other things, that each side denied any wrongdoing towards the other,” Greenwald said.

Lawyer Donald Price, who represented Pankey and his wife, Elizabeth, declined to reveal the terms of the settlement, except to say, “We believe it was a good settlement.”

One loan was for $500,000, made in 1983 for the poker club’s start-up costs. Another was for $3.2 million, on which a balance of $820,000 was at issue.