[[Patrick Moriarty]] was a "fireworks magnate" and a long-time business partner (40 years) of [[Marshall Riconosciuto]]. Together, they owned several California businesses, including [[Hercules Research Corporation]] and [[Pyrotronics Corporation]].[^1] In 1981, Moriarty and [[Marshall Riconosciuto]] had funded 15 years of research, investing approximately $1 million of their own money, into developing a small electronic power supply for a METC (Modular Energy Transfer Catalyzer) unit, which could significantly reduce heating and cooling times in food processing and other industries.[^1] By 1983, Moriarty faced legal troubles. The *Los Angeles Times* reported that he, his business, and associates spent nearly half a million dollars to influence government decisions across California. He was closely associated with the notorious [[Robert Ferrante]], head of Consolidated Savings and Loan, which failed in 1985. Moriarty was also described as the manufacturer of Red Devil fireworks and the founder of the Bank of Irvine, which failed in 1984 due to fraud and mismanagement.[^1] In 1985, Moriarty pleaded guilty to mail fraud in what became the biggest political scandal in California in 30 years, leading to the indictment of over 10 prominent politicians for taking bribes from him.[^1] Moriarty was subpoenaed to testify on behalf of [[Bo Gritz]] at his trial in Las Vegas. Moriarty's lawyer, [[Jan Lawrence Handzlik]], stated that Moriarty had paid Gritz to make business trips to [[China]], [[Singapore]], and other parts of [[Asia]]. Gritz claimed his July 1989 trip to [[Asia]] was to negotiate an oil interest he and Moriarty had set up between the [[People's Republic of China]] and [[Indonesia]].[^1] --- ### Footnotes [^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.