Patricia Cloherty

Patricia Cloherty worked for Patricof and Company in New York from about 1970 until 1977, when she was appointed by President Carter to be Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA). After leaving the SBA around 1980, she worked at Tessler & Cloherty, Inc., an investment management company she ran with her husband, Daniel Tessler. In February 1988, Cloherty returned to Patricof and Company.

Cloherty's involvement with Inslaw began in 1984 when she and her husband took over management of 53rd Street Ventures, which had a small investment in Inslaw. Bill Hamilton's affidavit alleged that Cloherty told Richard D'Amore that she "knew all about" Earl Brian's role in the Inslaw matter. However, Cloherty denied ever making such a statement to D'Amore or anyone else. She maintained that she knows nothing about Earl Brian's connection, if any, to Inslaw. She stated that she knows Earl Brian, having met him in the 1980s when they both served on the board of the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies. In 1990, Brian contacted Patricof and Company with a deal proposal regarding UPI, but Cloherty did not meet with him directly, and the firm decided not to pursue the deal. Cloherty stated she has never heard of and has had no involvement with Hadron or Simeon, and does not know Dominic Laiti, Edwin Meese, or Lowell Jensen. She denied discussing 53rd Street Ventures' investment in Inslaw with Brian, Jensen, Meese, Laiti, or any officials from the DOJ or the Reagan or Bush administrations. The Special Counsel's investigation found no credible evidence to support Hamilton's claims regarding Cloherty's knowledge of a conspiracy.¹