San Diego

Convicted swindler J. David (Jerry) Dominelli was hospitalized Wednesday after suffering what was described as “a mild stroke” at the Federal Correctional Institution at Pleasanton where he is serving a 20-year prison term for fraud and tax evasion.

Dominelli, 44, was taken to Valley Memorial Hospital in Livermore, about 50 miles southeast of San Francisco. No information on his condition was available, and nursing supervisor Judy Jensen refused late Wednesday night to confirm or deny whether Dominelli was at the hospital.

However, a source close to the Dominelli case confirmed that the former La Jolla financier had suffered “a mild stroke.” The source, who asked not to be identified, added that he did not know when the stroke occurred or Dominelli’s condition.

Dominelli pleaded guilty in March, 1985, to four felony counts of fraud and tax evasion stemming from the February, 1984, collapse of his J. David & Co. investment firm. After admitting that he had bilked investors of more than $80 million, Dominelli was sentenced to the prison and ordered to pay more than $2 million in back taxes.

Dominelli suffered a stroke while in jail in San Diego in October, 1984, which left him partly paralyzed and severely impaired his ability to speak.