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A former Pleasanton mortgage broker and professional party thrower is being held on a $130,000 bond after being charged with aggravated assault in a July 3 incident at his home, known as "The Mansion" in Livermore.

William Hogarty, 47, was initially arrested for attempted murder for choking his roommate unconscious after threatening to kill him.

Hogarty, who ran the now-defunct OF Lending Group in the 7000 block of Koll Center Parkway, surrendered his license in late 2010 after dozens of complaints about his firm to the state Department of Real Estate, which issued a cease and desist order against his firm.

He opened, then quickly closed two other real estate firms, Gold Star Realty and Investments and New Credit RX, which, like OF Lending, promised help to people about to lose their homes.

Hogarty, with his now-estranged wife Christy, began holding parties in what was apparently a last-ditch effort to raise money at the couple's 92-acre property in the 7000 block of Morgan Territory Road in unincorporated Livermore. Among them was the "Fallen Angels Lingerie and Pajama Affair," and "Mardi Gras at the Mansion," with an upcoming "Moulin Rouge" party set for July 14.

The 47-year-old, who also won the 2005 Mr. California Bodybuilding Championship, was arrested after a violent confrontation with his roommate, according to a police report.

The roommate, John Robinson, told police, "Hogarty tried to kill me. He came barging into my room and said he was going to kill me, over and over, and then almost choked me to death."

At about 11:30 p.m. July 3, "Hogarty opened the victim's door, slammed the door against the wall and said 'I know you're talking to my wife,'" the report said. When Robinson replied that she calls him when she's drunk, Hogarty again threatened to kill him and put him in a choke hold.

"I blacked out then put my finger in his eye," Robinson told police. He then retrieved a sheath knife from under his mattress and held Hogarty at bay, calling police and sitting with his back against his bathroom door until the sheriff's deputies arrived, according to the report.

Robinson also told police Hogarty was subject to violent rages due to his use of steroids.

"The victim suffered from a contusion to the upper forehead, a dental fracture and blunt trauma," the report said.

"It's a serious and violent crime," said Judge Hugh Walker in an arraignment Friday at the Alameda County Superior Court on Stoneridge Drive.

Hogarty's 12,978-square-foor mansion, with eight bedrooms, a 12-car garage and swimming pool, is for sale at an asking price of $5.75 million. He's currently working as sales director for his father's company, Hogarty Auto Sales and Service, based in Livermore; the company's website claims he "built the #2 largest mortgage company in US and sold it."

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