Boston (AP)  --   Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick said Monday he is stepping down as a board member of the parent company of embattled mortgage giant Ameriquest, saying he wants to focus on the election and has helped set the lender on the right path.

   Patrick has weathered a stream of criticism from Democratic rival, Attorney General Tom Reilly, who has tried to use Patrick's connection to the mortgage company to chip away at Patrick's base of support among the party's more liberal voters.

   Patrick alluded to that criticism in a letter sent to supporters Monday. He said he would step down by July 1 as a board member of ACC Capital Holdings Corp., Ameriquest Mortgage Co.'s Orange, Calif.-based holding company.

   "I understood from the outset that my work with Ameriquest would make some people uncomfortable. Progressives are sometimes uncomfortable in principle with people who work for large companies. Political rivals try to make it an issue," he wrote.

   He also defended his work for the company, saying he made its business dealings more transparent and put it at for forefront of accountability in the sub-prime lending market.

   In 1996, Ameriquest entered into a $4 million settlement with the Justice Department after the company was accused of predatory lending practices. In March 2005, it also settled a $50 million class-action lawsuit charging it had defrauded borrowers in four states.

   This past January, the company announced a $325 million settlement with 49 states -- including Massachusetts -- after it was accused of failing to disclose the high fees it was charging owners when it refinanced their homes for equity loans.

   Reilly has tried used Patrick's connection to the company against him.

   In a recent televised debate, Reilly turned to Patrick and asked him to disclose how much he is paid by Ameriquest.

   "This is a question of conflicts," Reilly said. "Tell the folks how much money you make from Ameriquest. I spent a year, two years along with 50 other states fighting Ameriquest, predatory lenders, the most notorious in this nation."

   Patrick didn't say how much he was being paid, but called the settlement "very, very good and important."