After 35 years in the area the Sarasota Phoenix knows where the bodies are buried and who dug the graves. The Sarasota Phoenix puts out
THE RPOF'S POWER AND THE OPERTIVES WHO HAVE TURNED THE RECENT REPUBLICAN PRIMARY INTO A SHIT SHOW
POWER'S RPOF AND POLITICAL OPERATIVES HAVE CORRUPED THE FLORIDA POLITICAL PROCESS
Welcome to Florida Politics — Where Voters Proudly March Blindfolded into a Machine They Don’t Even Know Exists
Florida Republican voters don’t “participate” in elections — they wander in like theme‑park tourists, gripping their glossy “Conservative Choice” voter guides as if they’re clutching holy scripture faxed straight from Mount Tallahassee by angels in ill‑fitting red polos.
What they’re holding is a consultant‑engineered hallucination, a political prop so artificially flavored it should come with a Surgeon General warning: May contain manipulation, laundering, and high concentrations of billionaire influence.
The RPOF Chairman Power's mascot in Sarassota-Brill
Goodman
All the courtesy of RPOF Chairman Evan Power, Sarasota’s own mascot‑ grade loyalist Jack Brill and Max Goodman Sarasota‑Manatee political operative, whose job is to make billionaire‑class influence look like “grassroots democracy.”
The public never learns any of this — because no one tells them, and they never bother asking.
The Guides Aren’t “Grassroots” — They’re Consultant‑Cooked Garbage.
Those “Conservative Choice” sheets? They aren’t written by patriots, activists, or your neighbor who thinks owning a flagpole makes him a constitutional scholar.
They’re written by consultants — Florida’s subscription‑based political mechanics who treat elections like Netflix billing cycles.
These guides aren’t endorsements. They’re deliverables — shrink‑wrapped political fast food, microwaved for mass consumption.
The Money Isn’t From “Concerned Citizens” — It’s From PACs Running a Laundromat
Every glossy sheet is funded by PACs — Florida’s favorite political laundromats, where donor money goes in filthy and comes out sparkling enough to pass for “grassroots support.”
Sarasota–Manatee is the Drop Zone for this trash— Where the Machine Finally Stops Pretending.
And who gets endorsed?
Not the “best candidates. Not the “most conservative candidates.” Not the “grassroots champions.”
IN SARASOTA COUNTY THE GOODMAN CLIENTS INCLUDE AMONG OTHERS ARE:
Jim DiNero
Heidi Brandt
James Buchanan
John Harshman
Rob Rominiecki
Kristine Sargent
Sydney Gruters for U.S Congress
MANATEE COUNTY: THE SEQUEL NOBODY ASKED FOR
Pedicini's Gang of Seven replaced by the Pedicini/Goodman Gang of Five
The “Republican establishment voter guide” reads like a casting sheet for a Pedicini/Beruff Gang of Seven→A Anthony Pedicini/Goodman/ Beruff/Neal Gang‑of‑Five political sitcom:
Commissioner Mike Rahn
Tara Poulton joing three three other Pedicini/Goodman/Beruff Gang of Five
Commissioner Amanda Ballard
Commissioner George Kruse
Commissioner Tal Siddique
And because the machine never sleeps, the guide also blesses:
Goodman client Jordan Varnadore for the Florida State House
Pedicini client Bill Connerly for the Florida State House.
The guides magically endorse the Buchanan machine’s operative, clients of Goodman, who stamps his approval on candidates like he’s running a family‑owned franchise.
Sarasota has been his private fiefdom and now Goodman expanding into Manatee County like a hostile corporate takeover nobody asked for.
Front and center, naturally, is James Buchanan — the former private‑sector flop who somehow keeps failing upward. Armed with Daddy Buchanan’s millions, he’s now trying to extend the dynasty into the next generation, perfectly timed with Daddy’s retirement.
This isn’t a political operation. It’s a family business cosplaying as public service.
The Public Has No Idea — And That’s the Entire Strategy
They stroll into the voting booth smiling, clutching their glossy sheet of manufactured consent, blissfully unaware that:
consultants cooked the message
PACs washed the money
Evan Power and Jack Brill blessed the operation
Max Goodman wrote the script
The Buchanan dynasty approved the cast
Florida politics isn’t a civic process. It’s a franchise, and voters are just the customers who never realize they’re being sold the same reheated meal every election cycle.
THE SARASOTA–MANATEE SCHEME IN ONE SENTENCE
The Florida Republican establishment — led by RPOF Chairman Evan Power — approved and enabled a PAC pipeline that manufactured Sarasota and Manatee County voter guides, outsourced their printing through a Wyoming shell, and dumped them across both counties to boost candidates they hand‑picked.P
Pedicini
A step‑by‑step walkthrough of how money crawls from a Jensen Beach attack PAC ending up in a Wyoming shell company — through a network of operatives, consultants, and political insiders.
A Jensen Beach Pedicini PAC sends its cash on a cross‑country road trip that ends in a Wyoming mailbox. A perfect pipeline — if your definition of “perfect” includes maximum opacity and minimum shame.
Because nothing says “Florida politics” like a money‑laundering obstacle course disguised as civic engagement.
The origin of the Voter Guides: Pedicini’s Attack PAC — Citizens Alliance for Florida’s Economy (CAFE) Jensen Beach, FL
This PAC is the ignition point of the pipeline.
Run out of 2055 NW Diamond Creek Way, a Pedicini‑aligned address.
Known for hit pieces, fake Republican branding, and aggressive mailers.
Pedicini’s primary attack vehicle.
The money: CAFE PAC sends $400,000+ into the next PAC in the chain.
The Hub: Keep Florida Winning PAC (KFW) located at the office of the Robinson/Gruters/Roberts CPA office in Venice.
Officers:
Eric “The Prince of Dark Dirty PAC Money” Robinson.
Jennings DePriest.
Power is the Leadership PAC Sponsor, meaning he is: the political figure who authorizes the PAC.
the person whose brand the PAC advances.
the individual who benefits from the PAC’s spending.
the one who directs strategy without being listed as treasurer or chair.
the person who provides political cover for the PAC’s activities.
He’s not the treasurer. He’s not the chair. He’s more powerful — the political sponsor.
Robinson is the financial backbone of the pipeline.
His role:
Officer in Keep Florida Winning PAC
Long‑time treasurer for dozens of Florida PACs
Provides compliance, filings, and financial structure
How he benefits:
Controls the KFW PAC that receives $400,000+ from Pedicini’s CAFÉ PAC.
Gains influence as the financial gatekeeper
Strengthens his position as the go‑to treasurer for political machines
The Money Floods In
KFW PAC receives:
$400,000+ from CAFÉ PAC
$950,000+ from six PACs run by Stafford Jones an officer for the RPOF.
Because nothing says “grassroots” like nearly a million dollars funneled through one operative.
Then KFW PAC sends $780,000 to Florida Committee for Accountability PAC (FCA).
This is the second transfer — the bridge between Pedicini’s world and Power/Robinson/DePriest’s world.
Florida Committee for Accountability PAC (FCA), which happens to be also managed out of Robinson/Gruters/Roberts CPA office in Venice.
Officers:
DePriest
Melissa and Evan Power
Melissa Power — Treasurer & Agent the wife of the Chaiman of the RPOF Evan Power
This PAC is the operational arm — the place where money becomes action.
Pedicini is connected to KFW through DePriest, who is:
a Pedicini‑aligned consultant.
a political operative who has worked on Pedicini‑style attack operations.
the person who ran the “Christian Family Coalition of Manatee County” fake entity used for political texting.
the operative who followed the Pedicini‑funded billboard truck into the Manatee early voting zone.
DePriest sits inside KFW PAC and FCA PAC like a loyal employee who never asks why the lights flicker.
This means: Pedicini → DePriest → Keep Florida Winning is the operational chain.
The money:
FCA PAC receives $780,000 from KFW PAC. Then FCA PAC spends hundreds of thousands on vendors. This is the third transfer — the conversion of PAC‑to‑PAC money into operational spending.
And then comes the pièce de résistance:
FCA funnels $200,000+ to Heritage Strategies & Consulting 30 N. Gould St., Sheridan, Wyoming. A location famous for two things:
Mailboxes
Absolutely nothing else
A Wyoming “company” located in the legendary Sheridan strip‑mall mailbox district, where political money goes to achieve enlightenment by becoming untraceable.
Because when Florida PAC money needs to disappear, it goes to a Wyoming LLC with 200 corporate roommates.
What it is:
A Wyoming mailbox with an LLC sticker slapped on it
Used by Florida PACs like it’s the VIP entrance to the Shadow Realm. A Wyoming mailbox company.
Pedicini‑adjacent? Yes.
DePriest‑aligned? Yes.
KFW‑aligned? Obviously.
Transparent? Don’t be cute.
The Money:
FCA PAC pays Heritage Strategies for “consulting,” “media,” or “services,” which is political‑speak for “this is where the lights go out.”
This is the end of the pipeline — the place where money goes dark.
A Wyoming mailbox company.
Used by multiple Florida PACs.
Used in Pedicini‑adjacent operations.
The Final Truth: The System Isn’t Broken — It’s Working Exactly as Designed
The Florida PAC pipeline isn’t a glitch. It’s the system.
A system where:
consultants design the message
PACs move the money
Wyoming hides the donors donors who fund the machine
voters remain clueless
A Jensen Beach attack PAC sends its cash on a cross‑country road trip that ends in a Wyoming mailbox. A perfect pipeline — if your definition of “perfect” includes maximum opacity and minimum shame.
Because nothing says “Florida politics” like a money‑laundering obstacle course disguised as civic engagement.
This is the complete pipeline — the entire route from a Jensen Beach attack PAC to a Wyoming mailbox.
Dark‑money political operations
Citizens Alliance for Florida’s Economy (Pedicini) → $400,000+ → Keep Florida Winning (Robinson + DePriest + Power) → $780,000 → Florida Committee for Accountability (DePriest + Melissa Power) → $780,000 → Heritage Strategies (Wyoming shell) →
Pedicini → Robinson/ Power→ DePriest/ Power → Heritage Strategies & Consulting/ Sheridan, WY→ Goodman →Voter Guides
DID GOODMAN COOK UP VOTER GUIDES
There’s zero mystery about who cooked up those voter guides — they reek of a Goodman special, funneled through his longtime Maryland middleman, Mentzer Media out of Bel Air Maryland. Goodman has been glued to Mentzer for years, shuttling clients to the agency like a man who’s allergic to doing his own backend work.
One of Goodman’s clients, Jordan Varadore, dumped $40,000 into Mentzer Media — because nothing says “totally normal” like paying a Maryland media shop to handle Florida political messaging.
Calls to Mentzer were answered, but of course they clammed up about their clients. And calling Goodman? Please. Asking him whether he assembled voter guides for Mentzer to outsource would be like asking a fox if it’s been in the henhouse. You already know the answer.
Jon Susce
The Sarasota Phoenix team is the last media guardian in the Sarasota/Manatee area and beyond laying bare for all to see how the Sarasota/ Manatee area and beyond is controlled by a UNI Party financed by millionaires and billionaires turning Florida into Paradise Lost.
As usual, Jon Susce offers great insightfound nowhere else in Suncoast and State Republican politics." Kevin Wright of the Manatee Republican Liberty Caucus.
"Jon uncovers local corruption you will read about nowhere else. Vital and important information." Dan Lobeck President of Control Growth Now.
"Jon is easily the very best investigative reporter to ever work this market." Don Schilke a Director for Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections.
"Jon searches for the truth of the mater. He holds everyone accountable for their misleading actions or not. To God be the glory for what he is doing." Valeria Buchand President of Newtown Nation