Peter Schorsch
Sixty Days — A prime-time look at the 2018 Legislative Session:
The Last 24
Good Thursday evening. The voter control of gambling amendment is polling boffo, and the state still hates offshore drilling. We’ll be honest: Sixty Days questions having to look at derricks as we head out to surf. Here’s your evening rundown.
Budget battle: The House and Senate passed dueling versions of an $87 billion spending plan, setting up the yearly conference committee process.
Ballot bet: Lawmakers, take note — More than three-quarters of likely Florida voters favor a proposed state constitutional amendment “that would require voter approval to authorize casino gambling in the state.”
Don’t drill: Just in case, Florida’s Secretary of Environmental Protection penned a letter to the feds letting them know the state opposes any exploratory drilling for gas or oil off the coasts.
Double down: House Speaker Richard Corcoran isn’t backing away from his position that there be “an absolute contraction” of gambling in the state.
Payday predicament: Faith leaders pushed a single message: Payday lending expansion as currently under consideration in the Legislature is usury and should be stopped.
Pot problems: Gov. Scott says his Department of Health is doing “everything it can” to get medical marijuana to patients.
Agricultural angst: Federal forecasters pegged Florida orange production for 2017-18 at 45 million boxes — ”a 35 percent decrease over last season and the lowest crop size in more than 75 years.”
Pro-life progress? The Senate passed a bill, now heading to Gov. Rick Scott, that permanently funds anti-abortion clinics across the state with taxpayer money.
Quote of the Day
“I have no plans to support a candidate immediately but it’s very clear to me that Corcoran does have a path to the governorship and that his potential candidacy has to be taken very seriously.” — Republican strategist Roger Stone on House Speaker Richard Corcoran. The two met informally in Tallahassee this week.
Bill Day’s Latest
3 Questions
Call this the “Case of the Busted Bingo Operators.”
After an eight-day federal jury trial, 67-year-old Larry Masino of Gulf Breeze and 65-year-old Dixie Masino of Pensacola were convicted this week on charges including wire fraud conspiracy, operating an illegal gambling business, and money laundering conspiracy. “Larry and Dixie Masino owned and operated Racetrack Bingo Inc. in Fort Walton Beach, which purported to conduct bingo games and provide the proceeds to a group of local charities in Okaloosa County,” a news release said.
Here’s the connection to the Legislative Session: Lawmakers are trying to come up with a far-reaching gambling bill, and this is the kind of unlawful activity that drives the Seminole Tribe crazy.
We culled a Q&A from the release by Amy Alexander, Public Information Officer for the Northern District of Florida.
Q: What’s the background on this case?
A: This resulted from a joint investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Between 2006 and 2015, the Masinos conspired to defraud charities out of more than $8 million. The Masinos falsely assured the charities they were complying with provisions of the Florida statutes. In fact, the Masinos were unlawfully paying themselves and their employees to conduct bingo games and were charging the charities a lease fee based on inflated expenses.
Q: What was the illegal activity?
A: Racetrack Bingo was an illegal gambling business because it was conducting bingo games and unlawfully retaining profit, rather than returning the net proceeds of the bingo games back to the players in the form of prizes. The Masinos conspired to launder more than $5.8 million of the bingo proceeds through profit distribution checks that the Masinos and their three children received as shareholders of Racetrack Bingo.
Q: What kind of sentences do they face?
A: For the wire fraud conspiracy, the Masinos face a maximum of 20 years in prison. For the money laundering conspiracy and money laundering charges, the Masinos face a maximum of 10 years in prison. For operating an illegal gambling business, they face a maximum of 5 years in prison. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 25 in Pensacola.
Lobby Up
Airbnb has again beefed up its lobbying contingent in the Capitol.
Gregory Black and Cameron Yarbrough of Gunster Yoakley & Stewart have registered to lobby for the vacation rental website.
That brings to 20, as of Thursday morning, the number of lobbyists representing the company for the 2018 Legislative Session.
The team includes a slew of influencers from Southern Strategy Group, such as founder Paul Bradshaw and Orlando-based Kelly Cohen, and Teye Reeves of Floridian Partners, to name a few.
Legislation has been filed this Session to “strip local governments of the right to regulate short-term vacation rentals such as Airbnb and give all such power to the state,” the Orlando Sentinel has reported.
A bill by Republican Sen. Greg Steube of Sarasota is moving in that chamber, but a similar bill has not yet gotten a hearing in the House.
Breakthrough Insights
The Next 24
The Revenue Estimating Conference will analyze general-revenue taxes. Lawmakers will use revised estimates as they negotiate a budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. That’s at 9 a.m., 117 Knott Building, the Capitol.
Candidates in a special election in Sarasota County’s House District 72 face a Friday deadline for filing updated campaign-finance reports. Republican James Buchanan, Democrat Margaret Good and Libertarian Alison Foxall are running in the Feb. 13 special election to replace former Rep. Alex Miller, a Sarasota Republican who resigned last year.
