Jesse Scheckner
Capital City Consulting (CCC) is expanding its already strong South Florida presence with a new office in Palm Beach, led by the county’s former top prosecutor, Dave Aronberg, and longtime lobbyist Tom DeRita Jr.
Aronberg, a former state Senator and Assistant Attorney General who served as Palm Beach State Attorney for 12 years through 2024, will focus on business consulting issues.
DeRita, who boasts more than 50 years of experience in government relations, public affairs, political fundraising and business development — including as founder and CEO of Resource Group of North America — will focus on local government lobbying.
The new office adds to others CCC has in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Tallahassee.
CCC Co-Founder Nick Iarossi described Palm Beach as one of the “fastest growing and most influential counties” in America.
“Our new office will help those looking to expand or move to Palm Beach County by navigating the county and city governments to maximize opportunities,” he said.
CCC Co-Founder Ron LaFace added that the new office will further solidify the firm’s footprint in a county where it has “long-standing relationships with many clients” while strengthening its ability to work for them at the state level.
“The addition,” he said, “will enhance our services and add dedicated partners to assist our current and future clients with issues before the county and cities.”
Aronberg’s addition to the CCC team follows news that the outspoken lawyer and frequent TV guest speaker is opening a boutique law firm in West Palm Beach called Dave Aronberg Law P.A.
He confirmed this week that there will be some synergy between the two ventures.
“CCC has earned its stellar statewide reputation as a leader in providing governmental relations with the highest ethical standards and the best results,” Aronberg said in a prepared statement. “That’s why I’m excited for me and my new law firm to partner with Capital City in its new Palm Beach County office. The future is bright for our growing community.”
DeRita, who has worked with myriad businesses, organizations and a who’s-who roster of elected officials — including former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, former Gov. Jeb Bush and former CFO Jeff Atwater, among others — is equally optimistic.
“I have long awaited the opportunity to expand my practice with a statewide lobbying firm,” he said, “and based on our successful collaborations over the years, CCC is the natural fit.”
CCC has made notable growth in recent years. Two months ago, Iarossi announced that he was joining the federal lobbying firm BGR Group as Managing Director while continuing his work with CCC.
Two years before, CCC entered a nationwide partnership with Advocus Partners, for which BGR does federal lobbying.
The moves proved fortuitous, with CCC collecting a new lobby compensation high last year of nearly $7 million during the opening quarter and ranking third in Florida Politics’ Lobby Firm Rankings.
Since last March, the firm made three other major hires: Heather Barker, a former senior adviser to Gov. Ron DeSantis; Cory Dowd, also a former senior DeSantis staffer; and Alis Drumgo, a previous Administrator for Development and Economic Opportunity for the city of Tampa.
