![]() “He’s been influential for over a decade.” ‘A long working relationship’ Jeff Brandes, a Republican from Pinellas County who was forced by term limits to leave the Senate. “I know he’s a developer, and that he has incredible influence,” said former Sen. More recently, Hosseini has been in the news for lending a fancy golf simulator to the Governor’s Mansion and playing a role in state transportation officials steering $92 million in leftover COVID funds toward an interchange project that would benefit one of his developments. He’s also garnered headlines for getting tickets for DeSantis to play golf at Augusta National Golf Club, flying the First Lady Casey DeSantis to a defense contractor’s fundraiser in Jacksonville and frequently lending his private jet to the governor’s campaign. He and his family raised millions more for numerous charities, but also the Florida Republican Party and state and local political candidates. The 68-year-old Iranian-American developer from Volusia County has raised millions for his “beloved” University of Florida and his alma mater, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. ![]() Ron DeSantis, who is running for president in 2024. He also serves as board chairman at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.Įarly Sampling: Trump leads DeSantis among Florida voters, polls show.TALLAHASSEE - Millionaire developer Morteza “Mori” Hosseini has been called the most powerful unelected person in Florida and a close adviser and donor to Gov. Hosseini founded Volusia County-based ICI Homes in 1980, according to his University of Florida biography, and has built thousands of homes and created some of the largest master development communities in Florida. ![]() "Does the agency have rules governing such loans or donations of tangible personal property?" "Was it maintained in a public building for a public purpose, or alternatively, was it used for a purely private purpose?" she wrote. However, Caroline Klancke, an attorney who is executive director of the Florida Ethics Institute, a nonprofit, suggested in an email to The News-Journal Wednesday the question of whether the golf simulator was a gift to the governor or an agency, the Governor's Mansion Commission, would depend on several questions. ![]() "In my mind, it subverts the principle of why we require gifts to be disclosed," Ben Wilcox, research director of Florida Integrity, a watchdog group, told Reuters. Florida law requires all gifts of $100 or more to be reported. Whether the golf machine was a "gift" to the governor is a key question. Rick Wilson, a Florida-based Republican strategist and the founder of the Lincoln Project tweeted: "Damn those elites with their golf simulators and private jet flights."Ĭryptid Politics, a Twitter account that supports DeSantis' campaign, wrote: "WaPo tries hit piece on buries lede that golf simulator loan was reviewed and approved as ethical according to FL Statutory Code." "Ron DeSantis' Florida Swamp in Action," Trump ally Jason Miller tweeted with a link to the Post piece. News of the loan generated swift reaction from some of DeSantis' opponents who support former President Donald Trump's bid for the 2024 Republican nomination for president. Hosseini also said that the simulator "was provided to the residence gym, as things have been in the past, for the use of the family, guests, and staff, during this and subsequent administrations." However, in a statement released to Reuters, he said that the donation was "entirely permissible under Florida law." Hosseini, chairman and CEO of the Daytona Beach-based ICI Homes, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. The newspaper also reported, based on campaign finance disclosures, Hosseini also let DeSantis and his wife Casey use his private plane at least a dozen times and hosted DeSantis on a 2018 trip to play golf at the exclusive Augusta National Golf Club. The cost of the AboutGolf simulator starts at $27,500, while curved screen simulators cost at least $69,500, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. ![]() Hosseini, who also serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the University of Florida, has been a prolific supporter of Republican candidates, particularly DeSantis, dating to his time in Congress. The stories, first reported by Reuters and quickly followed by the Washington Post, were generating reaction from opponents and supporters of the former Volusia-Flagler congressman who's now running for president. Homebuilding magnate Mori Hosseini donated a pricey golf simulator to the Governor's Mansion in 2019, after Ron DeSantis took office, according to news reports released Wednesday. ![]()
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