The majority leader, lotsa Florida $$$, and that ABC warehouse

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We passed on to you earlier the information about state Rep. Brenden Jones and some controversy surrounding the acquisition of a new warehouse for the state’s Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) board.   Further details are emerging that are not helping to make the story any prettier:

[…] Last month, The N&O reported that ABC Commission Chairman Hank Bauer said through a spokesman that House Majority Leader Brenden Jones wrongly claimed on the House floor on June 18, 2025, that Bauer supported a public-private option to build the warehouse. Bauer said David Powers, a lobbyist for a subsidiary of Florida developer M Group, then set up an Aug. 6 meeting between Bauer and Jones in which Jones told him the House would only support that option.

Jones, a Columbus County Republican, has not responded to The N&O’s requests for an interview or for any records related to the warehouse plans. His campaign is among the beneficiaries of more than $500,000 in campaign contributions aiding Republican legislative candidates from people with M Group ties over the past four years

A team from M Group that included CEO Patrick Marino and two other lobbyists met with Bauer on Aug. 20 to discuss the proposed warehouse. A day later, Marino attended a fundraiser for Jones that was hosted by Michael Estramonte, a healthcare executive in Charlotte, a post on Jones’ Facebook page shows.

Also at the fundraiser was Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino, who Jones described as a friend who traveled from Florida to attend. Marino led the Miami Dolphins to the Super Bowl in 1985.

The two Marinos do not appear to be related, but Patrick Marino, in his M Group biography, says that he is a supporter of the Dan Marino Foundation and his alma mater the University of Pittsburgh. Patrick Marino and others with company ties have given Jones’ campaign $59,200, nearly half of that at the time of the fundraiser.

Patrick Marino and Estramonte have not responded to phone messages seeking comment.

One of the M Group lobbyists at the meeting with Bauer was Kevin Wilkinson, who is one of the four indicted in the Greater Carolina case. Wilkinson also lobbied for Sazerac at the time of the bourbon tours.

In both meetings, Bauer said he does not support the public-private option. He has produced spreadsheets that show lease payments under such a plan over a 20-year-period would put the cost at more than $500 million, with the state not owning the building.

Bauer supports a $310 million loan from a financial institution for the new building. That option is in a Senate alcoholic beverage regulation bill. Pickett told his colleagues to oppose it, and he now leads a contingent of four lawmakers Speaker Destin Hall appointed to come up with compromise legislation. Moffitt, who supports the loan plan, leads the Senate conferees. […]