‘Ghost’ candidate probe unearths big business transfers to dark money groups
Jason Brodeur looks toward Orlando Sentinel reporter Annie Martin as Brodeur walks into a fundraiser event at Heathrow Country Club on June 1, 2022. - Orlando Sentinel/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

ORLANDO, Fla. — When state investigators delved into the finances of several entities tied to Florida’s 2020 “ghost” candidate scandal, they unearthed major cash contributions from some of the state’s biggest business interests, including an affiliate of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. That entity, dubbed Secure Florida’s Future, contributed $630,000 late in the 2020 election cycle to a network of dark-money groups since subpoenaed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Bank records unearthed by the probe were obtained by the Orlando Sentinel this week. The investigation emerged from r...