I am Jon Susce the Publisher of Sarasota Phoenix Media Inc. We are currently being sued by a political operative Anthony Pedicini. Pedicini is using the legal system with "lawfare" tactics to damage or delegitimize Jon Susce and the Sarasota Phoenix. They are wasting their time and money. In using lawfare tactics, Pedicini has access to the $ millions from Pedicini PACs and LLCs and from the Florida Republican establishment centered in Tallahassee. This is a standard tactic deployed to damage or delegitimize their opponents. Mr. Susce and the Sarasota Phoenix needs these vital funds to continue to take on the likes of Pedicini and this lawfare lawsuit.
Pedicini/Andrade/Power
THE PEDICINI LAWFARE LAWSUITS AND POWER “RPOF ACTION PLANS” ARE ALL ABOUT RETRIBUTION AGAINST REC AMERICA FIRST ACTIVISTS
THE RPOF is a corrupt political organization under the control of a establishment Republican Party in Tallahassee seeking retribution in order to destroy Trump America First individuals and organizations.
Power
There is now little question that the RPOF establishment based in Tallahassee under Evan Power’s control has team up with the lavender political operative Anthony Pedicini who is filing frivolous lawsuits against those taking out Pedicini clients.
Pedicini publicly proclaiming at the Manatee County Commission he is the man behind the seven Manatee County Commissioners he stuffed in Beruff's pockets in 2020. Four of above are now long gone and the three others will be gone in two years.
The shutdown of the MREC by Power and suspending elections and Pedicini's lawsuits are all about retribution for the defeat of Pedicini’s handpicked candidates financed by multimillion dollar developer, Carlos Beruff and his cronies.
Andrade
For example, Pedicini is now forcing his flunky, who is a Pensacola based Florida State Representative Alex Andrade to file revenge lawsuits because Andrade is just another politician in Pedicini’s pocket.
Jensen/Benderson/Beruff/Neal
Andrade on behalf of Pedicini and Power is the attorney of record suing those involved in taking out four Manatee County Commissioners and a Manatee County Supervisor of Election deep in the pockets of multimillion dollar developers Beruff, Pat Neal and their cronies.
SUSCE AND ARGUELO TAKING ON POWER’S RPOF AND HIS POLITITICAL OPERATIVE REASON FOR PEDICIN LAWSUITS
On 12/3/2024 Jon Susce in The Sarasota Phoenix wrote the following: The shutdown of the MREC and suspending election of the MREC (Manatee Republican Executive Committee) in taking over by America First grassroots activists is all about retribution.
Retribution for the Republican establishment Party lavender political operative Anthony Pedicini, who is described by the local and state-wide media, as the state’s “top dog” political operative out of Ybor City Anthony Pedicini losing all four Manatee County Commission seats and the Manatee County Supervisor of Election position financed by the Carlos Beruff/Pat Neal Gang going down.
The lavender Republican political operative Pedicini with Tampa liberal Mayor Castor
Retribution for Manatee County Republican America First led grassroots organizers sending the Beruff Lavender political operative Pedicini back to Tampa in bed with the liberal Democrat left-wing Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer (LGBTQ) Tampa Mayor Jane Castor supporters.
Pedicini/DeSantis/Beruff/Power
The shutdown of the MREC by Power and suspending elections is about retribution for the defeat of Anthony Pedicini’s handpicked candidates financed by Governor DeSantis’ multi dollar contributor Carlos Beruff and his cronies.
Those donors have corrupted Manatee and Sarasota County Commissions along with other local government entities, while taking out America First organizers and organizations.
The Manatee County REC is one of 10 County REC in Florida, which has witnessed MAGA America First activists being shut out of participating in leadership positions on their local REC. Those 10 REC includes Sarasota County.
Arguelo
On 12/10/2024 Jon Arguelo, who is a former Osceola County School Board member, Republican Vice Chair of the Osceola RLC, founding member of the Osceola FRA, attorney and Army veteran wrote the following about the Power led RPOF.
While most American celebrate Christmas, The Florida GOP led an effort to purge MAGA/America First Republicans from the party if they would not cave to the local Republican Executive Committee (REC) orders to support establishment leadership. Hundreds if not thousands of Republicans, practically all MAGA/America First Republicans who prescribed to Judeo-Christian values and were holding politicians to those moral standards, were thrown out.
The party lied, deceived, and intimidated members in order to toe the line and split the party using the same lawfare used against Trump and the same crooked election strategies that the democrats used in federal elections.
The Republican Party under the misguided leadership of Evan Power and Bill Helmich have initiated a soviet style purge of America First Republicans, without due process and in violation of the bylaws of the party.
It is time for our state party leadership to understand that modern day American conservatives are not asking, but demanding integrity, transparency, and honesty, from those who lead, not just lip service to our Judeo-Christian moral standards, but adherence to them.
THE RPOF AND PEDICINI REACTION IS NOTHING BUT RETRIBUTION FROM A CORRUPT RPOF AND THEIR OPERATIVE PEDICINI
The RPOF and Pedicini reacted to The Sarasota Phoenix, Susce and Arguelo on 1/8/2025 with Pedicini and SIMWINS LLC (Pedicini’s LLC) suing The Sarasota Phoenix, Susce and Arguelo for defamation
This Pedicini warfare lawsuit is nothing more than retribution for the Sarasota Phoenix, Susce and Arguelo in calling out the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), as a corrupt political organization under the leadership of a Republican establishment flunky, Evan Power.
This Pedicini lawfare lawsuit by the RINO Republican establishment political operative Pedicini filed by Andrade is also in response to Manatee County grassroots organizers and local media outlets sending the lavender Republican political operative Pedicini back to Tampa with major political defeats.
Pedicini and Van Ostenbridge
Andrade is Pedicini's attorney in other lawsuits by Pedicini and his former Manatee County Commissioners he vacations with Kevin Van Ostenbridge in suing The Bradenton Times and former Manatee County Commissioner Betsy Benac. Andrade filed a lawfare lawsuit on behalf of Pedicini and KVO for over $50,000 claiming ads in the TBT disparaged the Republican lavender political operative and his lacky, Van Ostenbridge
Pedicini is using his flunky Andrade to use the legal systems with lawfare tactics to damage or delegitimize his opponents wasting their time and money. In Andrade using lawfare tactics, Pedicini has access to the $millions to Pedicini PAC and LLC from the Florida Republican establishment centered in Tallahassee’s to damage or delegitimize his opponents.
For example, a look at the Florida Division of Election campaign finance database shows Pedicini’s LLC and SIMWINS LLC has received more than $35 million from state political candidates and political committees since February 2020. The committees paying Pedicini's SIMWINS LLC range from the Make American Great Again PAC to the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF).
In addition to the Pedicini LLC and RPOF $millions other major Pedicini contributions records reveal that four major developers, Beruff’s Medallion Home, Neal’s Signature Homes, Randy Benderson’s Benderson Development, and Rex Jensen’s Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, frequently bundle multiple $1,000 contributions to Pedicini and SIMWINS.
FLORIDA TRIDENT REPORT: "Pedicini succeeds with a brutal political machine fueled by a seemingly endless amount of money from political committees he controls that is often used to fund disinformation campaigns against his client’s opponents. https://www.wmnf.org/florida-trident-report-tampa-campaign-consultant-anthony-pedicini-often-wins-big-shady-politics-shadier-money/
In Manatee County, the recent shutdown of the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee (MREC) by the Tallahassee based Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), Chairman Power is near criminal. The Power RPOF “Action Plan” in shutting down the MREC is all about Republican establishment multimillion dollar donors under Pedicini's leadership losing control of the Manatee County Commission.
DePriest
Equally outrageous is that a fellow Pedicini political operative, Jennings DePriest has been appointed to be the Treasurer of Power’s “caretaker” MREC to cover up thousands of dollars misappropriated by the Chairwoman of the MRE, who is another Pedicini flunky, April Culbreath.
Brill
In Sarasota County another RPOF Power flunky, Jack Brill leads as Chairman of SREC, which is financed by establishment Republican multimillion dollar developers Neal and Randy Benderson.
Pedicini has received thousands of dollars from the Republican establishment controlled local Sarasota REC under the direction of Brill in addition to receiving $millions from local “Pay to Play” developers Neal, Beruff, Jensen, Benderson and others developers..
Neilsen/Thomson/Pedicini/Bentley/Jones
Brill’s handpicked treasurer is Atticus Frank, who without an outside audit keeps a lid on a criminal enterprise that has $90,000 going to Tampa based political operative Anthony Pedicini, $97,000 going to Jupiter based political consultant Randy Neilsen and burying $120,000 in dark PAC money from Tallahassee political operative Stafford Jones.
$Thousands going to Brill’s fake news media mouthpiece Rod Thomson and Brill's personal attorney, Democrat Morgan Bentley. Then there is on two separate occasions Brill's catering company, Mertz Culinary Services received over $27,000 to cater SREC events.
This blatant corrupt leadership exhibited by the RPOF under Power’s leadership and local REC leadership by a Power flunky Brill is a shameless disregard for fair and transparent elections, and traitorous behavior against faithful MAGA and America First Republicans responsible for red victories across the state.
There is now little question that the RPOF establishment based in Tallahassee under Power’s control has teamed up with the lavender political operative Pedicini, who is now forcing another politician in Pedicini’s pocket, Andrade to file frivolous lawsuits against those taking out Pedicini clients.
Jon Susce
The Sarasota Phoenix team is the last guardian in Sarasota of the vital fourth estate. While the rest of local, mainstream media out
lets have been overtaken by profit driven directives, the Sarasota Phoenix is the only local media outlet laying bare for all to see how Sarasota local government is operat like a Latin American Junta..
"As usual, Jon Susce offers great insight found nowhere else in Suncoast and State Republican politics." Kevin Wright of the Manatee Republican Liberty Caucus.
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"Jon uncovers local corruption you will read about nowhere else. Vital and important information." Dan Lobeck President of Control Growth Now.
"Jon is easily the very best investigative reporter to ever work this market." Don Schilke a Director for Sarasota Alliance for Fair Election.
"Jon searches for the truth of the mater. He holds everyone accountable for their misleading actions or not. To God be the glory for what he is doing ." Valeria Buchand President of Newtown Na
tion.