Jack Mariano: The Federal Inquiry, SunWest and the Money Behind His Campaign

Businesses supplied nearly two-thirds of the money raised for Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano’s 2024 campaign, with contributions from homebuilders, development companies and firms bearing the SunWest name.

His campaign collected $241,000 in monetary contributions, including $156,250 from businesses, according to Pasco Supervisor of Elections filings. The records offer a detailed picture of the financial support behind Mariano, whose dealings at SunWest Park drew federal scrutiny several years earlier.

A park donation and a waterfront purchase

In November 2020, the Tampa Bay Times reported that FBI and IRS agents were examining a $600,000 anonymous donation intended for SunWest Park improvements and Mariano’s later investment in a Hudson waterfront parcel. A grand jury subpoena sought related financial, business and real-estate records dating to 2015.

Mariano announced the donation in September 2015. It passed through a nonprofit and was intended to help pay for parking, restrooms and a splash pad. The splash pad was never built, the Times reported.

The property transaction followed in March 2018: an 8.37-acre Gulf-front parcel sold for $900,000. Mariano told the Times that he put in $45,000 and held a 51% interest in the venture.

Through attorney John Lauro, Mariano said in November 2020 that he had cooperated with the FBI and had carried out his duties lawfully and appropriately. The available reporting does not establish the inquiry’s outcome; no indictment or conviction arising from it was verified for this article.

Business money dominated the campaign

Businesses accounted for 64.8% of Mariano’s monetary fundraising in the 2024 election cycle. Individuals contributed $72,900, political committees gave $9,500, and contributors recorded in the other and party categories supplied the remaining $2,350.

The campaign also reported $5,145 in donated goods or services, bringing its combined monetary and in-kind contributions to $246,145. The filings contain 313 contribution entries, beginning in 2023.

Several development companies gave on the same day. CR Pasco Development Co. LLC, Len-Angeline LLC and Epperson North LLC each contributed $1,000 on March 8, 2024. On October 2, CH II Management LLC, DB LOG 1A Property Owner LLC, Double Branch Dev Inc. and PTC Boyette LLC each gave $1,000.

Denton Ave Project LLC contributed $2,000 across two entries. PulteGroup gave $1,000, a contribution also listed in the homebuilder’s own 2024 political-contribution disclosure.

SunWest names appear in the donor records

The itemized filings list a combined $3,500 from John G. Grubbs, Sun West Acquisition Corp. and Grubbs Emergency Services LLC during 2023 and 2024. The Times’ earlier reporting identified the Grubbs family with land adjoining SunWest Park.

Those entries show subsequent campaign support. They do not identify the source of the anonymous park donation or establish that a campaign contribution influenced a county decision.

For Mariano’s 2024 campaign, the financial picture is clear: businesses provided more than twice as much money as individual donors. The filings name those contributors and record their checks; the unresolved questions surrounding the earlier SunWest inquiry remain a separate part of his public record.