Thread by @tammy_sager

“Orlando medical marijuana entrepreneur arranged access to US Rep #MattGaetz for the top executive at a cannabis-industry co. looking to do business in Florida, while at the same time pressing the co.’s leader to donate $10K to Gaetz’s reelection...”

orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-pr…

“The entrepreneur, Orlando hand doctor #JasonPirozzolo, in Sept. 2017 invited the CEO of the company, Alternate Health Corp., to a small fundraiser that Pirozzolo was planning to host for Gaetz at an Orlando hotel...

during a conference organized by #Pirozzolo’s American Medical Marijuana Physicians Association. The #Canadian company had developed medical marijuana monitoring software & was lobbying state officials to make #Florida doctors & dispensaries use it...

#Gaetz, the Panhandle Republican who is #Pirozzolo’s friend & one of Florida’s leading medical marijuana policymakers, had agreed to be one of the conference’s keynote speakers. After making the fundraising invite, the records show Pirozzolo emphasized Gaetz’s importance...”

“in the medical marijuana industry, pressed several times for Alternate Health CEO Dr. Michael Murphy to commit to $10,000 for #Gaetz’s campaign & sent instructions for how to structure the donations to comply with federal campaign-finance law...”

“While still waiting for the company to commit to the donations, the records show that #Pirozzolo messaged someone who worked with Alternate Health asking for Murphy’s cell phone number.”...

“Congressman #Gaetz would like to call him & see how he can help him,” #Pirozzolo wrote. He followed up a short time later, writing, “Gaetz committed to a 1 on 1 meeting for an hour with Murphy.”

“Murphy, who runs a pain management clinic in San Antonio, never donated to #Gaetz. But the episode shows that #Pirozzolo aggressively pursued financial support for Gaetz’s political campaign while...

at the same time offering a company access to the congressman to boost its business prospects.
Now, both #Gaetz & #Pirozzolo are reportedly under federal investigation for public corruption in medical marijuana policy, with CNN reporting that investigators are...”

delving into #Gaetz’s connections to the industry to identify any potential “pay-to-play arrangements.” There’s been no public indication #Pirozzolo’s efforts with Alternate Health Corp. are currently part of that probe.”...

“Investigators are said to be examining, among other things, Sept 2018 trip to The Bahamas that #Gaetz & #Pirozzolo went on along with a number of young women who may have been paid to join them. Also on that trip was Gaetz’s friend & then-state Rep. #HalseyBeshears(R-Monticello)

whose brother co-founded the state’s largest medical marijuana company.
Harlan Hill, a spokesperson for #Gaetz, said Gaetz does not recall speaking to or meeting with Murphy. He also said that Gaetz has never solicited or asked someone else to solicit a $10,000 donation...”

“because federal law limits donations to a maximum of $5,800 per candidate per election cycle, though many donors persuade friends or relatives to write checks, too.”

“Congressman Gaetz has participated in thousands of conversations about marijuana policy & is among the nation’s top experts on the subject,” Hill said. “Congressman Gaetz has a career-long commitment to cannabis policy that is tied to his sincere desire to help people.”...

Murphy said he didn’t recall the phone call or any subsequent one-on-one meeting with the congressman. Murphy didn’t end up traveling to Orlando for the AMMPA conference; the company sent its top attorney to the event instead.”...

“Alternate Health ultimately failed to get Florida officials to make doctors use its software. The company is now, according to its founder, insolvent.”

“#MattGaetz, 39, is also reportedly under investigation over broader allegations of paying women & a 17-year-old girl for sex. Gaetz’s friend & former Seminole County Tax Collector #JoelGreenberg pleaded guilty to sex trafficking &...

other charges earlier this month & is now cooperating with authorities.
Neither #Gaetz nor #Pirozzolo has been charged with any crimes. Gaetz has said he has never paid for sex, had sex with a minor as an adult, or accepted anything of value in exchange

for his work on marijuana policy.”
“The legalization of medical marijuana in Florida — beginning with a 2014 law that #Gaetz sponsored in the Florida Legislature & followed by a more-expansive 2016 constitutional amendment approved by voters — set off a frenzied “green rush”...

in the state. But it wasn’t just a race to win licenses to grow & sell marijuana; scores of investors & entrepreneurs were angling to launch new businesses serving the nascent industry.”

“That’s the kind of company Alternate Health was. Based in Toronto, one of its main products was a software system called “CanaPass,” designed to track medical marijuana from the moment a doctor proscribed it to when the patient bought it from a dispensary.”...

“The company planned to make money by charging transaction fees every time it was used.
Florida, with a new medical marijuana industry and a population of more than 20 million people, was one of the company’s target markets. But Alternate Health had to get its system approved...

state regulators.
At a minimum, the company was hoping to get its software approved for use in Florida. But its bigger goal was to get state leaders to require that doctors & dispensaries use its software.”

“Without a mandate, without somebody saying you have to have a system like this, who would ever want to take the burden of complying to a regulatory management system if it wasn’t being forced on you?” said Howard Mann, a Canadian entrepreneur who founded Alternate Health...

“In Sept 2017, the company signed a $180,000 contract with the Tallahassee lobbying firm #BallardPartners, where the team handling the account included #ChrisDorworth, the former state legislator from Seminole County who is one of #Gaetz’s best friends.”...

“A group of company executives and directors also met with personal injury lawyer #JohnMorgan, who helped finance the 2016 marijuana constitutional amendment, at Morgan’s oceanfront home in Ponce Inlet. The attendees included former U.S. Army Gen. #WesleyClark,...

who had joined Alternate Health’s board of directors, & #JakeBergmann, the founder & then-CEO of Florida’s No. 2 medical marijuana company, which is now known as Parallel. Morgan is a lender to the company.”...

“Murphy, who attended the Morgan meeting, said Alternate Health was hoping to sign up marijuana companies to use its software. Morgan said he recalled being asked to invest in the company.”...

“Mann said Alternate Health was hoping to build up a larger user base of physicians for its software, so it agreed to be a “platinum” sponsor for an AMMPA conference. In exchange, Mann said, #Pirozzolo agreed to have AMMPA...

write a public letter of endorsement for Alternate Health’s software system.
“He said if we would sponsor this event that they would give us a formal endorsement,” Mann said, though he added that #Pirozzolo had personally tested the software & ...

provided feedback on it before the two sides agreed to the sponsorship deal.
It was during AMMPA’s Oct 2017 conference at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista that #Pirozzolo hosted the fundraiser for #Gaetz. In his communications with Alternate Health,...

#Pirozzolo said he was planning to invite only around five or 10 “heavy hitters” who would be asked to raise between $5,000 & $10,000 each.”

“#Gaetz, meanwhile, has helped boost #Pirozzolo’s career. He tried to get Florida Gov. #RonDeSantis to appoint Pirozzolo as the state’s surgeon general — which would have given Pirozzolo a major role in marijuana regulation....

After #DeSantis appointed someone else, #Gaetz helped successfully persuade the governor to put #Pirozzolo on the board of the agency that runs Orlando International Airport, though Pirozzolo resigned from that post last year.”...

“#Pirozzolo also said the attendees at the Oct 2017 fundraiser would include #RogerStone, the longtime Republican operative & #DonaldTrump ally who is friends with #Gaetz & was also speaking at the AMMPA conference...

The fundraiser was covered by a local website run by one of #Stone’s associates, which also reported that #JoelGreenberg would be there.
Murphy said he didn’t recall being invited to the fundraiser but ultimately did not travel to Florida for it.”...

“It’s unclear who did attend, though the day of the fundraiser, #Gaetz’s campaign reported $5,400 in contributions from Bergmann, the co-founder of the marijuana company now known as Parallel, & another $5,400 from Bergmann’s then-wife...

Federal campaign donations were capped at $5,400 per candidate per cycle at the time.
Bergmann, who is now engaged to Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat & former marijuana lobbyist who is expected to run for governor in 2022, said he didn’t recall attending”

Ultimately, Alternate Heath failed to get what it wanted out of Florida. By April 2018, the company had stopped paying its $15,000-a-month fee to Ballard Partners, according to court records.”...

“The Florida Department of Health eventually authorized the company’s software system, according to a company press release, though it never mandated it — & without that mandate, Mann said, the company couldn’t make a profit in Florida.”

“Late last year, #BallardPartners won a default judgment against the company for breach of contract. The court has yet to determine how much Alternate Health owes, though Mann said the company is “effectively insolvent.”...

“#BrianBallard, the Republican fundraiser who leads #BallardPartners, said his firm was successful in helping Alternate Health get its software approved. The firm ultimately was paid $105,000 of the $180,000 to which Alternate Health had committed.”

Article by
JASON GARCIA, Orlando-Sentinel, May 27, 2021

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