Earlier today we pointed out that Patrick Murphy was one of only seven co-sponsors of a bill that would lift restrictions on the EB-5 regional center program. Nicholas Mastroianni, who runs the Florida (EB-5) Regional Center, turns out to be a major donor to Murphy’s campaign and Super PAC.
Well it turns out that there is a second major donor to Murphy that would have benefitted from Murphy’s bill. His name is Jeffrey Berkowitz and, in addition to being a donor to Murphy’s campaign, he runs the Miami Metro EB-5 regional center and is the developer of SkyRise Miami Tower – a project to be financed by EB-5 money.
Now, try and guess the name of the company that became the GENERAL CONTRACTOR of SkyRise Miami after the project was approved on August 26, 2014. If you said COASTAL CONSTRUCTION you are right! Coastal Construction, of course, is the company run by Patrick Murphy’s father (and Super PAC sugar daddy) and which Patrick himself has a large stake in.
So, to review, on August 26, 2014 Murphy donor and EB-5 regional center head Jeffrey Berkowitz gets approval to build SkyRise Miami, a project to be funded by EB-5 money through his EB-5 regional center. It is also a project on which Patrick Murphy’s company Coastal Construction is the general contractor. Then, on September 15, 2014, Murphy co-sponsors a bill to lift restrictions on EB-5 regional centers.
Something’s rotten in Denmark folks.