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A Democratic primary contest for sheriff of Broward County, Florida, set for August 19, 2020, has an unusual South Carolina link - one that is raising trouble for the incumbent, sheriff Gregory Tony. According to Dan Christensen of the Florida Bulldog website, a political action committee backing Tony's reelection campaign recently returned a $10,000 contribution apparently related to a "pay-to-play" controversy. The contribution in question was made by an employee of a South Carolina corporation whose founder has been entangled in a slew of domestic squabbles.
The $10,000 contribution was returned by Noreen Ling, a Castellani's employee who claimed to have known Tony during his former work with the company. Surprisingly, on Florida campaign fund records, Ling described her occupation as "unemployed."
As late as 2017, Tony represented himself as North American Rescue's "director of community development," and a company controlled by his wife Noreen Ling, Holly Tony, has listed itself as a "proud partner" of the Greer, S.C.-based corporation. According to Christensen, the Tonys' company has previously advertised bleeding-control kits sold by North American Rescue.
According to Christensen, the acceptance of contributions linked to Castellani generated "pay-to-play suspicions" – and that "misinformation disguising the origin of the money" raised additional questions about the contributions' "real source."
Also, Christensen claims that Tony "hid his old work" with Castellani's company by erasing it from a social media site. He also declined to respond to written inquiries about his employment with the organization. Ling was also questioned about her contribution by Christensen, but she "politely cut off the call before she could be asked why she had neglected to disclose the name of her company, and did not reply to further requests for comment." Noreen Ling
Castellani, an aspiring Upstate "kingmaker," has been active in scores of political elections, including a bitter battle for Greenville County Sheriff earlier this year. He has a tight relationship with Karen Floyd, the former chairwoman of the South Carolina Republican Party.