During the 2025 budget negotiations, state legislative leaders pleaded poverty and stiffed Florida’s marquee land acquisition program, Florida Forever, allocating just $18 million.

But turns out the state actually has plenty of money to spend on land conservation — so long as you’ve given large amounts of “dirty money” to the right people.

On Tuesday, without any discussion Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet approved spending $83.3 million for a mere 4 acres in the Panhandle town of Destin. The two properties, which will be used for beach access, are bordered on one side by a city park, on the other by an upscale condo development. And they’re owned by Pointe Mezzanine and Pointe Resort, two firms registered to Louisiana businessman Robert “Bobby” Guidry.

Guidry’s an interesting guy; he once pleaded guilty to bribery in Louisiana, and these days he’s a major political donor here in Florida. At the state level he’s given more than $400,000 to politicians and their PACs since 2018, including $250,000 to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Empower Parents PAC.” And he poured some $38,000 into local Okaloosa County elections last year, making him the top local donor in that community.

According to news reports, his companies bought the 4 acres in question in 2016 and 2017 for a total of about $8 million. Earlier this year, just before the 2025 Florida legislative session ended, language was inserted into the budget bill making this acreage a top priority for the state to acquire, ahead of other conservation projects.

Guidry’s companies had the land appraised twice, and in each case the parcels were valued at over $83 million. That is, more than 10 times what was paid for it less than a decade ago.

Can you say “highway robbery?”

VoteWater’s Gil Smart told Politico Pro that the price was “insane,” and that additional, independent appraisals should be ordered.

“In the era of DOGE, there’s no excuse for not trying to get the best deal for the taxpayer,” Smart said.

But hey, big political donors want what they want; and in Florida, they usually GET what they want thanks to dirty money — and the compliant government it buys.