Steve Mostyn, Charlie Crist's Mysterious Mega-Donor, Dies in Texas

Steve Mostyn, the Texas millionaire trial attorney and Democratic mega-donor who donated $2.3 million in 2014 to gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist and the Florida Democratic Party -- completely out of the blue -- died Wednesday in Houston after "a sudden onset and a battle with a mental health issue."

Though his death is still unexplained, Mostyn's wife Amber said Thursday, "Steve touched countless lives. ... If you or a loved one are thinking about suicide, or experiencing a health crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline right now." 

He was part of the biggest mystery that never unraveled in Florida Election 2014: Why, Sunshine State News asked at the time, would a Houston multimillionaire with no current business in the Sunshine State out-donate billionaire George Soros in Florida?

Crist and Mostyn didn't really know each other before the campaign.

Mostyn, 46, made his fortune largely from representing homeowners who sued insurance companies, especially after major hurricanes.

Darren McKinney, director of communications for the Washington, D.C.-based American Tort Reform Association, said he believes Mostyn's interest was all about business expansion.

The courts are just plain friendly to plaintiffs in the Sunshine State, "and that appeals to all entrepreneurial plaintiff's attorneys like Steve Mostyn," he told me.

"Mostyn isn't George Soros, but if he's not a billionaire yet, he's close," McKinney said in 2014. "He can set up shop anywhere in the country he likes, and I think he liked the look of Florida under Charlie Crist."

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa called Mostyn "a giant." 

"He was the epitome of a Texas Democrat -- big, bold, fearless, and caring. He dedicated his professional and personal life to fighting for the little guy," Hinojosa said in a statement. "I am so deeply saddened to have lost our dear friend."