“Levites,” a cadre of lobbyists, legislators and aides who credit veteran lobbyist Robert M. Levy for their entree into the cutthroat world of Florida politics, are mourning the loss of their mentor. He was 67.

Levy, who died Tuesday in Tallahassee after a lengthy battle with salivary-gland cancer, was one of a handful of remaining old-school lobbyists who spent decades representing numerous Miami-Dade County interests.