You sum up Eddie and Vladimir perfectly. They sold their souls to the "root of all evil" years ago.
Eddie touts himself as being a "Christian" but --as with most con men-- that's merely a marketing ploy. Saying you're a 'Christian' gains you instant access and credibility to a huge number of gullible saps. Politicians know this and repeatedly manipulate and exploit these people.
Eddie has repeatedly tried to replicate a bankrupt 'product based pyramid scheme' disguised as a network marketing MLM that sells canvas art prints. The company he worshipped (and was a member of)was International Galleries, Inc. (The President and CEO dropped dead about 6 months ago while attempting a comeback called Art Reach Worldwide). IGI was founded by a guy who's currently rotting in prison for also running a Ponzi scheme called MEGAFUND that targeted and defrauded pastors. Both scams were later revealed to be the "assets" of a much larger 'prime bank' scam that ran into the hundreds of millions.
These are Eddie's heros, models and mentors. He brings those same ethics to Artfest.