Naples Daily News - 02/07/2021 Page : A03

MARCO ISLAND

Suspensions
start this
week for 2
city officials
Omar Rodríguez Ortiz
Marco Eagle
USA TODAY NETWORK – FLORIDA

Marco Island Police Chief Tracy L.

Frazzano and Marco Island Fire-Rescue
Chief Christopher Byrne will start their
30-day suspensions Monday for their
roles in misuse of the county’s Event-
brite COVID-19 vaccine
registration system, the
city announced Thurs-
day evening.
Marco Island Police
Department Capt. Dave
Baer and Fire-Rescue
Byrne Deputy Chief Dave Batia-
to will temporarily re-
place Frazzano and Byrne, respectively,
City Manager Mike McNees wrote in an
email Friday.
McNees conducted an investigation
that found Frazzano’s husband, William
Frazzano, 65, made an online appoint-
ment on the Eventbrite system before
the city published the Eventbrite link on
the city’s website and social media ac-
counts on Jan. 20.
McNees also concluded that Byrne
failed to report the breach and allowed
William Frazzano to take the vaccine
during the city’s first vaccination clinic
on Jan. 22 despite Collier County EMS
alerting him of the breach approximate-
ly 10 minutes before the Eventbrite link
was published at 2 p.m.
Byrne alerted McNees on Jan. 28
about what happened, eight days after
the incident, McNees said at a news
conference Wednesday.
McNees wrote in a news release
Wednesday that Byrne spoke with Fraz-
zano and that she said she had provided
the Eventbrite link to her husband be-
lieving that the link would not work un-
til 2 p.m.
McNees wrote it is fundamental that
public employees conduct themselves
in a manner that merits the trust and re- 2750 Gordon Drive ranked 10th on a
spect of the community. He wrote it is expensive residential listings in Flori
also fundamental that they do not lever- of $58 million. JOHN R. WOOD PROPERTIES
age their public positions for personal

See SUSPENSIONS, Page 19A

February 10, 2021 8:55 pm (GMT -5:00) Powered by TECNAVIA
 Naples Daily News - 02/07/2021
Suspensions
Continued from Page 3A
gain or benefit.
“The use of her position as chief of
police to secure a coveted COVID-19 vac-
cination for her husband represents a
clear failure on the part of Chief Frazza-
no to meet those standards,” McNees
wrote.
Frazzano and Byrne will receive no
compensation or accrue any benefits
while on suspension.
On Thursday, Baer sent an email at
1:01 p.m., attaching a written statement
from Frazzano signed with her initials.
“I am sorry this occurred. A link was
provided to my husband with the belief
that it would go live at the same time for
Estate
Continued from Page 3A
priciest neighborhoods in America.
According to the Chicago Tribune,
Lee’s clients have included such nota-
bles as basketball legend LeBron James
and retired Chicago Bears star Brian Ur-
lacher.
Naples Realtor Bill Earls, a specialist
in the luxury market who represented
the seller, couldn’t immediately be
reached for comment about the sale of
the mansion, known as “La Capana.”
The 18,172-square-foot estate fea-
tures a five-car “collectors” garage, a
500-bottle wine room and more than a
half-dozen bedrooms.
Built in 1999, the Italian Renaissance-
style palace, with its marble floors and
fireplace, includes a beachside game
room, his and hers studies, a two-story
rotunda, an elevator and a mahogany
bar topped with green marble.
In the description for the property on
his website, Earls labels it as “one of the
most significant beachfront residences
ever created in Naples.”
The previous owner spent $3.5 mil-
lion to renovate the home.
Buying elsewhere
This isn’t the first significant real es-
tate purchase made under the name Or-
chard 2020 Revocable Trust.
More than 1,000 miles away, a trust
by the same name — with the same
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February 10, 2021 8:55 pm (GMT -5:00)
everyone. That was not the case. We
thought the vaccine would have been
wasted if he did not go. We regret this
occurred and acknowledge that it would
have been better to have not received
the vaccine,” Frazzano wrote.
Frazzano wrote she will focus on “re-
building the confidence of the city and
its residents.”
At 3:43 p.m., Baer sent via email a
new and longer version of Frazzano’s
written statement.
“It was never my intention to circum-
vent the registration process or deprive
anyone of the vaccine. I was brought
here to set a higher standard and I failed
to meet that standard in this instance,”
Frazzano wrote.
At 5:25 p.m., Byrne sent a statement
via email.
“I wish to extend my sincere apology
trustee — has been buying up lakefront
property in Winnetka, Illinois, an afflu-
ent North Shore village about 16 miles
north of downtown Chicago in Cook
County, raising eyebrows and generat-
ing headlines.
In July 2020, property records show
the secretive trust — represented by Pe-
ter Lee — bought a 1.5-acre property in
Winnetka with a one-story 3,371 square
foot house on it for $8.2 million.
A few months later, the same buyer —
going under the name Walton 2019 Re-
vocable Trust — purchased a vintage
lakefront house on a 1.09-acre lot to the
south for $9.5 million, the Chicago Tri-
bune reported.
According to the daily newspaper,
the mystery buyer is assembling prop-
erty to likely create a 3.3-acre homesite
that in total will cost $23.9 million, just
for the land, which overlooks Lake
Michigan.
The plan for assembling the property
is complicated, as it includes a land
swap with the Winnetka Park District,
which has yet to happen.
The exchange will allow the district
to connect two lakefront parks by giving
up a 71-foot-wide, 0.7-acre slice of open
space to the trust, allowing the new
owner to build a more sizeable com-
pound.
On Feb. 1, the village’s Land Preserva-
tion Commission approved the demoli-
tion of the two homes on property the
trust has already acquired after deter-
mining that their historical context had
been adequately captured, without the
need to protect them, said John Peter-
+ NAPLESNEWS.COM | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2021 | 19A
“I was brought here to set a
higher standard and I failed
to meet that standard in this
instance.”
Tracy L. Frazzano
Marco Island police chief
for my serious lack of judgement re-
garding a local COVID-19 vaccination
appointment. I let you all down and I am
forever remorseful for the harm I have
caused,” Byrne wrote.
Byrne wrote he takes “total responsi-
bility” for his actions.
“I make no excuses as I know many of
you are struggling to obtain a vaccine to
protect yourself and your loved ones. I
son, executive director of the Winnetka
Park District.
“That is one piece of the puzzle.
There are other pieces of the puzzle,” he
said.
Reaching the ‘finish line’
A few steps must still be taken before
the property swap can happen in Win-
netka, so the deal isn’t expected to be fi-
nalized for a few more months.
“We have already completed our
property exchange agreement,” Peter-
son said, which will facilitate the re-
maining steps that need to be taken to
reach the “finish line.”
The exchange will give the district 8
acres of uninterrupted park land,
with about 1,000 feet of uninterrupt-
ed shoreline, which will not only help
with public access to the lake, but also
preservation of the shoreline and bluff,
he said.
The village has honored the true buy-
er’s wishes to remain private.
According to the Chicago Tribune,
the private buyer’s expense and effort in
Winnetka stand out — and would set a
record for the Chicago-area before con-
struction even begins.
Meanwhile, back in Naples the price
Orchard 2020 paid for the gulf-front
mansion in Port Royal didn’t quite set a
record.
However, it still ranks as one of the
highest residential sales in about three
years in Southwest Florida, according to
Matt Simmons, a principal of real estate
appraisal firm Maxwell, Hendry & Sim-
Page : A19
will work tirelessly to earn back your
trust and confidence for which I have
damaged,” Byrne wrote.
Frazzano and Byrne were placed on
administrative leave Monday pending
the result of the investigation into alle-
gations involving “access and use” of
the Eventbrite vaccine registration sys-
tem, the city announced Monday.
On Jan. 22, the city and Collier EMS
administered for the first time fewer
than 300 doses at Veterans’ Community
Park.
The appointment slots, which were
scheduled through the event manage-
ment and ticketing website Eventbrite,
were filled within three minutes of being
made available online on Jan. 20, ac-
cording to the city.
Contact Omar at omar.rodriguezor-
tiz@naplesnews.com.
mons.
“It can be very difficult to sell a prop-
erty like this,” he said. “The pool of buy-
ers is very small and the marketing ef-
forts need to be surgical.”
The seller of the property was Robert
A. Watson, through his own revocable
trust. He’s a former president and chief
executive officer of units of Westing-
house and TransAmerica,
The single-family home is the prici-
est to sell in the city since 2500 Gordon
Drive fetched the most ever at $48 mil-
lion in June 2018. Since that time, that
sizeable estate has been torn down, to
make way for a new one that suits the
new owner.
Not surprisingly, Port Royal led the
way for the most expensive homes sold
last year across Southwest Florida. The
priciest one went for nearly $20 million.
Since the pandemic hit, the super
high-end home market has generated
more interest and activity.
Local real estate experts have attrib-
uted the trend to several factors, includ-
ing “urban flight.”
That includes Denny Grimes, who
has sold homes in Southwest Florida for
more than 30 years.
In a recent phone interview about
trends in the local real estate market,
Grimes said COVID-19 has made smaller
cities and suburbs more attractive, not
just to the wealthy, but others looking
for more space to live, work and play —
and to avoid the coronavirus and its fall-
out.
“Basically, people are getting out of
Dodge, and driving our market,” he said.
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