The State Attorney’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) determined there was no credible evidence that Marco Island Police Chief Tracy Frazzano broke any laws, following an investigation of allegations by the union that represents the police officers she supervises.
In a seven-page letter dated Jan. 9, Amira D. Fox, state attorney for the 20th Judicial Circuit of Florida, outlined the year-long investigation and findings of the FDLE and closed the case without further action. Acting City Manager Casey Lucius said she received the report from FDLE the same day.
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 95, which represents about 27 Marco Island police officers, voted no confidence in Frazzano on Sept. 28, 2024, and outlined its complaints in a letter to then-City Manager Mike McNees, asking for Frazzano’s removal from the position she had held for five years.
The next month, the union submitted a 17-page document to McNees detailing the union’s concerns with Frazzano’s leadership. That document was forwarded to the FDLE, which determined it must investigate alleged criminal activity and assigned an investigator in November 2024.
FDLE made no recommendations on charges, asked State Attorney to review the case
In her intro, State Attorney Fox pointed out that the “allegations of violations of Florida criminal law relating to” Frazzano and other members of the Marco Island Police Department (MIPD) that were presented to the FDLE, along with “many others not germane to this review, were made public in an unsigned, undated, and non-sworn, 17-page letter.”
The FDLE’s criminal investigation was conducted chiefly by Inspector James Franquiz of the Public Corruption Unit. FDLE submitted its findings to the State Attorney’s Office (SAO) on Nov. 7, 2025, Fox wrote.
“Notably, FDLE made no recommendation as to whether charges should be filed, and no specific finding of probable cause was made. The SAO received this investigation as an agency review to determine what appropriate charges, if any, should be filed in this case,” Fox wrote.
“It is important to note that FDLE did not investigate every allegation in FOP letter – but only those allegations that might pertain to a violation of the Florida criminal law,” she wrote.
While Fox did find the MIPD’s accreditation process “less than orderly,” she found no crimes were committed.
According to the State Attorney letter, FDLE and the state attorney investigated and reviewed allegations of three alleged criminal incidents:
The Gallup accusations were not included in the FOP letter but were found through additional public records searches, Fox wrote. The private lawsuit was filed on Oct. 31, 2025, in the Collier County Circuit Court as “Matthew Gallup and Christine Gallup v. City of Marco Island and Tracy Frazzano and Michael McNees,” case number 25-CA-2561. “The nine-count (9) Complaint and all attachments thereto was reviewed,” Fox wrote.
Going point by point, Fox wrote about each review.
“There is no credible evidence that Frazzano, Stoltenborg, or Wallace “submitted” falsified written exams,” Fox wrote.
“When confronted with the direct question: have you ever seen Frazzano falsify documents or has Frazzano ever asked you (the witness) to falsify documents – the answers from Sgt. (Zachary) Kirsch, Sgt. (Kyle) Kreis, Joan Taylor, Sgt. (Adam) Nelson, Sgt. (Mark) Haueter, Reserve Ofcr. (Ed) D’Alessandro, and Cpt. (Richard) Stoltenborg were consistent. Their answers were no.”Fox concluded that “no credible evidence exists to charge Frazzano, Stoltenborg, or Wallace with any violation of the Florida criminal code regarding forgery, falsification, official misconduct.”
As to the allegation of trespassing or burglary, “the evidence is insufficient to support a finding of probable cause for the charge of burglary.”
No police report was filed in the private lawsuit case
The Gallups filed their lawsuit and decided to press charges eight months after the incident, after the union letter was made public.
Frazzano had driven to the Gallups’ home looking for her employee who had called her while she was off duty, upset about a conversation with another officer, according to the document.
“No police report was ever filed at the time of the offense,” Fox wrote. “MIPD was never notified, Collier County Sheriff’s Office was never notified, nor was FDLE,” Fox wrote. “This incident occurred in February 2023. The Gallups decided to press charges only after the FOP letter was made public in October 2024, and FDLE was brought in to investigate the relevant accusations. The demand to prosecute was made by both witnesses in July 2025.”
Timing aside, Fox wrote that “the evidence is insufficient to support a finding of probable cause for the charge of Trespass.”
“Frazzano did willfully enter and remain (either a few minutes or 20 minutes is irrelevant) in the Gallup’s home,” Fox wrote. “However, no evidence exists that entry was without authorization. Nor is there any evidence that, arguendo (for the sake of argument), authorization was granted but then was revoked and a warning to depart given.”
“Of note, this alleged incident was not recounted in the FOP letter,” Fox wrote. “These facts create a credibility issue for the complainants.”
Fox commended the FDLE for its work on an arduous case.
“It is difficult to work from an unsigned, undated, lengthy laundry list of accusations against an organization, then blasted to the public and media and cull those accusations down to the relevant issues for inquiry,” she wrote.
With the investigation over, what do Frazzano and the union say?
Frazzano, who has been Marco Island’s police chief since September 2019, replied to questions from the Naples Daily News in an email, saying “I appreciate the thorough and careful review conducted by the State Attorney’s Office and FDLE. I value the time, professionalism and diligence exhibited by all. The findings reinforce Marco Island Police Department’s commitment to each other and this great community. We are moving forward and remain proud to protect and serve Marco Island.”
FOP Lodge 95 President Jonathon Gray didn’t respond Friday to an email from the Naples Daily News.
Looking at the accreditation process that seemed to cause the friction and allegations, Fox wrote, “MIPD was dealing with stringent deadlines, unfamiliar software, and a reordering of forms. Various sergeants responsible for uploading documents into METR (Managing Employee Training Records software) were failing in their responsibilities and which required a reorganization of duties. Some of the witnesses indicated that others within the department felt accreditation was a fool’s errand and there was an insinuation that some might have intentionally muddled the process.”
All of this created a tense and accusatory environment, “Fox wrote, “resulting in behavior aligning with the atmosphere. This is mentioned not as an indictment or criticism of those involved, but as further proof of an undercurrent that could call into question the motives and biases of certain witnesses if exposed to vigorous cross-examination in a trial.”
Former City Manager McNees pointed out similar conflicts in his review of the non-criminal complaints by the union.
Former City Manager McNees left his recommendations
McNees closed his internal review of the complaints and allegations in November, sending a report to Frazzano, the union and the Marco Island City Council Nov. 12, 2025, two days before his resignation took effect.
“It is my assessment that significant progress has been made since the original ‘No Confidence’ vote was taken,” wrote McNees, who had been city manager since July 2019.
“The ‘Operations Excellence’ meetings and other initiatives undertaken by the command staff represent legitimate efforts to open lines of communication. Increased staffing levels have lessened stress on the existing staff,” McNees wrote.
However, mixed messages continued, he said, continuing:
“The type of mixed messages that have been the hallmark of the last few years seem to remain in evidence. … Talking through many of the situations the union brought forward for discussion a theme recurred, which I would characterize as conflict arises from failure to recognize different perspectives; What one party sees as giving someone a chance for positive interaction with the boss might feel to them like being called to the principal’s office. On many occasions it is clear to me that some interactions with command staff members, even if well intended, are taken as intimidating or coercive. Additional steps must be taken to address this perception.”
McNees made recommendations to the interim city manager, including eliminating personal use of Frazzano’s city-issued vehicle and having an independent, third-party organizational/cultural assessment conducted department wide.
“The internal efforts to improve communications are notable, but I contend that data that is professionally gathered, interpreted, and communicated will help us get past what I characterize as a tendency for each party to see what they want to see,” McNees wrote.
This article originally appeared on Marco Eagle: Marco Island police chief cleared by FDLE after union claims
Reporting by J. Kyle Foster, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Marco Eagle
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