MARCO ISLAND — Both the Police Chief and the Fire Chief in Marco Island are on administrative leave. They’re being investigated for having unauthorized access to the COVID-19 vaccine registration system.
The two met with City Manager Mike McNees at City Hall Tuedsay afternoon to discuss the investigation.
The City has been reluctant to provide many details, other than some brief comments McNees made in front of City Council Monday night.
At the end of the meeting, McNees addressed the investigation.
"I understand that those positions are very, very important to this community and, not only that, but the people in those positions are very, very important to this community. They mean a lot to people," said McNees.
McNees was talking about Police Chief Tracy Frazzano and Fire Chief Chris Byrne. Neither of them have been in their position for more than two years. They’re accused of unauthorized access and use of the vaccine registration system run by the company Eventbrite, and McNees said, he already has some evidence.
"There isn’t any dispute about facts. There aren’t allegations being made that are unproven or anything. There are some very specific things that I’m looking at that happened," said McNees.
We also reached out to the Florida Department of Health in Collier County to try to get some answers, but the Department said it isn’t involved in Marco Island's vaccine registration, because the City chose to use a separate Eventbrite account for its registration.
McNees said he plans to have the investigation complete by noon on Wednesday.
"I’m sorry that we’re in this position, but we are, and I want to deal with it with all alacrity," said McNees.
We also reached out to several City Council members for a comment. Council Member Erik Brechnitz said the Council doesn’t have any control over the Fire or Police Chief, so members won’t be commenting until a decision is made following the investigation.
