Florida was duped into buying conservation land tainted with creosote, a
toxic wood preservative linked to cancer and birth defects in a deal
hailed as an environmental win, says a lawsuit unsealed in federal court
last month.

The Colliers, through a spokesman, deny the allegations, but whistleblower
Sonja Eddings Brown, who worked closely with matriarch Parker Collier for
more than a decade before she was fired, says the powerful, wealthy family
helped engineer the nearly $30 million deal, but hid the fact that some of
the Everglades land was dangerously polluted.

The claims are part of a larger suit seeking damages from Collier for
Brown�s �loss of income, business opportunity, and goodwill, as well as
emotional distress and reputational harm,� and she demands a jury trial.
The 45-page complaint occasionally veers into only-in-Florida territory,
including the gift of a napkin embroidered with skull-and-crossbones, the
sale of a Lamborghini, death threats and Collier�s use of a numerologist.

The Colliers have categorically denied Brown's allegations through a
spokesman, and an environmental lobbyist who helped put the deal together
says Brown's claims are baseless.

But the issue at the heart of it is clear, Brown alleges: the Colliers,
who once owned more than a million Southwest Florida acres, got richer by
unloading tainted land onto taxpayers while relieving themselves of
polluted property.

Once home to the C.J. Jones Lumber Co., the biggest steam milling
operation in the Southeast, it was the processing heart of the logging
juggernaut that chewed through pine flatwoods and cypress swamps in the
early 20th Century, until it closed in 1957.

Though Jones had leased the land, the Colliers and their various business
entities owned it.

'A toxic source for hundreds of years'
Despite a 1990 agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental
Regulation (now Protection) requiring the Colliers to clean it up and
provide water to residents of nearby Jerome, a tiny hamlet of fewer than
50 people, �almost as soon as the Colliers inked the deal with the State
of Florida � they stopped providing the residents the gallons of bottled
water the Consent Decree required (so) Mrs. Collier and her family
profited from the polluted land while leaving residents at risk of
exposure to toxic chemicals in the water they drink, cook, and shower
with," according to the lawsuit.

The transaction that included the tainted land, Brown claims, was foisted
on the state after a series of high-level meetings with then-President
Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and their respective teams. Because of
Brown's government relations expertise, Parker Collier tapped her to help
with the deal.

�Mrs. Collier falsely told Brown that the creosote contamination, which
she said had happened a long time ago, had been cleaned up. And despite
knowing that Brown would be interacting with President Donald Trump and
senior White House and campaign staff, as well as Governor Ron DeSantis
and his senior team, regarding the acquisition, she told Brown not to
discuss the creosote during her meetings," according to the lawsuit.

Brown was fired in early 2020, before the sale was final, but the deal
included the tainted land, the suit claims.

Green Heart of the Everglades No more threat of oil drilling on this
10,000-acre preserve near Everglades City

The contamination remains, Brown says, offering as evidence independent
testing reviewed by physician James Dahlgren, "an expert who has studied
toxic chemical exposure since 1973" that found creosote's chemical
signature in area well water.

Dahlgren says the findings mean "water from that well will produce adverse
health effects for those using that water� and the results are �the tip of
the iceberg reflecting likely widespread water contamination� that poses
significant health risks. Dahlgren says the �water and soil around Jerome
and Everglades City are contaminated and need to be remediated or it will
be a toxic source for hundreds of years,� the suit claims.

Naples Daily News questions to the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection about the deal were directed to the South Florida Water
Management District, which took charge of the property's vetting and
purchase.

Suit's allegations 'just wrong,' lobbyist says
In an email, spokesman Randy Smith wrote: �It is a long-established
practice for the South Florida Water Management (District) to conduct a
comprehensive environmental assessment of any real estate prior to its
purchase, and this includes the purchase in Collier County known as the
Green Heart of the Everglades. Assessments are performed as part of a
standardized process to meet the District�s high-level of commitment to
public safety, environmental stewardship, and good governance.�

After reviewing the lawsuit, Ernie Cox, a lobbyist for the environmental
nonprofit WildLandscapes International, which negotiated the sale, said
the land the legal challenge involves wasn't part of the sale.

The allegations are "just wrong," he said.

The sale involved land owned by two sides of the Collier family. On a map,
Cox pointed to a small piece of property referenced in the lawsuit, east
of State Road 29, showing it as outside of the acquisition's boundaries.

WildLandscapes, he said, approached the Colliers about the sale of the
property for conservation, not the other way around. The group saw it as a
missing jewel, as it's surrounded by other protected lands in the "middle
of the Everglades."

Cox also questions the character of the suit: "There is a whole lot of
inaccuracies in that lawsuit," he said. "It looks more like a contract
dispute than a whistleblower lawsuit."

He believes the adjacent property was "cleaned up years ago," and it's
owned by the U.S. Department of Interior, which purchased it long ago, he
said.

The Water Management District knew the site�s history, so it wasn't
"hidden" in any way, as claimed by Brown, Cox said.

"It looks like she's making allegations that she was supposed to be paid
for something," he said. "That's not something I know anything at all
about."

He insisted there was nothing toxic about the land sold to the water
district, and that WildLandscapes did its homework.

"I'm really, really happy that we were able to get this property into
public ownership," Cox said. "I think it's a great piece of conservation
land. It's got incredible natural resources on it."

Area environmental nonprofits, including the Conservancy of Southwest
Florida and the Everglades Foundation were not involved in the deal and
declined to comment on Brown's claims. "(This) is the first that we�ve
heard of this. The claims in the suit are not issues that we have any
insight or knowledge about, so we are not able to provide comments," wrote
Nicole Johnson, the Conservancy's director of environmental policy, in an
email.

The 'new face' of Collier Enterprises turns whistleblower
In her years with the Colliers, Brown had an up-close view of their
activities, particularly those of Parker Collier, for whom she became a
close confidante.

According to the suit, Brown was "on-call for a variety of projects and
tasks related to Mrs. Collier�s personal and professional affairs. Brown
would often attend meetings and local political events as Mrs. Collier�s
representative and was even trusted by Mrs. Collier to supervise her
contractors (and) frequently shared personal information regarding
herself, the Collier family, her consultations with her numerologist, and
her ambitious business and financial goals."

The suit says Brown's work included:

Managing certain philanthropic and community relationships for Parker
Collier. "While attending events on Mrs. Collier�s behalf, Brown created
relationships and secured business for Mrs. Collier�s business endeavors."

Facilitating the sale of Collier�s Lamborghini.

Coordinating the Collier family�s personal political giving (separate from
Collier Enterprises).

Assisting with business opportunities for Collier family members,
including evaluating an athletic contract for Mrs. Collier�s daughter and
developing a website for (her husband) Miles Collier�s book.

Consulting on a marketing strategy for products from the Collier Vermont
Farm

The suit alleges that "in March 2020, a month before Brown�s termination,
the Colliers asked Brown to hold herself out as the 'new face' of Collier
Enterprises, alongside Interim CEO Don Whyte." Brown is quoted in the
Naples Daily News about Rivergrass.

Also part of the complaint are Brown's allegations of other Collier
malfeasance, particularly involving the family's work to secure government
approval to develop some of their land into a series of "villages," the
largest of which is Rivergrass.

According to the suit, as she learned about what she saw as the company's
shady practices, Brown became worried her association with it would damage
her own credibility and reputation.

The suit also alleges company corruption involving development approvals.
Brown says she tried to question it, but she was ignored and lied to,
which led to "loss of income, business opportunity, and goodwill, as well
as emotional distress and reputational harm."

The suit claims: "Concerned about the possible consequences of the
questions and alleged corruption Brown had raised, as well as her fear
that Brown would eventually learn the full truth about the creosote
contamination, Mrs. Collier began to view Brown as an existential threat.
As a result, she engineered her sudden termination at the peak of her
responsibilities at Collier Enterprises."

A Collier spokesperson denied Brown's complaint: �This claim is without
merit and completely baseless. We categorically refute all allegations
made against us and will vigorously defend our position and reputation,
utilizing the full extent of legal remedies available to us."

The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers.

https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/environment/2024/07/11/whistleblower
-says-collier-family-sold-8-000-tainted-acres-to-florida/74264322007/