Rush Guitarist Heads For Trial After NYE Brawl

A trial date has been set for the lead guitarist of the internationally known rock group Rush, who is facing felony charges for an altercation with Collier County deputies at the Ritz-Carlton on New Year's Eve 2004.

Alex Zivojinovich, who is accused of pushing a female deputy down a hotel stairwell and spitting his blood on a male officer, is scheduled to stand trial for assault charges on May 16.

"I think it's going to trial May 16," said his Naples defense attorney Jerry Berry as he was leaving the courthouse on Wednesday morning. But trial could be avoided if the state and defense reach a plea agreement in the meantime. A judge on Wednesday also approved of scheduling an April 27 "sounding hearing." At these hearings, a judge can accept a plea bargain. Berry and the prosecutor weren't talking about whether plea discussions are underway.

Prosecutor Rich Montecalvo said there is no plea yet. "We're not even at that stage yet. . . I can't talk about that. I don't know what's going to happen," he said as he was walking out of the courtroom on Wednesday.

A continuance of the case was agreed upon by Berry and Montecalvo. "There are some other witnesses we've located. We're taking their depositions, Berry said.

It has been more than a year since Alex Zivojinovich, known on stage as Alex Lifeson, was arrested for scuffling with Collier County sheriff's deputies at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples at a New Year's Eve bash ringing in 2004.

He is facing two third-degree felony charges that could carry five-year prison sentences.

For those not familiar with this case here are some older articles:

Rock band guitarist, family arrested for New Year's Eve scuffle with deputies

By JOHN HENDERSON, jfhenderson@naplesnews.com
January 2, 2004

The lead guitarist for a renowned rock band faces criminal charges after a scuffle with Collier County sheriff's deputies at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, on New Year's Eve.

Alex Zivojinovich, a founding member of Rush, known on stage as Alex Lifeson, was arrested after what deputies describe as a drunken, violent outbreak at the posh hotel.

Zivojinovich, 50, faces six charges that include aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and disorderly intoxication. Also arrested in the brouhaha were his 33-year-old son Justin Zivojinovich and his wife, Michelle, 30.

Deputies say they had to use a stun gun on Alex Zivojinovich, 8787 Bay Colony Drive, Apt. 804 in Naples, and his son during the fracas. And in their reports they accuse Alex Zivojinovich of pushing a female deputy down a hotel stairwell during the struggle, and of spitting blood on a deputy's face.

But his son Justin, who was visiting his father on vacation from Canada, gave a very different account of what happened during an interview Thursday night.

He said his father, who was still in the Collier County jail as of late Thursday, had his nose broken by deputies, and as he was spitting out the blood from the injuries, deputies assaulted him again. He also said his father did not push the female deputy down the stairs as stated in arrest reports.

Instead, Justin Zivojinovich said, the deputy tumbled down the stairs as she pushed him down the stairwell.

He said the trouble began after he got up on the stage where the house band was performing at the hotel.

"I was singing Happy New Year's, that's all I was doing, singing to the whole crowd. That's all I said, 'Happy New Year,'" Justin Zivojinovich said. "Everyone was enjoying themselves. That's when someone apparently started yelling for one of the security guards. There was no violence on our part.

"I was ready to leave. I was asked to leave, and I said, 'OK, I'm going to go. I'll grab my wife and be out of there.' They didn't want that. They didn't want me to leave on a high note. They felt they would lose. They decided to aggravate me. They stunned me, as well as my father, with a stun gun."

Justin Zivojinovich said they have hired Naples defense lawyer Jerry Berry to represent them. Rush has scheduled a global 30th anniversary tour in 2004, and Justin said he did not know whether this arrest might affect those plans.

"If we don't get off of these charges, we're going to start seeking lawsuits against a lot of people," Justin Zivojinovich said.

Arrest reports paint a picture of an intoxicated, unruly, and violent father and son who refused to comply with deputies' orders. The reports said that trouble began after Justin Zivojinovich got up on the band's stage after being warned not to.

The reports state that the 33-year-old Zivojinovich became verbally abusive after being asked to leave the stage. "When approached by hotel Security Supervisor Frank Barner, he said "(Expletive) off, I'm going to sing a song for my wife," according to the arrest report.

The reports said that is when his 50-year-old father came to the defense of his son and became verbally abusive with Barner.

Barner then called sheriff's deputies, and stated that he wanted both men removed from the property and issued trespass warnings.

Collier Sheriff's Deputy Christopher Knott's said in his report that he told Justin Zivojinovich he would be escorting him to the property line and issuing him a trespass warning prohibiting him from returning to Ritz-Carlton property.

"Justin stated that was fine. When Justin and I walked back into the ballroom to retrieve his property, he threw his hat and started screaming obscenities," Knott's report states. "A second male identified as Justin's father, Alex Zivojinovich, approached us and stated that his son wasn't going anywhere."

Knott alleges that he told Alex Zivojinovich that if he didn't move away from them, that he would be arrested for obstruction of justice. "Alex stated, "Take me to jail, I don't care, it's (expletive) New Year's Eve,'" Knott's report states.

Knott contends that Alex Zivojinovich then put his hands on his son's chest and began pushing him in the opposite direction of the way the deputy was escorting him.

"Justin began to struggle and resist. I placed Justin in an arm bar and began escorting him away with the assistance of Cpl. Amy Stanford to avoid any further disturbance. Cpl. Scott Russell was trying to keep Alex and several other members in their party away from us, with little success. As I looked over my right shoulder, I could see Cpl. Russell struggling with several people to include Alex and Justin's wife, Michelle."

Knott's report states that as deputies entered the service stairwell, Justin Zivojinovich began to struggle and swing his right elbow at Stanford's face.

He states that as he escorted Justin Zivojinovich to the ground he felt Alex Zivojinovich pushing into him.

"As the situation began to escalate with several people filling the stairwell, I removed my Taser (stun gun) and warned Alex to keep away. I turned to assist in handcuffing Justin and he began to thrash his body. I warned deputies of my intention to tase the wildly combative Justin."

Knott's report states that after the stun gun was then used on Justin, Alex was screaming obscenities and being extremely violent. Knott says Alex Zivojinovich ripped the police radio off of his uniform, "depriving me of calling for backup units."

Knott states that when Corporal Stanford attempted to pull Alex Zivojinovich away from him, the rock star — who arrest reports say stands 6 feet tall and weighs 230 pounds — grabbed her and shoved her down the steps, forcing her to fall on her back. Knott said that Stanford suffered injuries that required medical attention.

Alex Zivojinovich won Best Rock Talent in 1983 in the category "Guitar for the Practicing Musician." He was inducted into the Guitar for the Practicing Musician Hall of Fame in May of 1991. His Yugoslavian parents immigrated to Canada. His only formal training was during Rush's early days on the Toronto club circuit.

The Rolling Stone magazine Web site said Rush "carved itself a place in the prog-rock elite through three decades of popular releases."

"The band saw success throughout the '80s on the consistent release of albums, a rigorous touring schedule and a dedicated fan base," the Web site said.

Rush had a string of popular hits in the 1980s, such as the song "Tom Sawyer," from The Moving Pictures album of 1981. Other hits included "Limelight" and "Spirit of the Radio."

Guest commentary: Rock star Zivojinovich's arrest will be given proper, timely review

By DON HUNTER, Special to the Daily News
January 11, 2004

I am writing this as an agency update on the arrest of Alex, Justin, and Michelle Zivojinovich on New Year's Eve.

The arrest of these individuals gained national publicity because of Alex Zivojinovich's (aka Alex Lifeson) involvement in the music industry. Some of Alex Zivojinovich's "fans" have spoken out on his behalf and in doing so have attacked this agency, the individual deputies, and The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, as well as the community in which we live and serve.

None of the fans appear to have been present as witnesses.

Premature, emotional, conclusive statements by the public, this agency or the media are ill-advised and frequently wrong. This agency is a nationally and state accredited law enforcement agency with proven policy and procedure in place (which is periodically exercised) to review this incident and provide a fair and just outcome. This event will receive the same proper and timely review as all others and is neither our first nor will it be our last, as we review many cases each year. I am personally reviewing reports of the incident, directing investigative follow-up and have conducted an extensive back brief with the active-duty deputies who were on scene.

This incident began as a routine disturbance call from the Ritz-Carlton at 280 Vanderbilt Beach Road. The Sheriff's Office received a call from Ritz-Carlton security staff requesting assistance in the removal of a subject (Justin Zivojinovich) alleged to be causing a disturbance.

Hotel staff asked that deputies remove Justin Zivojinovich from the hotel property due to his refusal to leave voluntarily. Hotel staff issued a trespass warning disallowing Mr. Zivojinovich from re-entering the hotel property. Deputies attempted to remove Mr. Zivojinovich from the premises; however, Mr. Zivojinovich is alleged to have refused deputy direction to leave. Mr. Zivojinovich then allegedly inspired his immediate partygoers to protest his ejection from hotel property and the situation quickly be came confrontational. Many people began to challenge deputies on scene.

During the course of the involuntary removal of Justin Zivojinovich, he actively resisted deputies and they then placed him under arrest.

Justin Zivojinovich's father, Alex, is alleged to have intervened during the physical arrest procedures, battered deputies and ripped one of the deputy's radios from his uniform, thereby disrupting the deputy's ability to communicate with other deputies as well as with the Collier County Sheriff's Office Emergency Communications Center.

Alex Zivojinovich is also alleged by deputies and independent witnesses to have grabbed one deputy by the front of her uniform and to have thrown her down a flight of stairs backwards, seriously injuring her. Alex Zivojinovich was injured when a deputy had to forcefully end Mr. Zivojinovich's continuing aggression towards deputies to prevent injury to deputies on scene. Deputies also reported that Alex Zivojinovich turned around and purposefully spat blood onto a deputy — an additional alleged violation of state law.

A full review of this incident with attendant evidence collection, further witness statements and investigative interviews is under way. The Sheriff's Office will not make further specific comment on this case other than periodic updates of case status.

Don Hunter is the sheriff of Collier County.

New details of Rush guitarist's New Year's Eve arrest emerge

By JOHN HENDERSON, jfhenderson@naplesnews.com
July 25, 2004

Alex Zivojinovich is back in Florida this week, but not for a court hearing tied to his New Year's Eve arrest in Naples.

The lead guitarist for the internationally known rock group Rush is back as part of a 30th anniversary North American tour.

Zivojinovich, known on stage as Alex Lifeson, has been touring the country with the group while he is out on bond facing felony assault charges that could land him a prison sentence stemming from an altercation with Collier sheriff's deputies at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples.

The tour stops this week in West Palm Beach and Tampa.

As it does, new details about the arrest are emerging in hundreds of pages of witness statements, released publicly under Florida law. The statements become public when exchanged between prosecutors and defense attorneys.

As for the court case, next up is a "sounding hearing" where the status is to be discussed. It is scheduled for Sept. 8 at 9 a.m. at the Collier County courthouse.

In the publicly released witness statements, an emotional scene is painted in the stairwell of the posh hotel where the altercation took place.

A sheriff's deputy acknowledges he punched Alex Zivojinovich in the face as Zivojinovich was charging up the stairwell of the hotel to come to the aid of his son, Justin Zivojinovich, who was being zapped by a deputy with a stun gun known as a Taser.

"I reached over the stair railing and struck the subject (Alex Zivojinovich) once in the facial area with a closed fist. This was immediately effective in preventing him from continuing his course towards Deputy (Christopher) Knott," Deputy R. Scott Russell states in a "Use Of Force" report.

Russell explains that he had observed Alex Zivojinovich push Deputy Amy Stanford down the cement stairwell, and rush at Deputy Knott, who was "attempting to restrain a violent subject (Justin )."

According to his personnel file, Knott, a bodybuilder known for his excellent physical condition, is a former Navy officer. As a rookie deputy, he recently was praised in his personnel report for his fearlessness in restraining "disorderly subjects" using "reasonable/legal force."

Russell's report states that at that time he punched Alex Zivojinovich, he was trying to stop him from getting to Knott.

"It was obvious that the subject's next intention was to harm Deputy Knott in an attempt to prevent us from taking his son into custody," the statement says.

This much also is clear from numerous witness statements: Alex Zivojinovich thought deputy Stanford, the woman he is accused of pushing down the stairwell, had punched him in the face.

According to her personnel file, Amy Stanford was a former Naples High School athletic standout, who, in her current job as a Collier sheriff's corporal, seems to "charge head-long into situations requiring two or more officers."

Several witnesses stated they heard Alex Zivojinovich curse Stanford as he accused her of hitting him, but it is unclear from the statements whether Stanford actually struck him.

As Zivojinovich left the Collier County jail on Jan. 2, his nose was swollen and his shirt was covered with dry blood.

Stanford doesn't state in her report that she punched Zivojinovich.

But one witness said she did.

"I just remember seeing the end of when she (Stanford) punched him (Alex Zivojinovich) in the nose, she punched him in the face. ... He (Alex) was trying to get toward his son," said Charles Shed, an employee of the Ritz-Carlton.

Stanford recalled being pulled down the stairs by Alex Zivojinovich.

"The father (Alex Zivojinovich) grabbed my shirt and pulled me down the stairs, where I fell to the bottom of the steps, hitting my back and head on the ground," she writes in her report.

At that point, other deputies responded to the scene and used the Taser stun gun on Alex Zivojinovich, Stanford states.

Frank Barner, the resort's manager on duty that night, said he saw Russell hit Alex Zivojinovich to "hold him back" after he made an "aggressive" move toward Stanford.

Barner praised the way the deputies handled the situation, saying there was "extreme violence" on the (Zivojinovich) family's part.

"The deputies had given multiple warnings to these people. ... It escalated from a simple trespass to physical violence. Justin was extremely violent, kept yelling at deputies, using profanity. I remember him going from a kneeling position (to) upright, turning around, and pointed at (deputy) Chris Knott, telling him to back the (expletive) off, so it was violent on the family's behalf, and deputies acted in a very professional manner."

Witnesses report seeing an entourage of emotional family and friends of Alex and Justin Zivojinovich following deputies, who were trying to escort Justin off the property after he got onto the stage where the house band was performing.

Deputies contend that Alex Zivojinovich tried to push his son in an opposite direction of where a deputy was escorting him from the hotel property, reports state.

The situation escalated from there.

In a statement, John Cannivet, the assistant food and beverage manager for the Ritz, painted an emotional scene when the stun gun was first used on Justin Zivojinovich.

"The deputy tased Justin, who fell to the ground shaking," Cannivet told officer Jason Wrobleski. "The female in the stairway (Michelle Zivojinovich, Justin's wife) began to scream and cry."

He states that Stanford then tried to keep Alex Zivojinovich from getting up the stairs to where Justin was lying, the report states.

"Alex kept coming up the stairs, and the female deputy attempted to keep him back. They both rolled down the stairs together," he states.

Charles Shed, an employee of the Ritz-Carlton, said he was in the stairwell of the hotel just before deputies used a stun gun on Justin Zivojinovich.

"I kept hearing him say that they (deputies) were hurting his arms, and they were breaking his arms, and then he started a scuffle with them, I guess in trying to break free," he states.

Shed said that after deputies used a stun gun on Justin, "he dropped pretty quick and he was screaming in pain."

After the melee, Kyle Johnson, a housekeeping manager for the hotel, recalls seeing a blood-stained Alex Zivojinovich yelling and screaming at deputies.

"He (said) that they were gonna get sued," Johnson said in the statement.

The altercation between Alex Zivojinovich and deputies began after Justin Zivojinovich got up on the Ritz house band's stage. A band led by William Noll was performing alternating music sets with a band next to it led by Freddy Cole, the 71-year-old younger brother of the late, legendary Nat King Cole.

Noll, who was leading the house band, said in his sworn statement that the evening was going very well until Justin and friends got onto the stage.

"Freddy (Cole) was playing. People were dancing. They were eating their entree. Everything was cool in the ballroom. ... I kind of smiled, left, and returned about 12 minutes later in abject horror from what I heard coming through the ballroom doors."

He said he heard a "litany of screaming and shouting" in the microphone; someone had overtaken his band's congas.

"Mr. Cole does not have a conga player. So I knew the stage had been taken overtaken by some uninvited guest," he said.

Noll said in his statement that he saw three people on the stage, including Justin Zivojinovich, who was dressed in a white suit and was shouting into the microphone.

"Another man was in the middle of the stage dancing suggestively, sort of a semi-strip dance. The third was playing the congas, and my heart sank when I saw this irrational takeover of the stage," Noll said.

He said he asked the conga player to leave the stage, but the man refused and looked back with "eyes of aggression."

Noll said rather than get into an argument, he shut down the sound board. They then confronted him, his statement continues.

"You don't know who you're dealing with. You're in a lot of trouble. We're going to have your job. You're ruining our (expletive) New Year's Eve," Noll says the contingent told him.

Noll said in a telephone interview that Alex Zivojinovich wasn't one of the three people who had gotten onto the stage, but he was part of an entourage of family members who verbally badgered him after he shut down the sound board. He said when Justin Zivojinovich was on stage, he introduced Cole as "Count Basie."

Noll said Justin wasn't singing, but yelling "all kinds of nonsense into microphone."

Meanwhile, Cole continued to play and sing.

"His (Cole's) group was trying to be very professional," Noll said.

Noll said throughout the evening, Alex Zivojinovich and women who were part of his party continued to harass him.

"They kept on me all night, accused me of calling the cops. I did not. I play the piano. I don't call the cops," he said. "They wouldn't let up on me all night. It was the worst night of my life. The women kept saying, 'You don't know who you're dealing with.' The only thing I asked our security to do was to keep these people away from me after Lifeson and his friends almost formed a line to come up and badger me. I asked them to stay away from me."

Noll said at the time, he had no idea that the man in the black tuxedo was the lead guitarist for the group Rush.

A well-known conductor himself, Noll said he wasn't impressed by that anyway.

"I've played for the royal family. They were being totally out of line. It was surprising," he said.

Noll said he wonders how Alex Zivojinovich would feel if someone tried to take over the stage while he was performing on his tour.

"Reverse the scenario," he said.

Phil Lewis: NDN, sheriff feel the wrath of 'Rush' fans

By PHIL LEWIS, pplewis@naplesnews.com
January 18, 2004

pictureA bloody tussle during a New Year's Eve celebration at one of Naples' two Ritz-Carlton hotels and the reaction that followed has left us with this thought: Hell hath no fury like an irate Rush fan.

(Editor's note: I'm talking about Rush as in Canadian rock band; not Rush as in Limbaugh.) Alex Zivojinovich, 50, the lead guitarist of the band, owns a winter home in Pelican Bay and he was seeing in the new year with friends and family at the nearby Ritz.

He ended up in the Collier County jail with a broken nose and four felony charges including assault on a law enforcement officer. He's scheduled to enter a plea at the local courthouse on Jan. 26 at which time a trial date will be set.

It appears a trial will be necessary because Zivojinovich says he was unfairly arrested and the sheriff disagrees. Also arrested that night were Zivojinovich's 33-year-old son, Justin, and Justin's 30-year-old wife, Michelle.

Zivojinovich is known to rock fans around the world as Alex Lifeson. Rush, a band that released its first album in 1974, peaked in the 1980s but still has legions of loyal fans. More than a few jumped to Zivojinovich's defense after the arrest was picked up by national and international publications, including People magazine.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office received enough angry and disturbing e-mails that Sheriff Don Hunter issued an unusual press release that began: "Some of Alex Zivojinovich's fans have spoken out on his behalf, and in doing so, have attacked this agency, the individual deputies, and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, as well as the community in which we live and serve." He indicated that his deputies are being accused of abuse by people who weren't at the Ritz that night. In fact, many of them weren't even in Florida, much less Naples.

Tina Osceola, the sheriff's public information officer, said the e-mails are no fun to read.

"We're getting a lot of Rush fans being completely foul (in the messages)," she told our reporters. She said the Naples city police department also is receiving angry e-mails, even though the agency had nothing to do with the fight or the arrest because the Ritz is several miles outside the city limits.

A spokesperson for the Ritz said the hotel is also catching it from Rush fans.

"There is a definite misunderstanding that we were the ones pressing charges," the hotel spokesperson said.

And, you can add the Daily News to the list.

John Henderson, the reporter handling the police beat New Year's Day, was roundly criticized via e-mail for taking the address of Zivojinovich's North Naples condominium from booking sheets and including it in the arrest story.

"You scumsucking pig," was the opening of one e-mail received by Henderson.

"How dare you give out a rock star's address to the public. I hope you get punished for your stupidity you (expletive)." It was signed "An Irate Rush Fan." A more measured complaint followed: "I would like to comment on the sheer lack of taste and absence of journalistic integrity on the part of John Henderson. In his article 'Alex Lifeson of Rush Arrested in New Year's Eve Fracas,' Henderson revealed the celebrity musician's home address in Naples.

"Doesn't he have any common sense about privacy violations? Did he forget what happened to John Lennon? I think the editor of Naples (Daily) News is equally as suspect for letting this be published, and I sincerely hope that Mr. Lifeson's lawyers teach you all a lesson you'll remember." We're certain Mr. Lifeson's lawyers have more pressing duties. In Florida, the name, age and address of people arrested are a matter of public record, meaning the law requires such information to be available to anyone who requests it.

One Rush fan pointed out to us that just because the information is public record doesn't mean the newspaper has to print it.

That's true, but it's been this newspaper's policy for at least 25 years to use people's ages and local addresses when they are arrested, whether the alleged crime is shoplifiting, DUI or murder. We do this because it is a matter of public record and to help distinguish one Bob Jones from another.

True there was little danger of readers confusing Alex Zivojinovich, the rock star, with some other Alex Zivojinovich in Naples, but consider this: Over the years, hundreds of people have called to ask the newspaper to leave out a name, age or address prior to an arrest story being published. We've been told publication would cost them jobs, marriages, friendships, business deals and, yes, their safety. To each, we've said sorry, but we make no exceptions; we treat everyone the same whether they are rich, poor, famous or not so famous.

That, we would argue, is journalistic integrity.

Phil Lewis is editor of the Daily News; his email address is pplewis@naplesnews.com

Brent Batten: How serious are the felony allegations facing Alex Zivojinovich?

By BRENT BATTEN, bebatten@naplesnews.com
January 25, 2004

pictureRush fans may not take much interest in the legal troubles of a Naples doctor.

But they ought to.

The case of family practitioner Marc Blum serves as a grim instructive on just how seriously the charges facing Rush guitarist Alex Zivojinovich, aka Alex Lifeson, are viewed by the courts.

Blum, found guilty by a jury of battery on a law enforcement officer, was sentenced last week to two years in jail.

Like Zivojinovich, Blum enjoyed a measure of stature in the community.

It wasn't enough to keep him out of jail.

And the news gets worse for the musician and his fans. While Blum was convicted of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and assault on a law enforcement officer, Zivojinovich faces the more serious charge of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer. If proven, the crime carries a minimum mandatory sentence of five years in prison.

Minimum mandatory sentences get politicians elected but drive defense attorneys and judges crazy. The law doesn't care if you're a great guy with legions of fans and a world tour coming up. You're going to jail.

Of course, it is not unusual for charges to be reduced as a case makes its way through court. And Zivojinovich's lawyers aren't going to concede anything just yet. They have a room full of well-heeled witnesses to the start of the New Year's Eve altercation at the Ritz-Carlton and some may testify that sheriff's deputies overreacted to the situation that began when Zivojinovich's son, Justin, invited himself on stage.

Much of the action that led to the charges happened in a stairwell, however, meaning the only witnesses will be the dispute's participants.

Juries tend to believe cops.

Even if the Zivojinovich defense team, led by attorney Jerry Berry, is able to keep its client out of jail, there are still ramifications for the band and its followers. Any felony conviction could jeopardize the tour scheduled for this year. In the post 9-11 world, the United States isn't keen on letting foreign criminals into the country. While he owns a home in Naples, Zivojinovich is Canadian.

The reality of the situation serves as a cold slap in the face to area Rush fans confident a rich rock icon with a clean record and top-notch defense lawyers would get off with a light sentence, possibly in the form of a community service concert in our own back yard.

It probably wasn't a realistic idea anyway. During their last tour in 2002, Rush was playing arenas seating 20,000. That's with people paying to get in. A donate-a-can-of-food concert would bring a horde of Rush fans to Collier County.

There aren't a lot of venues here that could handle it.

The Collier County Fairgrounds, for example, had about 8,000 people at X-Fest III in 1999. There wasn't an X-Fest IV there. And remember when the 2000 Phish concert at the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation shut down Interstate 75? That kind of community service we don't need.

Strip the celebrity hype away, and you're left with felony allegations carrying substantial penalties. A Naples doctor can tell you just how serious that can be.

E-mail Brent Batten at bebatten@naplesnews.com.

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