Man reveals how suspect pulled off stealing his $228K Rolex, lots of cash from boat on Lake Minnetonka

A 20-year-old man stole a duffle bag off a boat docked on Lake Minnetonka that contained a still-missing Rolex watch worth nearly a quarter-million dollars, other luxury items and thousands of dollars in cash, according to a criminal complaint.

William David Frattalone, 20, of Deephaven, is scheduled to appear in Hennepin County District Court on Thursday after he was charged with felony theft in connection with stealing the bag July 4 outside Maynards Restaurant in Excelsior.

Frattalone was charged by summons. The Minnesota Star Tribune reached out to Frattalone for a response to the allegations and did not hear back. His attorney, Eric Nelson, declined to comment.

Frattalone played high school football and lacrosse at Benilde-St. Margaret’s in St. Louis Park and then was on the North Dakota State University football team last season, though not this year.

The victim told the Minnesota Star Tribune on Monday that he was on the boat with about 30 others after getting takeout from Maynards when Frattalone stepped aboard.

“We didn’t know who he was,” said the bag’s owner, who asked not to be identified out of concern for his safety and privacy. “He acted like he knew a bunch of people. He was shaking hands like he knew everyone.”

The victim said he’s been visiting the lake for 20 years, “and I’ve never had anything like that happen. I leave stuff on the boat all the time.”

“Bro we have you on video taking the bag,” according to copies of the text exchange the victim said he had with Frattalone and provided to the Star Tribune. “We can do this one of two ways. You can bring the bag back with everything that was in it with no hard feelings or I can continue with the police report and send them your info and go that route.”

The frame grab from the victim had this response: “Hey man, I did not take anyone’s bag other than my own.”

As of late Monday afternoon, the watch has yet to be recovered, the victim said. His passport was in the bag, and that also has not been found, he said.

The 39-year-old victim, who said he works in engineering, did have insurance for the watch but decided not to put in a claim out of concern his insurer would drop him as a customer.

According to the complaint and related court documents:

The man said the bag held a Rolex watch valued at $228,000. The complaint specified that it was a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Platinum Ice Blue Index Dial watch.

Also in the victim’s bag was $25,000 worth of limited-edition clothing, $5,000 to $10,000 in cash, $400 worth of cologne, his car key, passport, Apple AirPods and flash drives for work. The bag itself, a Louis Vuitton Keepall 55, was valued at $2,400.

Among the people on the boat was Frattalone. Restaurant staff enforced policy and stopped him from bringing the bag inside. The employees then escorted him out.

Another among the group on the boat contacted Frattalone about the missing bag. Frattalone said his parents “were wealthy and would write a check for whatever was inside the bag,” the complaint read, but he did not bring it back.

Police searched Frattalone’s home and found the bag in his bedroom and much of the clothing it held. The complaint said the Rolex Daytona was not recovered.