Josephine Marucci

SAM J. FRANKINO, age 85; died peacefully on November 15, 2009 in West Palm Beach, FL surrounded by his family. Beloved husband for 34 years of Connie (nee Kovacic); loving father of Lorraine Dodero (husband Bill); devoted grandfather of Corinne Dodero; cherished brother of Helen Cancasci (husband Louis), Connie Maund (husband Vince, deceased) and the late Tony Frankina. dear uncle and great-uncle of many; dearest son-in-law of Martha and the late Albert Kovacic; World War II U.S. Army Veteran.

Sam was the Founder & CEO of Agency Rent-A-Car, National Auto Credit and Credex Auto Leasing & Finance, and Legacy Management.

Contributions may be made in Sams memory to KidSanctuary Campus, Inc. 350 South County Road, Suite 208 – Palm Beach, FL 33480 or Patron of the Arts in the Vatican Museums – 6275 Cochran Rd Suite 1 – Solon, Ohio 44139.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, November 20, 2009 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church at 11:30 AM. Private burial to take place in FL at a later date.

The family will receive friends to pay tribute to and celebrate the life of Sam at THE DeJOHN-FLYNN-MYLOTT FUNERAL HOME OF SOUTH EUCLID, 4600 MAYFIELD RD. (just east of Green Rd.) on Thursday, November 19, 2009 from 2:00 – 4:00 and 6:30 – 9:00 PM.

In 1969, while Mr. Frankino was a real estate agent and landlord, an insurance agent and tenant mentioned that a client of his needed a car on a short-term loan. Frankino stepped in, offering to rent the man his daughter’s Chevrolet Impala. He charged $9.50 per day; it was the most the insurance company would pay, but significantly less than the standard rate. By the time the first client was through with the car, the insurance agent had lined up another taker. Frankino later reflected, “My daughter never did get that Impala,” in a 1985 interview with Jay McCormick of Forbes.

That first rental signaled the dawn of the insurance-replacement segment of the auto rental industry. Frankino incorporated the service under the blas, but straightforward, Agency Rent-A-Car name in 1971, maintaining it as a private concern.

He attracted business by keeping his rates low and made money by keeping his cars on the road and maintained the car rental industry’s highest utilization rate.

Frankino had modest aspirations for his sideline, hoping eventually to build the enterprise up to 50 or 60 cars. In fact, he kept up his real estate business throughout Agency’s first decade and did not pay himself a salary until after he took the company public. He was especially adamant about avoiding debt.

Agency clearly exceeded all of Frankino’s expectations; it had a fleet of 9,800 vehicles and annual revenues of about $60 million by 1983. Frankino took the company public that year and won the Harvard Business School Alumni Association’s George S. Dively Entrepreneur Award. Agency’s success inspired awe and imitation.

Mr. Frankino began to shift his focus from the insurance-replacement segment of the auto rental industry to used car sales and financing. This business evolved out of the natural “recycling” of Agency’s fleet. By 1985, the company was operating three car dealerships, which economized on both new car purchases and used car sales. This well-timed move coincided with the growth of the used car market overall. By 1992, Agency had 18 retail operations nationwide.

This operation spawned another business, auto financing, which was formally organized as Agency’s National Auto Credit, Inc. (NAC) subsidiary in 1992. NAC provided financing services to Agency and other dealers and by mid-1994 boasted 1,150 dealers.

Mr. Frankino continued this business plan and expertise in the late 1990s and early 2000s growing Credex Auto Leasing and AutoTemps America all while self-managing his sizeable investment portfolio creating the Frankino Investment Company, Frankino Bond Exchange, and Legacy Management Company.

His knowledge of the bond and stock markets was that of an educated investor and his methods and results proved to surprise even those most knowledgeable brokers that worked with The Frankino Family of Funds. Millions of dollars generated from these funds are used for philanthropic work including the Samuel J. and Connie M. Frankino Charitable Foundation established in 1988 and the Samuel J. Frankino Foundation established in 2005 which donate millions of dollars a year to support education, hospitals, medical research, and children and youth services.

He was married to Connie Frankino for 34 years where they resided in West Palm Beach, Flordia. From a previous marriage, he had one Daughter, Lorraine Dodero, husband Bill. Corinne Dodero is his one and only granddaughter.