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‘Fat Leonard’ probe expands to ensnare more than 60 admirals

Rogue Valley

Rogue Valley

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‘Fat Leonard’ probe expands to ensnare more than 60 admirals

By Craig Whitlock
November 5, 2017

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Malaysian maritime tycoon Leonard Glenn Francis (Fat Leonard) with various US Navy Admirals

The “Fat Leonard” corruption investigation has expanded to include more than 60 admirals and hundreds of other U.S. Navy officers under scrutiny for their contacts with a defense contractor in Asia who systematically bribed sailors with sex, liquor and other temptations, according to the Navy. Most of the admirals are suspected of attending extravagant feasts at Asia’s best restaurants paid for by Leonard Glenn Francis, a Singapore-based maritime tycoon who made an illicit fortune supplying Navy vessels in ports from Vladivostok, Russia to Brisbane, Australia. Francis also was renowned for hosting alcohol-soaked, after-dinner parties, which often featured imported prostitutes and sometimes lasted for days, according to federal court records. The 350-pound Francis, also known in Navy circles as “Leonard the Legend” for his wild-side lifestyle, spent decades cultivating relationships with officers, many of whom developed a blind spot to his fraudulent ways. Even while he and his firm were being targeted by Navy criminal investigators, he received VIP invitations to ceremonies in Annapolis and Pearl Harbor, where he hobnobbed with four-star admirals, according to photographs obtained by The Washington Post.

The Navy’s handling of the cases has been largely opaque to the public. The Navy has identified only 10 of the 440 individuals who have come under military investigation and has divulged few details about their ties to Francis, even in cases that have been closed. The official said the Navy has concluded that about half of those under review — 230 people — were not guilty of misconduct. Francis’s widespread overbilling of the Navy had been an open secret for years. In response to a flood of fraud complaints dating to 2006, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) opened more than two-dozen separate investigations into Glenn Defense, according to law-enforcement records. Francis, 53, is in jail in San Diego as he awaits sentencing in federal court. He pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribing “scores” of Navy officials and defrauding the service of more than $35 million. One of his attorneys, Ethan Posner, declined to comment for this article.
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Disappointing would be an understatement.
 
why would anyone expect the Navy to be open & forth coming with any investigation, when they are investigating themselves?
That would be like the police investigating the police ..............

well, we all know the US Military is fuuuuuuuull of saints ................
 
Money has wormed it’s way into everything humans do.........People say that money and sex rule, not true! It’s money and *****!
 
America is such a corrupt place now.

It's time to decide to be better.
 
Hawkeye10 said:
America is such a corrupt place now.

It's time to decide to be better.
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I told someone earlier that America has been pretending, for a long time ................. I guess it just went right over their head .................
 
The “Fat Leonard” corruption investigation has expanded to include more than 60 admirals and hundreds of other U.S. Navy officers under scrutiny for their contacts with a defense contractor in Asia who systematically bribed sailors with sex, liquor and other temptations, according to the Navy. Most of the admirals are suspected of attending extravagant feasts at Asia’s best restaurants paid for by Leonard Glenn Francis, a Singapore-based maritime tycoon who made an illicit fortune supplying Navy vessels in ports from Vladivostok, Russia to Brisbane, Australia. Francis also was renowned for hosting alcohol-soaked, after-dinner parties, which often featured imported prostitutes and sometimes lasted for days, according to federal court records. The 350-pound Francis, also known in Navy circles as “Leonard the Legend” for his wild-side lifestyle, spent decades cultivating relationships with officers, many of whom developed a blind spot to his fraudulent ways. Even while he and his firm were being targeted by Navy criminal investigators, he received VIP invitations to ceremonies in Annapolis and Pearl Harbor, where he hobnobbed with four-star admirals, according to photographs obtained by The Washington Post.

The Navy’s handling of the cases has been largely opaque to the public. The Navy has identified only 10 of the 440 individuals who have come under military investigation and has divulged few details about their ties to Francis, even in cases that have been closed. The official said the Navy has concluded that about half of those under review — 230 people — were not guilty of misconduct. Francis’s widespread overbilling of the Navy had been an open secret for years. In response to a flood of fraud complaints dating to 2006, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) opened more than two-dozen separate investigations into Glenn Defense, according to law-enforcement records. Francis, 53, is in jail in San Diego as he awaits sentencing in federal court. He pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribing “scores” of Navy officials and defrauding the service of more than $35 million. One of his attorneys, Ethan Posner, declined to comment for this article.

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any of US Military tried in connection with this & found guilty should be sentenced to life, without ANY possibility of release ....................
 
We know best practice where these things are concerned, I have worked with some top U.S. companies that seem to have no problems with designing their vendor/customer relationships such that ethics are basically a part of every meeting, contract, and engagement, to the point that you don't even bring it up, they proactively train you on ethics, so that when you engage with them, you don't violate their ethics. No buying them lunch, no holiday gifts, you have work relationships and the rest is frowned upon as a conflict of interest.

Not surprising that the U.S. military lags behind, it's secretive due to it being military, it's enormously funded, sized, and powerful, and it's still a bit of a boys club vegas rules. Not easy to fight politically either I suspect, but then, I would not hold my breath Trump would, or would even know how, to clean up any government organization.
 
Mach said:
We know best practice where these things are concerned, I have worked with some top U.S. companies that seem to have no problems with designing their vendor/customer relationships such that ethics are basically a part of every meeting, contract, and engagement, to the point that you don't even bring it up, they proactively train you on ethics, so that when you engage with them, you don't violate their ethics. No buying them lunch, no holiday gifts, you have work relationships and the rest is frowned upon as a conflict of interest.

Not surprising that the U.S. military lags behind, it's secretive due to it being military, it's enormously funded, sized, and powerful, and it's still a bit of a boys club vegas rules. Not easy to fight politically either I suspect, but then, I would not hold my breath Trump would, or would even know how, to clean up any government organization.
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we all know he ran on a platform of going BACKWARDS .......... he will 'Make Bribery Great Again' ................. in the military, of course ...............
 
cuban smokes said:
we all know he ran on a platform of going BACKWARDS .......... he will 'Make Bribery Great Again' ................. in the military, of course ...............
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Well I have to say, if you're gonna be unethical in business dealings, these guys made the most of it...parties, food, drink, VIP treatment, sexxor, I mean, I can almost understand why they did it and continued it. If only Trump were so kind as to, while he's screwing the entire nation over, give us some VIP parties...but then, it's only his top folks that get that treatment, the elite of the elite. He's such a man of the people I tell ya.
 
Mach said:
Well I have to say, if you're gonna be unethical in business dealings, these guys made the most of it...parties, food, drink, VIP treatment, sexxor, I mean, I can almost understand why they did it and continued it. If only Trump were so kind as to, while he's screwing the entire nation over, give us some VIP parties...but then, it's only his top folks that get that treatment, the elite of the elite. He's such a man of the people I tell ya.
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Don't you just LOVE how Trump & all of these military folk sit up there, thump their chests, talk about God & country & values, all while they run around the planet reeking havoc, taking bribes, ****ing around on their wives, just warms my heart ............. and these are the ones entrusted to protect not only US but the planet

we are in really great ****ing hands, I tell ya ..................
 
Mach said:
Well I have to say, if you're gonna be unethical in business dealings, these guys made the most of it...parties, food, drink, VIP treatment, sexxor, I mean, I can almost understand why they did it and continued it. If only Trump were so kind as to, while he's screwing the entire nation over, give us some VIP parties...but then, it's only his top folks that get that treatment, the elite of the elite. He's such a man of the people I tell ya.
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Careful your TDS is showing. Wouldn’t want to look like a political hack now would you. Funny how you only mention Trump despite the fact that most of this took place under and was discovered under Obama.
 
cuban smokes said:
Don't you just LOVE how Trump & all of these military folk sit up there, thump their chests, talk about God & country & values, all while they run around the planet reeking havoc, taking bribes, ****ing around on their wives, just warms my heart ............. and these are the ones entrusted to protect not only US but the planet

we are in really great ****ing hands, I tell ya ..................
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Read the article carefully. This was taking place BEFORE Trump.
 
Roadvirus said:
Read the article carefully. This was taking place BEFORE Trump.
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Agencies have been having issues for a long long time. It is good that things are being brought to light. This is the only way they will get addressed.

Remember this beauty?

The Secret Service Disaster: A Timeline

From apparent drunk-driving to prostitution to sloppy investigations and advance work, the once-proud agency has had a rough four years.
 
braindrain said:
Careful your TDS is showing. Wouldn’t want to look like a political hack now would you. Funny how you only mention Trump despite the fact that most of this took place under and was discovered under Obama.
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Obama isn't in office, Trump won, get over it. Also, NO COLLUSION!
 
Mach said:
Obama isn't in office, Trump won, get over it. Also, NO COLLUSION!
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But this was ongoing under him and was discovered under him yet you want to blame Trump.

TDS much.
 
Fishking said:
Wow....60 Admirals? Sheesh...how many does the Navy have in total? This has to be a significant % of them.
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Lol. Typical stupid response. Unless the vast majority are under investigation ... no biggie.
 
Leonard Glenn Francis, Fat as hell Leonard, provided thousands of dollars in cash, travel expenses, luxury items, and prostitutes to a large number of U.S. uniformed officers, who in turn gave him classified material about the movements of U.S. ships and submarines, confidential contracting information, and information about active law enforcement investigations into Glenn Defense Marine Asia. Francis then "exploited the intelligence for illicit profit, brazenly ordering his moles to redirect aircraft carriers to ports he controlled in Southeast Asia so he could more easily bilk the Navy for fuel, tugboats, barges, food, water and sewage removal.
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Absolutely disgusting. This would be a mass culture of treason and poor discipline within the Navy. This internal investigation (began by Navy officials who suspected something fishy <---Get it?) is seven years in the making.
 
braindrain said:
Careful your TDS is showing. Wouldn’t want to look like a political hack now would you. Funny how you only mention Trump despite the fact that most of this took place under and was discovered under Obama.
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MSgt said:
Absolutely disgusting. This would be a mass culture of treason and poor discipline within the Navy. This internal investigation (began by Navy officials who suspected something fishy <---Get it?) is seven years in the making.
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MSgt - I seem to remember you discussing the discipline problem in the Army. I think this makes my case.

But for both of you, this kind of crap came long before Obama ever went to Congress. I strongly remember my second-favorite CO - he was CO of the USS Abraham Lincoln for a few years. Like most senior officers he had a legendary ego, but to his credit, he was self-aware and was big enough to poke fun at himself. He was also the only CO I ever served under to bring the entire ship's crew back alive after deployment.

Anyway, the time came for the flight deck to be resurfaced - NOT a small undertaking. We were stationed in Puget Sound, and he tried (and very nearly succeeded) to get us to anchor off of Santa Barbara for more than a month while local defense contractors there resurfaced our flight deck. This was very unpopular with the crew, because it would have taken us away from our families for that long. Of course this was all "just" the deckplate rumor...but we indeed find ourselves scheduled to go anchor off Santa Barbara for several weeks, and then the trip was mysteriously canceled, and we wound up resurfacing our flight deck in Puget Sund Naval Shipyard instead...and the crew drew a collective sigh of relief.

Now that doesn't sound like corruption...until one hears the other deckplate rumor that he had been planning on running for mayor of Santa Barbara after he retired, and that this would have been a great way to get in good with the local contractors there. Again, just rumor. Instead, he picked up RADM and became the liaison between Dick Cheney and the Joint Chiefs...who apparently had a real problem with getting handed their orders from VP Dick via a lowly RADM. He finally retired and took up a senior position in Northrop Grumman. Again, despite the unconfirmed rumor of corruption (which I state just in case he reads this), I again say in all seriousness that he was a damned good CO. I wouldn't mind serving under him again.

The point is this: regardless of the nation or the type of service involved, history shows that those who aspire to be flag officers have legendary egos, and many of them seem to believe that laws and ethics rules apply to lesser beings. This applies not only to military flag officers, but to leaders in all fields - look at how arrogant the best surgeons can be. Perhaps the best description was by Britain's Lord Acton: "Great men are almost always bad men." And MSgt, I think you probably know better than I do that in order to get things done in the military, sometimes it takes putting a real asshole in charge. I was never able to be a real asshole - I was always too nice - and I've always wondered if that was the reason that despite my skills, my leadership ability was, well, not good. No guy likes to admit that, but it was true...and I suspect you knew more than a few like that in your years in the Army.

One more thing - I did learn that the attitude of the whole command does come from the leader, and saw it time and time again. So one has to ask - since the whole scandal began under Obama, was it because of Obama that it happened? Or is it that it was under him that the investigations found what had been happening for quite a few years already? Remember, a lot of people get away with a lot of crap during war, like the freaking planeloads of pallets of $100 bills flown into Baghdad and then disappeared. So while I can't blame Trump, I also believe that little of the blame is Obama's, but on the SOB's who took us to war when it was completely unnecessary.

P.S. Trump is indeed a "bad man", but he fails Lord Acton's maxim because he is not nearly as intelligent or as self-aware as most great leaders are. He will never be a "great man".
 
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Glen Contrarian said:
So one has to ask - since the whole scandal began under Obama, was it because of Obama that it happened? Or is it that it was under him that the investigations found what had been happening for quite a few years already?
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While not a fan of Obama, I think it is a culture thing that goes on for some time. I remember a scandal where nuclear sub technicians were cheating on tests. I also remember the troubles that plagued (perhaps still do) the AF personnel who manned the Minuteman silos. There have been scandals at the academies. I put this up bout a week ago...

https://www.debatepolitics.com/mili...een-beret-died-hands-seal-team-6-members.html
 
Rogue Valley said:
Lol. Typical stupid response. Unless the vast majority are under investigation ... no biggie.
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Lol...what's stupid about it? There are 160 flag officers allowed in the active duty Navy, that's all Admiral ranks from O-7 to O-10. 60 Admirals being investigated composes 37.5%, which I'd say easily qualifies to be described as a "significant % of them".

How about you just hang your head in embarrassment, as you rightly should, and walk away.
 
Fishking said:
Lol...what's stupid about it? There are 160 flag officers allowed in the active duty Navy, that's all Admiral ranks from O-7 to O-10. 60 Admirals being investigated composes 37.5%, which I'd say easily qualifies to be described as a "significant % of them".

How about you just hang your head in embarrassment, as you rightly should, and walk away.
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How about you learn to read...

60 admirals and hundreds of other U.S. Navy officers
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Rogue Valley said:
How about you learn to read...
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Yeah, I read it just fine. 60 Admirals is over 1/3 of the Admirals in the Navy. Then you have hundreds of others but there are over 54,000 total officers so that probably won't be nearly as big of a %.
 
Fishking said:
Yeah, I read it just fine. 60 Admirals is over 1/3 of the Admirals in the Navy. Then you have hundreds of others but there are over 54,000 total officers so that probably won't be nearly as big of a %.
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I think 1 is one too many.

However, 60 + hundreds you're okay with. An insignificant amount. Not a problem with you unless corruption reaches into the tens of thousands.

No wonder your viewpoints are so skewered.
 
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