"Fat Leonard" Scandal

UPDATE:

More fallout -

Retired Navy admiral among 9 indicted in bribery case

SAN DIEGO — A retired Navy admiral and eight other current and former military officers were bribed with sex, trips and other lavish perks, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday in a burgeoning scandal involving a Malaysian defense contractor nicknamed "Fat Leonard."

Retired Adm. Bruce Loveless, 53, and the others were accused of accepting the services of prostitutes and other bribes from Leonard Francis in exchange for classified information that helped his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia.
 
More damage control for the CNO. While all service branches have their bad apples, the USN seems to have a larger pile of them, or so it seems. What is sad is that this sort of thing will repeat itself highlighting the "power corrupts" observation.

The only thing that concerns me about that type of analysis is the question are they more corrupt, or more willing to prosecute corruption? I see it sometimes in units where unit A has more reported sexual assault cases than unit B. Is that because unit A is a shittier place to work with a bunch of assaulting assholes, or is it because in unit A the Soldiers trust the chain of command to do something about incidents and in unit B they know those jagoffs will just cover everything up. In one scenario unit A is way shittier, in the other it's way better.
 
<Update>

The Navy's Going Easy On Officers In 'Fat Leonard' Scandal, Report Suggests

It was “perhaps the worst national-security breach of its kind to hit the Navy since the end of the Cold War, as the Washington Post put it: Leonard Glenn Francis, a 350-pound defense contractor, plied dozens of Navy and Marine personnel with prostitutes and cash to get sensitive info on their ships’ movements — info he used to snag port-service contracts and overbill the service to the tune of at least $35 million.

So far, federal authorities have successfully prosecuted 16 service members and contractors for their roles in the “Fat Leonard” scandal.

The Navy? Not so much.
 
<Update>

I don't know why this story fascinates me so much, be I feel compelled to keep it updated.

Two more Navy officers face court-martial in widening ‘Fat Leonard’ probe

The Navy has charged two more active-duty officers in the ever-expanding “Fat Leonard” scandal, bringing the total number of officers awaiting court-martial in the case to five.

The scope of the Fat Leonard scandal expanded beyond previous estimates this month when the Navy confirmed it is still investigating about 190 current and retired Navy personnel — mostly officers — to determine what role they may have played in the scandal and whether disciplinary measures are warranted.

The corruption centers around a 350-pound Malaysian businessman named Leonard Glenn Francis — widely known among Navy officers as “Fat Leonard” — and his Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia company, which provided resupply services to Navy ships in Asia.

Now awaiting trial is Capt. John F. Steinberger, a surface warfare officer currently assigned to the Navy’s Undersea Warfare Development Center Detachment in San Diego. He faces charges and multiple specifications of conspiracy, conduct unbecoming, graft and bribery. He was charged Oct. 13, has waived an Article 32 hearing and now awaits a court-martial date.

The charge sheet obtained by Navy Times also states that Steinberger, who was then the commander of Destroyer Squadron 1, embarked on the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, allegedly conspired with Francis “and others” between January 2011 and April 2012 to “bribe other Navy officials” in an attempt to influence what ports U.S. Navy ships visited.
 
- UPDATE -

This story just keeps hanging around like a rotten fart.

🎶 Bump...bump...bump...🎶 another one bites the dust....🎶

US Navy commander pleads guilty to bribery charge in 'Fat Leonard' scandal

(CNN)The largest corruption scandal in US Navy history has claimed another high-ranking officer following a guilty plea from a commander who once controlled the service's joint military exercises.

Former US Navy Cmdr. Troy Amundson, 50, admitted taking bribes, including accepting the services of several prostitutes, from foreign contractor Leonard Glenn Francis, known as "Fat Leonard," and his Singapore-based company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia.

In exchange, he sent US Navy business to the company, according to a statement from the US Attorney Office in San Diego, California.

"Amundson admitted that from September 2012 through October 2013, Francis paid for dinner, drinks, transportation, other entertainment expenses, and the services of prostitutes for Amundson and other US Navy officers," the US attorney's statement said.

I thought this was a pretty good recap of everything that has happened....
Leaks, feasts and sex parties: How ‘Fat Leonard’ infiltrated...


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