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Thread: “Fat Leonard” scandal fallout will damage the Navy for years

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    “Fat Leonard” scandal fallout will damage the Navy for years

    “Fat Leonard” scandal fallout will damage the Navy for years

    The officer corps in the Navy has be gutted by this scandal. So many are under investigation that their careers are over, but also the careers of officers who have to stay in billets longer than normal to cover the slack. It will take a generation for the Navy to recover.

    Imagine this: You are a Navy admiral, captain, or commander, sitting at home on the weekend or working at your desk, when the call comes that you are under investigation. With that phone call, your life and career are put on pause, possibly for several years; you just became part of the “lost generation” that resulted from the “Fat Leonard” (Leonard Glenn Francis, CEO and president of Glenn Defense Marine Asia) corruption scandal that hit the Navy with the same surprise and brute force that the 2017 hurricanes brought to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

    Several naval officers have been jailed, and press releases report that more than 60 flag officers—and an unknown number of others, but by some counts more than 350 individuals—are under investigation. Let it be clear: Taking bribes in exchange for changing ship schedules, awarding contracts, or sharing classified information is criminal behavior and must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law—roughly 45 individuals thus far have been charged and several convicted. The decimation of the Navy’s senior officer corps, however, goes far beyond those who have committed crimes and been convicted and is not limited to flag officers. Many officers whose names were on promotion lists or who were awaiting new orders were told not to report to work or lost security clearances (making it difficult to perform their jobs) simply because they were named as someone who might have met with Fat Leonard. Some officers were under suspicion simply because they were assigned to a ship that conducted a port visit where Fat Leonard hosted an event. They have remained invisible, and their stories untold, as they sit and wait.



    As the process drags on—often for months and, in some cases, years—these individuals find themselves in a "Catch-22" situation. After years of military service, naval officers develop faith in the fairness and equity of the system. For many, however, their faith has been shaken by a process in which they are told nothing while the clock ticks on their available years to serve on active duty—until they finally get the word, “You are cleared, but your promotion window has closed. Now retire.” These individuals must decide whether to continue defending their reputations or to look to new careers. Some of these officers did not to wait for the Navy to determine their fates and retired; others had no time left on their “up-or-out” clock and had to retire based on statuary limitations.


    The impact of this investigation, however, goes beyond individual officers named as “persons of interest.” These naval professionals were experienced warfighters with operational backgrounds, many with incredible leadership skills, who now are not available to the Navy. As a result, key positions remained unfilled for long periods, leaving other officers in place much longer than planned and affecting their own careers. Living under a cloud of suspicion and of unknown duration makes it almost impossible for those under investigation to be effective in their jobs. Scores of superb officers who could have been leading at the next level have been sidelined, leaving gaps that will take years to fill and problems that will remain unsolved for even longer.



    To be sure, this investigation may be without parallel in complexity and scope, and there are multiple layers involved, as well as connections that must be established before someone can be “cleared.” Still, it is naïve to ignore that business relationships exist between civilians and Navy personnel and that sometimes these relationships are personal. Often, when a ship pulls into a foreign port, the contracts already are in place and approved at higher headquarters, with the assumption on the part of the operator that everything is in order. Equally concerning, the Navy has not pushed back and put perspective on this issue, or taken the time to fully address all the ethical issues that surround this case.




    In a perfect world, everything would be black and white, but that is not reality. In an arena where one contractor provides services to the Navy over a vast swath of the globe, many officers will encounter that contractor. In Fat Leonard’s case, he actively sought contact with leaders to cultivate his dark business dealings. In many cases, those he cozied up to had no influence over anything he wanted, nor could they do any favors for him beyond giving him a cup of coffee or a ball cap. I am not minimizing the egregious deeds of a few, but there is a difference between having your picture taken with someone or going to dinner with no quid pro quo versus accepting prostitutes and show tickets in exchange for classified information.
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    WOW this is the first I heard of this, its HUGE, it truly sounds like the navy officer ranks are going to be decimated.
    LETS GO BRANDON
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    Quote Originally Posted by Common View Post
    WOW this is the first I heard of this, its HUGE, it truly sounds like the navy officer ranks are going to be decimated.

    I posted a lot about the individual prosecutions. This article is more about the people put on the list as possible suspects and how that kills careers. And it kills careers for other officers who have to serve longer in their current jobs.

    The jackasses that bleat Russia-gate would find much more harm to the US in this scandal.
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    First military trial in the case (the DoJ prosecuted the worst offenders and is letting the Navy handle the rest.)

    The first sailor to face a military trial in connection with the Navy’s expansive “Fat Leonard” corruption scandal has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to six months confinement and a $10,000 fine.

    Chief Warrant Officer 4 Brian Ware pleaded guilty to ethics violations during a court-martial at Naval Station Norfolk on Thursday that included violation of a lawful order and graft. Prosecutors said he accepted more than $8,000 worth of hotel rooms, cellphones and personal drivers during more than a dozen port visits in Asia that were paid for by Glenn Defense Marine Asia.





    Ware was the food service officer aboard the 7th Fleet command ship USS Blue Ridge and the aircraft carrier USS George Washington from 2010 to 2013. In that role, he placed food orders with Glenn Defense Marine Asia, which was the only authorized contractor at the time. Company officials said they were able to significantly mark up the price of the orders Ware made, which ranged from small amounts to up to $100,000. While the Navy used a standard 21-day menu, Ware had discretion to decide which items to buy and in which quantities, according to a stipulation of facts Ware signed.
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    Former Navy intelligence chief took lavish meals and gifts from ‘Fat Leonard’ but is cleared of consorting with prostitutes

    This officer had no security clearance for several years over this incident. Not sure what the Navy ultimately did with him. But Fat Leonard is crushing Navy.


    After a four-year investigation, federal authorities concluded that a former Navy intelligence chief accepted extravagant meals, cigars and other illicit gifts from a corrupt defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard,” but they were unable to verify allegations that he also partied with prostitutes, new documents show.

    The documents reveal that retired Vice Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch, a fighter pilot and aircraft carrier commander who became the steward of the Navy’s secrets, had a decade-long friendship with Leonard Glenn Francis, a Singapore-based maritime tycoon who has pleaded guilty to bribing scores of military officers and defrauding the Navy of $35 million.
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    Update: ‘Fat Leonard’ affected Pentagon’s pick to lead Joint Chiefs

    When the Pentagon last chose a new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it was rattled by a last-minute surprise: A corrupt defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” confided to federal agents that he had an unsavory past with one of the finalists to become the nation’s top military officer.

    Leonard Glenn Francis, a maritime tycoon who had recently pleaded guilty to bribing Navy officers, told authorities in early 2015 that he had paid for opulent dinners and other favors for Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, then-commander of U.S. military forces in the Pacific, according to previously undisclosed documents and six people familiar with the case.


    Francis also shared with investigators several photographs of him drinking and socializing with Locklear, who was one of four contenders to head the Joint Chiefs. Some photos were from a banquet in Singapore that Francis had hosted for the admiral and other Navy officers that featured prostitutes as entertainment, according to the documents and people familiar with the case.
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    Wow.
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    Update: the DoJ prosecuted the big fish and left the rest to the Navy to clean up. Here are some of those.

    http://Navy officers censured for br...#8217; scandal

    President Trump’s top political appointee in the Navy has censured a retired admiral and two other officers for embarrassing ethical violations in connection with a sprawling criminal investigation involving disgraced defense contractor “Fat Leonard” Glenn Francis, Navy officials said Wednesday.

    Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer disciplined retired Rear Adm. Richard Wren, as well as Navy Capt. Timothy Conroy and retired Capt. Charles Johnson, said Cmdr. Bill Speaks, a service spokesman.


    Spencer based his decision on Navy findings that each officer had improper interactions and accepted gifts from Francis’s company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, in violation of service rules. The Navy has said that Francis defrauded the U.S. government of about $35 million.
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    "Fat Leonard " created a huge mess that Secratary of the Navy, Secretary Mattis , and NCIS ; will spend years cleaning up. Not to mention the auditors at the Navy IGs office. The Department Of Defenses investigative agency, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service is also probably involved. Careers are ruined, people are going to prison.

    It seems to be that General Officers of the US Military are getting severe brain cramps. Secret info being divulged in the Army, Navy is committing financial fraud, Marines sleep with people they are not supposed to, ethics problems and leadership problems in the Coast Guard.

    It will seem funny if Fat Leonard is connected to the Russians, Chinese, or agents from Taiwan. Women are involved, so maybe a foreign power is also. Russians and Chinese like to use " Honey Pots / " Honey Traps " for bribery, entrapment, and to accomplish their mission of obtaining state secrets.

    And ... " Fat Leonard " is still alive. With all his secrets and the names, dates and places he has ; he is still breathing. Shocking , no car wreck, no heart attack, no mugging. Hmmm.

    Scandals at the highest levels of the US Navy , and millions in misappropriated money. Favoritism and contract fraud. Hookers, trips, money, motel rooms.

    It would seem that Pentagon leaders have something to work on to keep them busy.


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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter1469 View Post
    Update: the DoJ prosecuted the big fish and left the rest to the Navy to clean up. Here are some of those.

    http://Navy officers censured for br...#8217; scandal

    Wanna bet it was more than thirty-five million.


    Major Lambda
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