Five Fat Leonard related felony convictions dismissed
Three retired Navy officers and one retired Marine officer pleaded guilty to disclosing information, a misdemeanor charge. One Navy officer saw his case thrown out. A judge dismissed their felony convictions. The government asked for these dismissals due to prosecutorial errors.
From ABC News:
It marked the latest setback to the government’s yearslong efforts in going after dozens of military officials tied to defense contractor Leonard Francis, nicknamed ” Fat Leonard.” The enigmatic figure — who was 6-foot-3 and weighed 350 pounds at one time — owned and operated Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd., which supplied food, water and fuel to U.S. Navy vessels.
Francis is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to offering more than $500,000 in cash bribes, along with other gifts and wild sex parties in Southeast Asia, to Navy officials, defense contractors and others. The scheme allowed him to bilk the maritime service out of at least $35 million by getting commanders to redirect ships to ports he controlled and overcharging for services, according to the prosecution. He was arrested in 2013 in a sting operation in San Diego.
Prosecutors said in legal filings outlining their request for Tuesday’s dismissals that the action does not mean the defendants did not commit the charged crimes but because information was withheld from the defense and other mistakes were made, they wanted to ensure justice was served fairly.
In 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Janis Sammartino ruled the former lead federal prosecutor committed “flagrant misconduct” by withholding information from defense lawyers. In September, the felony convictions of four former Navy officers were also vacated. The four men pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and agreed to pay a $100 fine each.
Additional Reading:
Watson, J. (2024, May 21). Judge dismisses felony convictions of 5 retired military officers in US Navy bribery case. ABC News. Link.
Category: "Teh Stoopid", Big Navy, Marine Corps
I can hear that wrist slap in Green Bay!
Fat Leonard is a gift! His greed exposed graft and corruption at the highest levels in the Navy, and now over-zealous federal prosecutors are exposed as incompetent yet again.
Did 10% go to The Big Guy?
That’s why the prosecutions were botched, leading to this request.. so they govt could like like they were “doing something”, but still avoiding anyone telling the truth about “the big guy”…
Keel-haul all of these mofos, including the incompetent prosecutors, and use Fat Leonard for chum.
What did the sharks ever do to you?🤣
Hey, we had to eat ham n muthers and now we’re having to take a bite out of the sh*t sammichs that are being served up to the taxpayers. The sharks have to do their part too.
No…YOU had to eat ham n muthers. I’ve spent my military career across 2 branches avoiding that godawful tuna MRE. Just like I avoided ever getting “Bus” on my military driver’s license. 🤣
Tuna with Noodles? I warmed that under my armpit during winter in Germany rather than eat at the MKT. (Omelette w/ Ham + tabasco beat that, too.)
One can’t eat Army field rations without Tabasco sauce. The company even made little mini bottles we were given in the Viet of the Nam, along with the Tabasco C-rat recipe book.
Being an old guy I had to Google MKT (Mobile Kitchen Trailer). As a bonus I found that leach Platoon in the Field Feeding Company (FFC) has two (2) “Assault Kitchens” (AK). That makes my day. Picturing in my mind an “Assault Kitchen” rolling into battle. Some may wonder “against which side?”. Is it accompanied by a “Buffalo” of essential Tabasco sauce?
No, the plain tuna with those horrendous flour tortillas.
This is what I’m talking about:
https://simmeringideas.com/mre-menu-21-tuna-chunk-light/
I have to wonder how much, and to whom, Fat Leonard is offering bribes to “throw” these obviously guilty cases.
No need to bribe when you have dirt on everybody.
Modern success– don’t dress like your boss, have dirt on your boss! /sarc
Think they get a full retirement package now?
Full retirement plus 100% VA disability for their troubles now…
You don’t think that you can get Peety S Dee from a Thai love boy hooker? I’ve seen it happen man. The real deal! There we were ass deep in Thai hookers and all out of condoms…. uh, Wait a second. Sometimes you have to do things, not just for your country, but for that extra $50k in a paper sack, things you aren’t proud of, shameful things. At the end of the day all that matters is getting the charges thrown out