DC - Third Navy official arrested in bribery probe

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...-4735-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html?clsrd

Federal prosecutors arrested a third senior Navy official in a widening bribery scandal Wednesday, charging that he delivered classified and other sensitive information to a major defense contractor in exchange for prostitutes, luxury travel and more than $100,000 in cash.

Cmdr. Jose Luis Sanchez, 41, was arrested in Tampa on charges that he gave classified information about ship movements to Glenn Defense Marine Asia, a Singapore-based contractor that has resupplied and serviced Navy ships and submarines in the Pacific for a quarter-century.

The bribery case is shaping up as the biggest the Navy has confronted in years. Another Navy commander and a senior investigator for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service were arrested in September, likewise on charges of providing inside information to Glenn Defense Marine in exchange for prostitutes and other favors. ....

More at link.....

Senior officer, NCIS agent are among those arrested in Navy bribery scandal

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...a1e9b6-3753-11e3-bda2-e637e3241dc8_story.html

The U.S. Navy is being rocked by a bribery scandal that federal investigators say has reached high into the officer corps and exposed a massive overbilling scheme run by an Asian defense contractor that provided prostitutes and other kickbacks.

Among those arrested on corruption charges are a senior agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and a Navy commander who escaped Cambodia’s “killing fields” as a child only to make a triumphant return to the country decades later as the skipper of a U.S. destroyer. The investigation has also ensnared a Navy captain who was relieved of his ship’s command this month in Japan........

In May 2010, according to court papers filed by federal investigators, Francis and an unnamed manager from his firm “began targeting” Cmdr. Michael Misiewicz, a graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, “as someone who might be susceptible to providing favor . . . in return for things of value.”

Misiewicz was born Vannak Khem in Cambodia, but he was adopted as a 6-year-old by a U.S. Embassy worker. He moved to Illinois in 1973, just before Cambodia plunged into a bloody communist revolution......

Beliveau is the supervisory agent in charge of the NCIS office in Quantico. Prosecutors have charged him with conspiracy to commit bribery, saying he fed Francis confidential information about pending criminal investigations into Glenn Defense Marine from March 2011 until shortly before both were arrested........

Much more in 3p. article....

Navy commanders accused of taking bribes for contracts in fraud scandal

Transcript

GWEN IFILL: It could be the biggest fraud scandal to hit the Navy in years, involving allegations that top commanders received cash, prostitutes and other favors for inflated contracts that cost the Pentagon hundreds of millions of dollars.

Jeffrey Brown has the story.

JEFFREY BROWN: For decades, Leonard Francis, known as "Fat Leonard" for his imposing girth, has been well-connected in top U.S. Navy circles, perhaps too connected.

His company, Glenn Defense Marine, provided logistics support to U.S. warships at ports in East Asia. Since 2011, the company has won more than $200 million in Navy contracts, contracts that federal investigators now charge are at the center of an elaborate criminal conspiracy involving bribery, fraud and more.

Last month, The Washington Post reported that Francis plied top Navy commanders with prostitutes, cash, luxury hotel rooms...

more at link ........... http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/july-dec13/navy_11-27.html

fran said:

Navy commanders accused of taking bribes for contracts in fraud scandal

Transcript

GWEN IFILL: It could be the biggest fraud scandal to hit the Navy in years, involving allegations that top commanders received cash, prostitutes and other favors for inflated contracts that cost the Pentagon hundreds of millions of dollars.

Jeffrey Brown has the story.

JEFFREY BROWN: For decades, Leonard Francis, known as "Fat Leonard" for his imposing girth, has been well-connected in top U.S. Navy circles, perhaps too connected.

His company, Glenn Defense Marine, provided logistics support to U.S. warships at ports in East Asia. Since 2011, the company has won more than $200 million in Navy contracts, contracts that federal investigators now charge are at the center of an elaborate criminal conspiracy involving bribery, fraud and more.

Last month, The Washington Post reported that Francis plied top Navy commanders with prostitutes, cash, luxury hotel rooms...

more at link ........... http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/july-dec13/navy_11-27.html

Click to expand...

Well, if that happened (and I don't doubt it for a second), it's wrong. But, imo, pales in comparison to the 1/2 billion (and counting) dollars spent on the obamacare website. Priorities and shiny distractions, imo.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-13/navy-official-to-plead-guilty-in-bribes-case-attorney.html

John Beliveau, accused of collecting information on a U.S. investigation for the chief executive officer of Singapore-based company that allegedly provided travel expenses and prostitutes to a Navy commander, will plead guilty to bribery and conspiracy at a court appearance scheduled for Dec. 17, his attorney, Jan Ronis, said today in a phone interview.

Click to expand...

Disgusting.

PHUKET: Big break for prosecution in US Navy scandal


WASHINGTON DC: In a development that will spell big trouble for “Fat Leonard” Francis, boss of Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), a fellow defendant in his corruption trial has agreed to plead guilty, the Washington Post has reported.

- See more at: http://www.thephuketnews.com/big-br...s-navy-scandal-43442.php#sthash.OTEf9Hpr.dpuf