How 'Fat' Leonard Francis seduced and corrupted the US Navy
Malaysian defence contractor 'Fat' Leonard Francis seduced the US Navy with cigars, prostitutes and dinners at swanky restaurants such as Petrus. While he sings to investigators, his moles are surfacing from deep within the Seventh Fleet, writes Craig Whitlock.
For months, a small team of United States Navy investigators and federal prosecutors secretly devised options for a high-stakes international manhunt. Could the target be snatched from his home base in Asia and rendered to the US? Or held captive aboard an American warship? Making the challenge even tougher was the fact that their quarry was a master of espionage. His moles had burrowed deep into the navy hierarchy to leak a stream of military secrets, thwarting previous efforts to bring him to justice.
The target was not a terrorist, nor a spy for a foreign power, nor the kingpin of a drug cartel. But rather a 350-pound defence contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard, who had befriended a generation of navy leaders with cigars and booze whenever they made port calls in Asia.
Leonard Glenn Francis is legendary on the high seas for his charm and appetite for excess. For years, the Singapore-based businessman had showered navy officers with gifts, epicurean dinners, prostitutes and, if necessary, cash bribes so they would look the other way while he swindled the navy to refuel and resupply its ships.
“I ask, when has … bribery of this magnitude ever happened in our country’s history?”
In the end, federal agents settled on a risky sting operation to try to nab Fat Leonard. They would lure him to California, dangling a meeting with admirals who hinted they had lucrative contracts to offer.
He took the bait. On September 16, 2013, Francis was arrested in his hotel suite overlooking San Diego harbour. It was the opening strike in a sweep covering three states and seven countries, as hundreds of law-enforcement agents arrested other suspects and seized incriminating files from Francis' business empire.