'Fat Leonard,’ Set To Finally Be Sentenced In Long-Running Navy Bribery Scheme, Is On The Lam

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the Malaysian defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” who admitted to bribing senior U.S Navy officers in a major bribery and fraud case, has escaped.

The military contractor known as “Fat Leonard,” the mastermind behind the worst public corruption scandal in U.S. Navy history who was three weeks away from being sentenced in the case, is on the run.

Leonard Glenn Francis, who has been under house arrest, cut off his GPS monitoring ankle bracelet and absconded from his San Diego home sometime Sunday morning, said Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Omar Castillo.

Pretrial Services, the federal agency monitoring Francis, was alerted to an anomaly with Francis’ bracelet, and Francis’ defense team went to check on him, knowing he has a history of health issues. An attorney called San Diego police about 1:45 p.m., saying Francis was not answering their knocks or messages, and asked for a welfare check at the home in the Torrey Highlands neighborhood, according to police officials.

Officers arrived and entered the home through an unsecured door in a central courtyard and found the home empty — save for the sheared GPS bracelet left behind, according to police and marshals.

The U.S. Marshals Service was called to assist, and the San Diego Regional Fugitive Task Force was activated to begin the high-profile manhunt. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which spearheaded the massive case against Francis more than a decade ago, is also helping.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

'Fat Leonard,' set to finally be sentenced in long-running Navy bribery scheme, is on the lam - The San Diego Union-Tribune (sandiegouniontribune.com) 

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine piece on Fat Leonard via the below link:  

Paul Davis On Crime: My Piece On The 'Fat Leonard' U.S. Navy Bribery And Fraud Case