U.S. Navy Won't Punish Vice Admiral Stripped Of Security Clearance During 'Fat Leonard' Probe

Carl Prine at the San Diego Union-Tribune offers a piece on the “Fat Leonard” Navy bribary and fraud scandal.

Fretting about his possible role in the “Fat Leonard” bribery scandal, in late 2013 the Navy stripped the security clearance of its top spy, destroying the career of Vice Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch (seen in the above photo).

On Friday, the Navy closed its review with what it called appropriate administrative action for Branch, the former director of Navy intelligence.

The U.S. Department of Justice — which has handled the prosecution of those who took bribes from contractor Leonard Glenn Francis (seen in the below photo) and his Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia — brought no charges against Branch.

"The Department of Justice declined to prosecute Vice Adm. Ted Branch and forwarded his matter to the Department of the Navy's Consolidated Disposition Authority,” said Navy Fleet Forces Command spokesman Cmdr. Mike Kafka in a written statement. “After completing a thorough and detailed review of the evidence, the CDA took appropriate administrative action. This matter is closed."

Administrative action can include a non-punitive letter of reprimand or an oral counseling chiding a sailor for questionable conduct. Unlike other judicial or military sanctions, administrative action cannot take pay and privileges from a shipmate.

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

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/military/sd-me-twig-branch-20170922-story.html 

U.S. Navy Bribery And Fraud Scandal: Dirty Cop, Navy Moles Helped 'Fat Leonard' Stay Ahead Of The Law For Years

Carl Prine at the San Diego Union-Tribune offers a piece on the U.S. Navy’s Fat Leonard bribery and fraud scandal.

Fielding a flurry of tips, complaints from commercial competitors and the concerns of Navy whistleblowers, federal agents ratcheted up their probes between 2009 and 2012 into the Malaysian tycoon nicknamed “Fat Leonard” and his company that services U.S. warships overseas.

For a quarter-century until his 2013 arrest during a sting operation in San Diego, the rotund Leonard Glenn Francis (seen in the below photo) and his tugboats and fenders, security guards and sewage suckers, food suppliers and trash collectors had catered to the Navy’s vessels. He kept the cash flowing to his “pearl ports” by bribing top Navy officials with money, booze and prostitutes.

Federal prosecutors have indicted dozens of commissioned officers and civilian leaders, and the Navy continues an internal probe into 30 admirals and more than 200 sailors for corruption.

But this disciplinary activity is taking place years after the initial investigations began. How did Francis stay ahead of the law for so long? The answer involves a host of self-inflicted problems by federal investigators, along with a mole helping Francis.

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

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/military/sd-me-fat-leonard-moles-20170804-story.html 

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

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2017/03/my-piece-on-fat-leonard-us-navy-bribery.html 

Has U.S. Navy Been Going Soft On Most Suspects In Historic 'Fat Leonard' Corruption Scandal?

Carl Prine at the San Diego Union-Tribune offers a piece on the U.S. Navy’s handling of the ‘Fat Leonard’ bribery and fraud cases.

Since 2014, federal prosecutors in San Diego have compiled a perfect 16-0 record in convicting corrupt Navy officers and defense contractors tied to the “Fat Leonard” bribery scandal.

But when it comes to doling out discipline to sailors and Marines passed over by the feds, the Navy’s watchdog command targeting ethical scofflaws passes far more often than it prosecutes.

About two out of every three potential public corruption cases can’t be substantiated by military investigators, the Navy said. The service has only one ongoing court-martial, a pair of lighter nonjudicial punishment decisions and a handful of sternly written rebukes of senior officers to show for more than three years of inquiries, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune’s analysis of a trove of Navy files obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

When he was the Navy Secretary, Ray Mabus created the consolidated disposition authority — or CDA for short — in the wake of the still-running criminal probe into Glenn Defense Marine Asia, a now defunct Singapore-based defense contractor that was owned by Malaysian tycoon Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis (seen in the above photo).

In federal court, prosecutors have secured convictions against Francis and four of his business colleagues; nine Navy officers; an agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; and a civilian Department of Defense contracting supervisor.

They’ve also indicted 10 active-duty or retired service members and a trio of Glenn Defense employees.

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

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/military/sd-me-fat-leonard-20170722-story.html 

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

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2017/03/my-piece-on-fat-leonard-us-navy-bribery.html