Three Admirals Forced Out Amid Massive Navy Bribery Investigation
Photo Credit: Stripes By Erik Slavin. The commander of naval forces in Japan and two other admirals are retiring following letters of censure issued by the secretary of the Navy in connection with a wide-ranging bribery scandal in the Asia-Pacific region.
Naval Forces Japan commander Rear Adm. Terry Kraft, along with rear admirals Michael Miller and David Pimpo, were censured by Secretary Ray Mabus to “document their failure of leadership” related to dealings with Glenn Defense Marine Asia between 2006 and 2007, according to a Navy statement.
Navy officials spanning the ranks from enlisted to commanding officers, as well as high-placed civilians, have pleaded guilty since December 2013 to trading classified information in exchange for luxury travel, cash and prostitutes with ship support contractor GDMA and its owner, Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis.
Francis, 50, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in San Diego federal court in January. (Read more about the Navy bribery investigation HERE)
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Navy Contractor at Center of Navy Bribery Scandal Helping Investigators
By Craig Whitlock and Matt Zapotosky. The Navy’s sex-for-secrets corruption scandal may be about to get worse: Investigators’ prized catch has started to squawk.
Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian defense contractor who made a fortune by supplying Navy ships throughout Asia, has begun cooperating with federal investigators and pointing the finger at new suspects, court records indicate.
According to an affidavit filed this week by federal investigators, a confidential witness who matches Francis’s description detailed how a former senior U.S. contracting official accepted several hundred thousand dollars in bribes in exchange for driving Navy business to Francis’s company.
The witness was not identified by name but was described in the affidavit as a person who has already pleaded guilty in the corruption investigation and who was separately convicted of firearms charges in a foreign country about 30 years ago. (Read more from this story HERE)
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