‘Fat Leonard,’ contractor in Navy bribery case, may face more charges
By Joshua Goodman, The Associated Press and Eric Tucker, The Associated Press
Dec 21, 06:05 PM
MIAMI — A defense contractor at the center of one of the biggest bribery scandals in U.S. military history is expected to face additional charges following his return to the United States from Venezuela as part of a broader prisoner swap between the two countries, a federal prosecutor said Thursday.
Leonard Glenn Francis, who is nicknamed “Fat Leonard,” faced a federal judge for the first time since snipping off his ankle monitor last year and disappearing weeks before a sentencing hearing on charges that he offered more than $500,000 in cash bribes to Navy officials, defense contractors and others.
He was later arrested in Venezuela and had been in custody there since, but was returned to the U.S. in a large swap that also saw the release of 10 American detainees by Venezuela in exchange for the Biden administration freeing Alex Saab, a Colombian-born businessman and close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was facing money laundering charges in Miami.
Francis, shackled and in a beige jumpsuit, stood by quietly as a federal magistrate judge in Miami ordered him to be transferred to the Southern District of California, the region where his case was initially filed.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-navy/2023/12/21/fat-leonard-contractor-in-navy-bribery-case-may-face-more-charges/
