Navy officer who demanded bribes from ‘Fat Leonard’ gets prison

SAN DIEGO — Brooks Alonzo Parks, a naval logistics officer serving in the western Pacific, was often quite specific about what he thought he deserved in exchange for the insider information he was leaking to military contractor Leonard Francis.

One time, it was a case of Hennessy Pure White cognac.

Another, it was a $ 4,000- a- night room at the Ritz-Carlton in Singapore.

“It feels good living like a KING on an E-6’s salary!!!” Parks wrote in one email to Francis’ company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, or GDMA, referring to his military pay grade.

Parks admitted back in 2007 that he’d been bitten by the GDMA “bug” by joining Francis’ deep network of naval officers who leaked proprietary information to give his company a competitive advantage in exchange for bribes. On Friday, he followed the same path of many in that network by being sentenced in a San Diego federal courtroom to prison.

U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino, who has overseen the massive court case involving Francis, handed down a 27-month term. Parks was also ordered to pay just over $24,000 in restitution, a figure corresponding to the value of the bribes.

As a logistics lead petty officer in the 7th Fleet, Parks was in a prime position to offer Francis intelligence on ship itineraries, competitors and pricing to boost his company, which provides port services for visiting Navy ships. The relationship with Francis — nicknamed “Fat Leonard” for his girth — lasted from 2006 to 2010, according to Parks’ plea agreement.