3 more Navy officials charged in ‘Fat Leonard’ scandal

A long-running Navy corruption scandal reached new heights Friday as a lieutenant commander and two retired officers were arrested on federal charges of feeding inside information to a Singapore-based defense contractor for sex, vacations and other favors.

All three defendants are accused of acting as paid moles for the contractor, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, by leaking intelligence about criminal investigations into the company or other information to give the firm an unfair advantage over competitors.

The new cases bring the number of people charged in the scandal to 14. Prosecutors have said that as many as 200 people are under investigation. According to Navy officials, about 30 admirals are under scrutiny for possible criminal or ethical violations.

Lt. Cmdr. Gentry DeBord, a supply and logistics officer, was charged in federal court in San Diego with conspiracy to commit bribery. An affidavit filed by federal investigators said he routinely beseeched Glenn Defense executives to arrange prostitutes for him during port visits in Asia.

According to an indictment in another case, Michael George Brooks, a retired captain who served as U.S. naval attache in Manila, allegedly also requested prostitutes from Glenn Defense executives.

Capt. Brooks, of Fairfax Station, Va., is charged with granting diplomatic clearance to Glenn Defense so that it could bring armed guards into the Philippines, avoid inspections and dodge customs duties, according to the indictment.

He served as the U.S. naval attache in Manila from 2006 to 2008 and worked on behalf of Glenn Defense president Leonard Glenn Francis, a large man known as “Fat Leonard,” until retiring from the Navy in 2011, according to the indictment. He has been employed as a contractor for the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Another former officer, Bobby R. Pitts, a retired commander from Chesapeake, Va., was charged in a separate indictment with leaking Naval Criminal Investigative Service files to Glenn Defense to help the firm thwart fraud inquiries.

In return, he received meals, entertainment and, on “at least” one occasion, the services of a prostitute while he headed a Navy contracting office in Singapore between 2009 and 2011.

The three defendants sp-peared in federal court Friday in California and Virginia and were released on bond. Neither they nor their attorneys could be reached for comment.

Mr. Francis and his company held more than $200 million worth of contracts to resupply and refuel Navy vessels across Asia. He has admitted to cheating the Navy out of at least $35 million.