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The Related Press
Julie Watson
Printed Might 21, 2024 • Final up to date Might 21, 2024 • 2 minute learn
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal decide on Tuesday dismissed the felony convictions of 5 retired army officers who had admitted to accepting bribes from a Malaysian contractor nicknamed “Fats Leonard” in one of many Navy’s greatest corruption instances.
The dismissals got here on the request of the federal government — not the protection — citing prosecutorial errors.
Retired U.S. Navy officers Donald Hornbeck, Robert Gorsuch and Jose Luis Sanchez, and U.S. Marine Corps Col. Enrico DeGuzman pleaded responsible to a misdemeanor cost of exposing info on Tuesday, whereas U.S. Navy officer Stephen Shedd’s complete case was thrown out. Their protection attorneys couldn’t be instantly reached for remark.
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It marked the newest setback to the federal government’s yearslong efforts in going after dozens of army officers tied to protection contractor Leonard Francis, nicknamed ” Fats Leonard.” The enigmatic determine — who was 6-foot-3 and weighed 350 kilos at one time — owned and operated Singapore-based Glenn Protection Marine Asia Ltd., which provided meals, water and gas to U.S. Navy vessels.
Francis is awaiting sentencing after pleading responsible to providing greater than $500,000 in money bribes, together with different presents and wild intercourse events in Southeast Asia, to Navy officers, protection contractors and others. The scheme allowed him to bilk the maritime service out of at the very least $35 million by getting commanders to redirect ships to ports he managed and overcharging for companies, in line with the prosecution. He was arrested in 2013 in a sting operation in San Diego.
Prosecutors mentioned in authorized filings outlining their request for Tuesday’s dismissals that the motion doesn’t imply the defendants didn’t commit the charged crimes however as a result of info was withheld from the protection and different errors have been made, they wished to make sure justice was served pretty.
Article content material
In 2022, U.S. District Court docket Decide Janis Sammartino dominated the previous lead federal prosecutor dedicated “flagrant misconduct” by withholding info from protection attorneys. In September, the felony convictions of 4 former Navy officers have been additionally vacated. The 4 males pleaded responsible to a misdemeanor and agreed to pay a $100 effective every.
The dismissals by Sammartino on Tuesday come weeks earlier than Francis is due again in courtroom to set a date for his sentencing.
Francis returned to the U.S. late final 12 months after a daring escape from his home arrest in San Diego in 2022 weeks earlier than his authentic sentencing listening to. He was later captured in Venezuela, which extradited him to the U.S. as a part of a prisoner alternate.
The escape was additionally seen by some as a misstep by the prosecution for permitting him to not be held behind bars.
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