Fat Leonard Navy Scandal (WaPost)

Capt MJ

Formerly Known As Attila The Hunnette
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I felt like taking a shower after reading this. Too many people going headlong down the slippery slope with their eyes half-closed. But also half-open.

I have to say, I dealt with all kinds of port agents over the years, in the Med and the Pacific, and many did try to offer cases of booze/wine, tickets to shows, etc. One skeezy guy in Naples who handled the USNS oilers' port calls in Italy, and whose firm handled Greece (I was USNS Skeds O at the time for the Med), offered me a week at his vacation villa in the Aeolian Islands. The offer also included him. Made it easy to decline....

These firms competed for the service contracts at port calls for all kinds of ships, and bribery was a way of life. Christmas, birthdays, New Year - something was always being offered. I knew I was supposed to say no, and I did. I and the civilian staff comptroller reviewed invoices with a fine toothed comb.

Leonard must be one heckuva amoral snake oil salesman and con artist. He could sniff out the human weakness and exploit it with pinpoint accuracy. It's just icky about the prostitutes. I think about the families back home.

Here's the link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/wp/2016/05/27/fat-leonard/
 
Same old, same old: money, sex, toys, gifts, sense of getting away with something, "it won't hurt anything if I do this" and "everyone is doing it."

When the dust settles, I expect this will be a case study in USNA classes.
 
This article makes me angry, disappointed, sad in so many ways. One of them if you noticed was a former USNA superintendent who was caught up in this VADM Miller from his previous tour as a carrier strike group commander. Miller was very well thought of as the supe and being linked to this scandal was an unfortunate end to a great career. Miller was eventually able to retire with his third star and not charged with any crime, but he still got caught in the same web of this Francis guy. Pretty scary. And sad.
 
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The thing that is most frightening to me is that people could be seduced by the offered items or services, and give away ships' schedules and other classified information so effortlessly. Fat Leonard was in it for the money, power and influence. What about enemies with different agendas? They read this story, decide to stock up on those items and services, find a slick front man or woman, and the info tap is on.

And the officer's spouse who managed the cash in off-shore accounts ... That tells me it was intentional, deliberate and knowing. A culture of "I'm gonna get mine."
 
All over the Wash Post today.

The investigators are rolling it up from the smaller fry to the flag officer fry.

Such an ick factor...

Whether or not a commander knew about the parties/booze/cash/trips/sex workers, there is that time-honored standard of “knew or should have known” while in command. Huge amounts of money were fraudulently spent on overpriced contracts and services.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wa...31555c-efdd-11e7-97bf-bba379b809ab_story.html
 
This news is extremely discouraging to a parent with a DS just accepting an Academy offer this week. Please assure me that this culture does not permeate throughout the Navy. Could this corruption from the Top have contributed either directly or indirectly to the recent Pacific fleet mishaps which had made no sense. I would like to think I am sending my DS into an organization comprised of well formed soldiers of high character and competence throughout. I understand that power corrupts but 30 Flags under investigation? This is becoming a bit much. May need to re-evaluate the next 9+ years.
 
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The vast majority of people in uniform generally do the right thing. The vast majority of Navy ships, planes, subs and units operate daily with no loss of life and in a safe and effective manner. Ditto other Services.

The news is always going to choose the juiciest topics - and this had every juice-producing topic covered.

I can safely say I never sexually harassed anyone, took bribes or any of the other bad stuff in a 26 year career. So can hundreds of thousands of others. I was not perfect, by a long shot, and will always be a flawed human being, but my service in the Navy brought me into contact with a group of people, who, for the most part, wanted to serve the country and act honorably.

In every walk of life, you will find cesspools of temptation and wrongful action. The Services are not immune. It is not one big shiny recruiting video. I would not have chosen any differently.
 
I have a feeling the Fleet/Navy is under a pretty tight microscope right now.

Once your son commissions and heads to the Active Duty there will be times he will be very frustrated with decisions made from above, it's natural and is the case across all the services. Even with a scandal of this size the vast majority of service personnel are honorable, hard working, and have a high level of integrity, they don't get the publicity. Corruption starts with a singe decision to cross a line, most see that line clearly and remain on the right side. Integrity starts with individuals like your son and the many sons and daughters that join the ranks of the military every day. What we never want to do is discourage those young people from diving in head first, it will be those new officers and service members that will help keep the moral compass pointed in the right direction. Changes happen from within, and we need new blood, like your son, to help make those changes.
 
I can safely say I never sexually harassed anyone, took bribes or any of the other bad stuff in a 26 year career. So can hundreds of thousands of others

I served in Washington DC in the mid 70's, Cold War was in full swing. If you weren't offered a bribe, a night out on the town, and expensive bottle of booze, it was a slow week. I can admit that there were some, very few, that took the bait, they were quickly dealt with. We used to sit in the office and compare with each other to see who was offered the most. I can remember being invited to a dinner, we showed up and everyone at the table had a German accent, we thanked them for the invite and quickly left, this type of thing happened a lot. I can add my name to that list that never took a bribe and neither did anyone that worked with me.

I agree with the Capt. that the vast majority do the right thing.

Just a side note: I am not saying anything bad about Germans, but back then there was an East Germany.
 
Capt MJ and Jcleppe, Those are very thoughtful replies. Having hit 50 I realize that no man-run institution is beyond reproach. I have been in the medical field for 30 years and have seen the Good and the Bad in this honorable profession. I guess some of us in civilian life view the military as a cut above. I was just shocked at the apparent scope of this story. I hope the Navy is able to effectively clean house. I too have hope that this next generation will inject some new blood into the Service.
 
The vast majority of people in uniform generally do the right thing. The vast majority of Navy ships, planes, subs and units operate daily with no loss of life and in a safe and effective manner. Ditto other Services.

The news is always going to choose the juiciest topics - and this had every juice-producing topic covered.

I can safely say I never sexually harassed anyone, took bribes or any of the other bad stuff in a 26 year career. So can hundreds of thousands of others. I was not perfect, by a long shot, and will always be a flawed human being, but my service in the Navy brought me into contact with a group of people, who, for the most part, wanted to serve the country and act honorably.

In every walk of life, you will find cesspools of temptation and wrongful action. The Services are not immune. It is not one big shiny recruiting video. I would not have chosen any differently.

I guess what bothers me about this one is the scope of it and that so many officers and NCOs thought this was acceptable. Yes, there are bad people everywhere, but usually it's just isolated ones and twos. This seems to have permeated an entire command over a period of years.
 
I guess what bothers me about this one is the scope of it and that so many officers and NCOs thought this was acceptable. Yes, there are bad people everywhere, but usually it's just isolated ones and twos. This seems to have permeated an entire command over a period of years.

Well put, a cancer continues to grow unless it's removed.
 
Edmund Burke:

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Rot all around. Most of the Seven Deadly Sins are rolled up in this, with Greed dusted with Lust, Gluttony and Pride.

The port agents I dealt with during tours in Rota, Spain and Naples, Italy, were big believers in baksheesh. They offered cases of wine, stays in cliffside villas on Capri or beachfront casitas in Malaga, oil paintings, Florentine gold pens.... They simply didn’t understand why I couldn’t accept. There are ethics rules, required classes, and normal professional standards very clearly laid out.

I actually know one of the indicted officers well; I met him when we were both in our civilian careers. He never said a word about this part of his life, but no surprise. I am most saddened for his wife (NOT named as a Versace bag taker) and his children, one of whom is on AD. No matter the price paid for the dinners, Champagne, Cohibas, sex workers, hotel stays - it can’t come close to the price being paid by his family. The potential financial ruin, possible incarceration, the lifelong smear, the impact on relationships with wife and children, so sad.
 
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