Fat Leonard Scandal

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Infiltrating the most powerful navy in the world, stealing classified information, and redirecting warships, all in search of illegal profit, would seem nearly impossible, outside of a Hollywood movie. However, Leonard Glenn Francis, or ‘Fat Leonard’, was able to bribe numerous U.S. Navy Officers with money, prostitutes, and extravagant gifts. In return, he gained a loyal army of moles throughout the chain of command in the Navy’s Seventh Fleet. From the officers he bribed, ‘Fat Leonard’ received top-secret intelligence on the movements of American warships. With this information, he coerced his moles to redirect naval vessels to the Asian ports where his maritime services company, ‘Glenn Defense Marine,’ was able to significantly overcharge the Navy. When other naval personnel, particularly junior officers, began to take notice of the fraudulent activity from Glenn Defense Marine, Fat Leonard’s moles shut the initial investigation down. When the inquiry eventually made its way to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Leonard Francis had informants …show more content…

Navy leadership. Over the past twenty years, the Seventh Fleet has become progressively more overtasked and under-resourced. Because of this, the fleet has been unable to fulfill its mission without cutting corners in training and safety, and morale has consequently suffered. These fundamental problems should not have been ignored by U.S. Navy leadership because bad morale is often the root cause of poor performance. This neglect has also resulted in several collisions at sea in the region, further straining the Navy’s resources in the area and exacerbating the morale problem. Navy leadership should have identified the fundamental issues within the Seventh Fleet and foreseen the potential for the catastrophic consequences that could

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