Contractor "Fat Leonard" pleads not guilty in Navy bribery scandal
(CBS News) SAN DIEGO -- The U.S. Navy suspended a captain Thursday in a growing corruption scandal. He is the sixth Navy official named in the case. A company based in Singapore is accused of bribing Navy officers with cash and prostitutes. The head of that company appeared in federal court Thursday in San Diego.
Cash, prostitutes, expensive Cuban cigars and luxury trips overseas -- even tickets to a Lady Gaga concert.
What Francis got in return, according to prosecutors, was U.S. Navy warships, redirected to Asian ports he ran. Francis allegedly overcharged the U.S. to supply those ships with food, fuel and security services.
"We've been in business with this company for, since about 1997, so hundreds of millions of dollars worth of contracts," said Rear Adm. John Kirby, a Navy spokesman.
Francis pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of conspiracy and bribery.
In September, Navy investigators lured the Malaysian tycoon to a meeting in a San Diego hotel, where he was arrested.
"We believe that there will be more naval officers, and perhaps even Navy civilians, implicated in this scandal as this investigation unfolds," Kirby said.
A Naval investigator is also accused of giving Francis classified information about the case.
According to court documents, the travel arrangements Francis made for the investigator included prostitutes. In an email, Francis sent a woman's picture and asked, "Joyce your kinda Babe?" The investigator replied, "Nice. You bet. Hopefully I'm her kinda guy."
Two Navy admirals are among those placed on leave in the wake of the scandal. Francis' attorney declined to comment on the case.
