The Justice
Department unsealed a new indictment Tuesday charging a Navy admiral and seven
others with corruption and other crimes in the "Fat Leonard" bribery
case.
The military
personnel are accused of taking bribes from Singapore-based defense contractor
Leonard Glenn Francis of Glenn Defense Marine Asia, which came in the form of
lavish gifts, prostitutes and luxury hotel stays, according to the indictment.
Francis has already pleaded guilty to defrauding the Navy of tens of millions
of dollars.
The full list
of bribes listed in the indictment allegedly given to the defendants over an
eight-year period included 5,000 watches, $2,000 boxes of Cohiba cigars, $2,000
bottles of cognac and $600-per-night hotel rooms.
Among the Navy
members charged are Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless, a senior Navy intelligence
officer based at the Pentagon. A U.S. defense official told Fox News that
Loveless had his security clearance suspended over a year ago while awaiting
formal charges.
In addition to
Loveless, others charged in the indictment include three retired Navy captains:
David Lausman, Donald Hornbeck and David Newland; an active-duty Navy captain,
James Dolan; a retired Marine colonel, Enrico de Guzman; an active-duty Navy
commander, Stephen F. Shedd; and Robert Gorsuch, a retired Navy chief warrant
officer.
Francis
frequently sponsored wild sex parties for officials on the flagship of the
Navy's 7th Fleet, the USS Blue Ridge, in addition to other warships, according
to the charging documents.
While visiting
port in Manila in February 2007, Francis allegedly hosted a sex party for
officers at the MacArthur Suite of the Shangri-La Hotel, where “historical
memorabilia related to General Douglas MacArthur were used by the participants
in sexual acts,” according to the indictment.
“The
defendants in this indictment were entrusted with the honor and responsibility
of administering the operations of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet, which is
tasked with protecting our nation by guarding an area of responsibility that
spanned from Russia to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean,” Acting Assistant
Attorney General Blanco said in a statement.
“With this honor and awesome responsibility came a duty to make
decisions based on the best interests of the Navy and the 40,000 Sailors and
Marines under their care who put their lives at risk every day to keep us
secure and free. Unfortunately, however, these defendants are alleged to have
sold their honor and responsibility in exchange for personal enrichment.”
FOX NEWS.
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