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Ex-US Navy commander gets 30 months in prison for accepting ‘Fat Leonard’ bribes
 [SCMP] In an email arranging to hand over US Navy information to flamboyant contractor Leonard Francis, Navy Commander Troy Amundson described himself as "a small dog just trying to get a bone".Later that night, Francis organised several hookers from Mongolia for Amundson, prosecutors say, just one in a string of bribes Francis paid for leaked military data. On Friday, Amundson was sentenced to 30 months in prison. He joins the ranks of more than a dozen other US Navy officials whose military service is now tarnished with felony records for getting cosy with Francis in what has become the worst corruption scandal to hit the navy in decades. Amundson, a decorated combat pilot, told the judge that he did not realise what he was doing was illegal. The schedules of port visits in Southeast Asia he gave Francis were not classified and were regularly given to contractors, his lawyers said. But the judge disagreed, pointing to the secrecy with which Amundson operated. "It was calculated. It was deliberate," US District Judge Janis Sammartino said on Friday. "As decorated as you were, it’s hard to fathom why you’d sell out for so little." Unlike other navy officials who served Francis ‐ nicknamed "Fat Leonard" ‐ and his Glenn Defence Marine Asia contracting company, Amundson did not accept cash. But he had a good time on Francis’ dime: lavish meals, parties, hotel stays and hookers. He has agreed to pay US$21,625 in restitution ‐ an amount Amundson says stems from a night at a casino ‐ and a US$10,000 fine. From 2008 to 2012 Amundson was based in Singapore as a Cooperation Afloat and Readiness Training, or CARAT, exercise officer and theatre engagement manager for the commander, Logistics Group Pacific. The role had him leading exercises with other nations. Amundson said he was suspicious of GDMA’s seemingly excessive billing and did not deal with Francis. GDMA provided husbanding services to visiting war ships, from rubbish removal to water to security. Posted by: Fred 2018-10-22 |
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