Nicknamed 'Fat Leonard,' the contractor reportedly plied naval officers with Kobe beef, expensive cigars, concert tickets and wild parties.
— who orchestrated one of the U.S. Navy’s largest bribery scandals — zipped between countries to find a place where he could become virtually untouchable for American authorities.After cutting off an ankle monitor and slipping away from house arrest in San Diego on Sept. 4, U.S. and Venezuelan officials say Leonard Glenn Francis went across the border into Mexico, then traveled to Cuba and Venezuela, where he was arrested Tuesday at Simón Bolívar International Airport outside Caracas.
"It looks like they caught him just in time," Rinckey said. "If he made it to Russia, I don’t believe the Russians would have turned him over to us."And while Venezuela and the United States have an extradition agreement, the U.S. government could face an uphill challenge returning the fugitive to American soil.
Among those he befriended was a Russian diplomat, Francis told podcaster Tom Wright, who created a nine-part series on the case. In an episode posted last October, Francis said he lived only a "stone’s throw" from the Russian Embassy in Singapore, and the Russian diplomat would stop by his home uninvited to drop off vodka and other gifts.
"What really worried the United States the most was these officers being corrupted by me, that they would be corruptible by the foreign powers," Francis said in one of the podcast’s episodes.Marine who lost arm and both legs in Afghanistan tells struggling vets, 'Reach out' for help And when Francis does return, prosecutors indicated he will face an even longer sentence, asking the court to note his failure to appear at his sentencing hearing as ordered. That could add five years to his potential sentence of 25 years, if he is ultimately charged for not showing up.
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Navy bribery scheme leader 'Fat Leonard' arrested in Venezuela, ending 16 days on the runLeonard Francis, the mastermind of the Navy's biggest corruption scandal, was arrested trying to board an airplane in the Caracas airport.
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'Fat Leonard' arrested in Venezuela, ending 16 days on the runLeonard Francis, the mastermind of the Navy's worst corruption scandal, was arrested trying to board an airplane to parts unknown in the Caracas airport.
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‘Fat Leonard,' Fugitive Defense Contractor Convicted in Navy Bribery Case, Arrested in VenezuelaLeonard Glenn Francis, better known as “Fat Leonard,” a defense contractor who disappeared weeks before he was set to be sentenced for one of the largest bribery scandals in the nation’s military history, was taken into custody Wednesday in Venezuela,
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U.S. fugitive known as 'Fat Leonard' apprehended in Venezuela after weeks on the run'Fat Leonard,' a former military contractor who pleaded guilty to bribing Navy officials in a $35 million scandal, was apprehended in Venezuela after weeks on the run, authorities said Wednesday.
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Navy corruption scandal mastermind 'Fat Leonard' captured in VenezuelaLeonard Francis had been under house arrest in San Diego, and was days away from being sentenced, when he cut off his ankle bracelet in early September and fled.
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'Fat Leonard' captured: Navy corruption scandal mastermind nabbed in Venezuela after weeks on the runWanted fugitive Leonard Francis was captured in Venezuela after fleeing before he was set to be sentenced. He pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribing Navy officials in a $35 million scandal.
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