PENANG-born Leonard Glenn Francis or Fat Leonard was reportedly sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for his role in the largest ever US Navy corruption scandal in a case which has riveted both Malaysians and Americans alike.
Before he was brought to justice, Francis, who earned his moniker for his big size, had fled while under home arrest in San Diego by removing his GPS ankle bracelet in 2022 and escaping to South America.
The bulky Penangite was later recaptured in Venezuela last year despite trying to fight extradition back to the US through a prisoner swap deal where he was believed to have reached out to Malaysian authorities for diplomatic help to resist deportation.
Francis, 60, was also ordered to pay US$20 million in restitution to the US Navy by a federal judge in San Diego and to forfeit US$35 million in ill-gotten gains, the US Attorney of the Southern District of California cited in a statement.
Francis ran a naval contracting company - Glenn Defense Marine Asia, a family interest concern out of Singapore before he was arrested in 2013 for bribing US Navy officers.
He pleaded guilty in 2015 to offering bribes to US naval officers to steer maintenance work to his shipyards at Singapore, then overcharging them to the tune of US$35 million in a case which also attracted the attention of Wall Street Journal journalist Tom Wright.
Francis was reported to have handed out more than US$500,000 in cash bribes and provided prostitutes, first-class travel, luxury hotel stays and lavish meals to naval officers, as well as luxuries such as designer bags and watches.
He had been scheduled to be sentenced in September 2022, but he evaded the US Marshal's security apparatus and fled to Venezuela.
As part of an earlier plea agreement, Francis provided US investigators with detailed information which led to the conviction of several high-ranking US Navy officers.
In Penang, a family friend, who preferred not to be named, said that it was unfortunate that Francis was found to be on the wrong end of the law.
While he was living in Penang, Francis was managing a bar where he was later found guilty of possessing a revolver.
After serving his sentence in Penang, the man with an affable personality was packed off by the family to their expanding shipping business in Singapore where he expanded the family empire by stitching together many shipping-related deals.
The family maintained their presence in Penang through a compact outfit, which was managed by Francis's father, who passed away while his son was in US custody.
In an interview with Wright, Francis revealed that he was brought up in a strict family.
“I can be foul but my heart is gold,” he was apparently quoted in a bemused tone.
But there were conflicted remarks coming from the family friend here, who said that the family was the religious obligating type whereas Francis had "strayed."
The friend hopes that Francis will repent and emerge from his ordeal in the US as a reformed person and to reunite with his family and relatives in Penang.
"I hope he can contribute to society as the family still has the means."
"His father died in solitude as the family has become dysfunctional due to certain situations, worsened by the saga involving Francis," the friend said.
Just a small delegation attended the father's wake despite the family's apparent wealth. - November 6, 2024.
