KUALA LUMPUR – It appears that Malaysian Leonard Glenn Francis, nicknamed Fat Leonard, enjoyed a high degree of leniency during his house arrest, despite repeated reservations expressed by a United States judge.
Francis, who is a Penangite facing imprisonment for offering bribes to US naval officers in exchange for lucrative supply contracts, escaped from house arrest in San Diego last Sunday.
According to court transcripts, Francis’ lawyers were able to secure him a medical furlough, which was later questioned in late 2020. The defence team also claimed that their client was too sick to be able to be treated at the US Bureau of Prisons.
The fugitive was given a clean bill of health by a San Diego surgeon but his lawyers maintained that Francis had other health issues. His medical furlough was extended to May 23 this year, reports the Associated Press.
US district court judge Janis Sammartino was also concerned that the house arrest arrangement saw Francis paying the private security firm in charge of watching him.
However, it was undetermined how many guards were stationed at the premises.
In December 2020, the judge was told that the premises were left unguarded for three hours when a guard was off to lunch.
During that hearing, she was told that Francis’ three children and his mother were living with him. The defence team had asked for permission to allow Francis to walk his children to school and go to the grocery store.
Since then, no public transcripts were released about his house arrest.
Currently, 10 US federal, state and local agencies have been ordered to hunt for Francis. Mexican authorities have also been told of Francis’ escape seeing that he is most likely to run for the border as the premises he was at is 40 minutes away.
The San Diego Fugitive Task Force is searching for Leonard Francis a.k.a. "Fat Leonard". Francis, who was on home confinement and being monitored by U.S. Pretrial Services, cut off his GPS bracelet and left his home. If you have any information please call 877-926-8332. pic.twitter.com/LFcsjDy5qn
— USMS San Diego (@USMSSanDiego) September 6, 2022
There is also a notice by the US Marshals Service appealing for public tips.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which spearheaded the massive case against Francis more than a decade ago, is also assisting in the search for him.
Francis had cut off his GPS monitoring ankle bracelet sometime on Sunday, Supervisory Deputy US Marshal Omar Castillo was quoted as saying.
Local police made the discovery when they performed a welfare check on Francis, after being contacted by the federal agency monitoring the individual.
Neighbours told authorities that they had seen U-haul moving trucks going in and out of Francis’ home in the days leading up to his escape, Castillo said.
Francis was scheduled to be back in court on September 22 for a sentencing hearing where he could face up to 25 years in prison.
He was arrested in San Diego in 2013 and pleaded guilty in 2015, admitting to bribing several high-ranking naval officers and swindling the Navy out of at least US$35 million (RM147 million at the present exchange rate) in overcharges.
He not only supplied essentials such as oil and food but reportedly also arranged sex workers for top US Navy personnel in a case that embarrassed the US government.
While confined to a home in San Diego, Leonard worked as a cooperating witness for the prosecutors, who built cases against several others involved, including naval officials.
The US federal prosecutors had reportedly filed criminal charges against 33 people, including dozens of navy officers, in connection with the Fat Leonard scandal.
Leonard apparently began his career of corrupting the US military when he was invited to a July 4 celebration held by the US Embassy in Malaysia where he met with naval officers and attaches. – The Vibes, September 8, 2022
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