Our new 9-part podcast, FAT LEONARD, launches today, a shocking tale of misogyny and graft in the US Navy. I’ve been talking with Leonard Francis, the 350-pound military contractor who infiltrated the Navy like a Mafia don. Episodes 1 and 2 free now:
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We secretly got Leonard a microphone in detention in San Diego. He admits to corrupting US Navy officers with prostitutes and gifts in return for lucrative contracts. But he says Navy top brass knew what was going on. Angry and dying of cancer, he's dropping a bomb by talking.
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Arrested in 2013, Leonard's yet to be sentenced. He’s the star witness in trials of 7 Navy officers slated to begin in San Diego in February (they have pleaded not guilty), and by talking for this podcast he’s throwing those trials into disarray. He says there’s been a coverup.
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For 30 years, Leonard was a trusted contractor to the Navy in the Pacific, providing food, fuel and security to ships. He became part of the Navy, even using his own warship, the Braveheart, to join classified missions against Al Qaeda. He enjoyed diplomatic cover.
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A Mafia-like group inside the Navy, some paid cash bribes, moved ships to ports Leonard controlled, where he could charge millions. He lived in a $130 million dollar mansion in Singapore and had a fleet of 20 luxury cars, all thanks to the US taxpayer.
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But he was not to be trusted. Leonard describes how he secretly recorded orgies involving Navy officers, and still has this sexual “kompromat” under lock and key. He had classified ship schedules and knew the positions of military installations.
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For years, Navy whistleblowers who complained about Leonard’s high costs were ignored. He was doing a good job, and acting as a pimp to Navy officers. Commanders didn’t want anything to change.
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Then, in 2012, the estranged wife of a Navy commander, who suspected her husband was taking gifts and escorts from Leonard, went to the NCIS. The woman talks in FAT LEONARD for the first time. Her actions, and those of other brave women, finally brought Leonard crashing down.
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As the NCIS closed in, Leonard moved his files onto a Chinese server, and the U.S. believes China has access to some of the sexual “kompromat,” sources say. Anyone in the Navy who had relations with Leonard is tainted. This is one of the worst-ever US national security failures.
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The U.S. has indicted almost 30 Navy officers in this scandal. Some have done jail time. But the Navy’s admirals, who gave Leonard top cover, have largely gotten away with a slap on the wrist. This kind of corruption is still going on:
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Join us, as we delve into this unbelievable tale. We rewind to Leonard’s abusive childhood. We meet Leonard’s girlfriend, who has spent a decade searching for her children. My own relationship with Leonard falls apart. And we ask: Why has the Navy not dealt with misogyny?
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This podcast was a team effort. Thanks to executive producer Sandy Smallens of , story editor and co-producer , producer Ireland Meacham @_ira_m_ and mixer and sound designer Matt Noble.
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Fat Leonard is a 9-part weekly podcast, with the first two episodes available today. Subscribe for free wherever you listen:
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Fat Leonard is just one of many projects that and I have going on at . Get in touch!
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