So it has been a while.. Ran across this podcast while running my standard navy traps and lines. Do I believe everything he says...no.
https://fatleonardpodcast.com/episodes/episode-one-paper-ships/
https://fatleonardpodcast.com/episodes/episode-two-ring-of-steel/
https://fatleonardpodcast.com/episodes/episode-three-paula/
https://fatleonardpodcast.com/episodes/episode-four-the-braveheart/
https://fatleonardpodcast.com/episodes/episode-five-marcy/
https://fatleonardpodcast.com/episodes/episode-six-morena/
https://fatleonardpodcast.com/episodes/episode-seven-suppos/
https://fatleonardpodcast.com/episodes/episode-eight-the-sting/
https://fatleonardpodcast.com/episodes/episode-nine-different-spanks/
However, do I believe that the official story being promulgated by the U.S Navy is telling the whole truth...no
The truth is probably somewhere ..and closer to Fat Leonard then official accounts.
First for those whom don't speak navy let me translate..
Navy Defense Contractor = Husbanding Agent.
What in gods name is a husbanding agent?
Well when a U.S Navy ship or any U.S vessel pulls into a non Navy port they have to get stuff.
From parts, to food to force protection, garbage disposal to information on tours and local events.
The husbanding agent is the mostly single point of contact for you to do this.
And their services cost.. sometimes (no most times) lots more than at your local homeport.
But they are the ultimate fixer.
Need the spare part for the XYZ 2020 weapons system that is stuck in customs and your system won't work unless you have it - husbanding agent.
One of your sailors stuck in customs as he/she forgot or does not have a passport - husbanding agent
Need to know which areas of town are safe for the sailors - husbanding agent.
And for those whom think well big navy does that...nope. If you are on a non large deck and you pull in to a small foreign port for show the flag operations..you might just be given the cell phone of the husbanding agent
And they handle all the payments (for customs ect) that would get your average Navy officer in trouble. They wash them in a way.
Being a husbanding agent can be very lucrative...because its kind of like going to a convenience store vice going to the grocery store and add language issues and culture into the mix.
Are all husbanding agents as misbehaved as Fat Leonard? No. The vast majority are trying to do a decent job with a hopefully not crazy markup.
Can you do it without a husbanding agent...good luck
"You might think that the US Navy with its $20 billion
aircraft carriers, a professional officer class and Pacific headquarters in Hawaii would have no need for
small operators like Leonard. But when pulling into a remote port, the Navy was just as dependent on
the local help as the Clippers of yesteryear. In Navy lingo, suppliers like Leonard are actually called
husbanding agents. In the past, the husband was a colloquial term for the master of a shipyard."
And they are not just overseas...try pulling into a small port in the united states that has not seen a grey hull ever or in decades..
Leonard took a risk. He partnered with a local firm that was close to Indonesia's military dictator, and
then he invested his own money to build a pier on government land. He needed to pay off all kinds of
local politicians and bureaucrats for permits.
This is especially true now a days
I urge you all to set aside a bunch of hours or perhaps run the podcast in the background.
"Mark V's are fast-paced patrol boats armed with Gatling guns, but they only have a small tank and can't
travel for long before running out of fuel. The Navy was looking for a solution. It could use its own ships
for replenishment, but that attracted too much attention for a stealth operation.
Leonard (07:08):
The Seals used to sail these boats across from Singapore across Indonesia, hit all the islands. And we
used to resupply these boats across because they don't have a range. They're small boats.
Tom (07:24):
One day during one of our many video calls, Leonard's late evening in San Diego and my afternoon in
Singapore, he told me about his part in the fight. He'd learned about the Navy's predicament from his
contacts, he said. In fact, one of the reasons he bought the Braveheart in the first place was to give him a
ship to help the US Navy fight Al-Qaeda.
Leonard (07:44):
So my ship, the Braveheart, used to also replenish them at sea. That's a capability we had and this was
like very hush-hush. And we did that for them. You know? We'll resupply them with fuel and give them
what they want. They would be very discreet because having Seals flipping around... And they will hit all
the different ports such as to rest and refuel, and then take off.
Tom (08:11):
Let's stop for a minute to consider the absurdity of this image. Leonard, a foreign national, who's in the
process of ripping off the US taxpayer, is playing at being a Navy Seal, hired guns at his beck and call.
There's probably no image that better sums up the war on terror than this. It would be hilarious if it
wasn't so deadly serious. And it gets more bizarre. I asked Leonard how he was able to sail the
Braveheart and his armed Gurkhas into foreign waters. He claimed the US arranged for diplomatic
clearance for his ship and men"
attached find the transcripts...
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom (00:00):
Please note, the following episode contains mature language and descriptions of sexual situations.
Leonard (00:09):
Everybody has their needs. I gave them that sense of confidence and I also provided them what they
wanted. It was safe and they could trust me. I never let him down. I played professional. I played sexual.
Whatever you needed. Anything.
Tom (00:35):
Manila, 2007.
Tom (00:39):
The chauffeured Mercedes crawled south for half an hour in the interminable traffic. The turbid waters
of Manila Bay on the right. The middle-aged men packed inside the cars were in an exuberant mood.
Leonard (00:55):
Being warriors, they've been at sea for such a long time. They're aviators. They're nukes. They're captains
of ships. They've got this inner side of them that is a beast that needs to come out. So I understand that.
Tom (01:16):
Leonard Glenn Francis was taking out the senior commanders at the US Seventh Fleet. These were the
most powerful Navy officers in Asia and they controlled the movements of around 60 ships and
submarines, 150 aircraft and 20,000 sailors in a huge operational area, stretching from Hawaii to India.
The officers had helped Leonard's Singapore-based company, Glen Defense Marine-Asia, win a huge
contract in the Philippines, according to a grand jury charge that will go to trial early next year. He had to
keep them sweet.
Leonard (01:50):
We all went out. We went to Air Force One.
Tom (01:55):
Air Force one, a karaoke bar, is in a building that looked like an American strip mall topped with a huge
neon sign of a rising sun, a plane taking from the foreground. The tropical heat was cloying, but the men
moved quickly into the air conditioned lobby and through a curtain at the back. On the other side,
Filipino women, many just students, sat in rows in a kind of fishbowl. Identifiable, not by their names,
but by the numbers attached to their skimpy outfits.
Leonard (02:25):
We went there and then picked up a bunch of karaoke girls and we booked them out and brought them
back.
Tom (02:36):
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 1 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Leonard, six foot three, barrel chested, and over 300 pounds. It's hard to place where he's from. He
sounds American except for when his accent slips a little. He's actually Malaysian and an ethnic mix.
Scottish, Sri Lankan, and Portuguese.
These guys, it's almost like they're rap stars or something.
Leonard (02:59):
Oh yeah. Well more than that. Probably like rock stars. They were living their life. Living their dreams.
Things that they'll never ever, ever again do in their lifetime. Nobody would give them that kind of
parties that I did.
Tom (03:19):
Always the ringleader, the big boss or lion king to these Navy officers, Leonard dominated the outing.
Peer closer and you could sense an artifice in his behavior.
Leonard (03:31):
I mean, I do get a buzz, of course. I'll get drunk after drinking like 10 bottles of wine and champagne. I
would get drunk.
Tom (03:40):
The after party was in the $4,000 a night MacArthur Suite at the Manila Hotel. Opened in 1912, it was
General Douglas MacArthur's home and operational command during World War II. The men piled into
the Spanish mission-style room with wooden ceiling beams, marble tiles, an ornate chandelier and
heavily draped curtains. Leonard had stocked the suite with $10,000 bottles of Dom Pérignon.
This is where he commanded the US forces during the battle of Manila?
Leonard (04:11):
Yep. History. Yeah.
Tom (04:14):
Actually, the original hotel was destroyed during the war, but the two bedroom suite was filled with
MacArthur memorabilia. In the suite's study, two ornately carved wooden chairs, the only objects to
survive the Battle of Manila, stood in front of the desk.
Leonard (04:31):
Yeah. They just start stripping and having sex right there.
Tom (04:37):
One of the men, quite drunk by now, opened a case on the desk containing a replica MacArthur's famous
corn cob pipe and grabbed a woman.
Leonard (04:46):
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 2 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
The pipe was used as a dildo on the hooker. The Seventh Fleet was making a mockery of General
MacArthur's memorabilias. He's a historical figure and they totally desecrated and insulted. It was a mass
orgy. That's how deep we were with the Navy. That's how close we were. We were touching skins.
Tom (05:18):
I'm Tom Wright, and this is Fat Leonard. A podcast from Project Brazen.
Leonard (05:38):
I felt free at sea and being in the ocean with the sea, the breeze, the wind, the smell. Everything. Gave
you this feeling of being a free person. I enjoyed it. It made me relax.
Tom (05:55):
Penang, Malaysia. 1964.
Tom (05:59):
Leonard grew up around the port of Penang. A bustling harbor in Southeast Asia, where in earlier days,
trade in opium between India and China fueled huge fortunes. Leonard's grandfather on his mother's
side, Don Joseph, a Sri Lankan of Portuguese blood ran a company that provided supplies like food,
water, and fuel to merchant ships. Even in the 1960s, this was a world closer to the 19th century than
today, with half naked laborers carrying loads up wooden gang planks into the holds of merchant ships
from Britain, Greece, and elsewhere.
Leonard (06:33):
My father and my grandfather used to take me down to the docks. I used to observe all the port
authority workers that used to work on the docks back then.
Tom (06:44):
Leonard was attracted to stories of powerful men.
Leonard (06:48):
Yes, I was always very ambitious growing up. I always had a great ambition. I mean there three things
that I've always wanted to be. One was to be a shipping tycoon. Then the second part of me that I truly
enjoyed was, of course, I was a great fan of Elvis Presley. I loved singing and entertaining. And the third
was, of course, I was fascinated by the movie, The Godfather.
Tom (07:19):
Leonard got everything he dreamed of as a child and more. He built a billion dollar business supplying
the US Navy with food fuel and security, but he was no mere contractor. He bribed Navy officers with
Michelin star dinners, Cohiba cigars, $900 haircuts, luxury hotel stays and prostitute after prostitute, in
order to win contracts and inflate invoices. Leonard infiltrated the Navy like a mafia don and built an
empire that exceeded anything his young self could have imagined.
What were you personally worth at the height of your powers?
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 3 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Leonard (07:57):
You look at all my vessels, my ships, everything put together, property, yeah, I mean the port ... I was
worth hundreds of millions, yeah.
Tom (08:08):
You were worth at least tens of millions of dollars?
Leonard (08:10):
Yeah. But if you look at it over the years, I would have accumulated billions in terms of revenue.
Tom (08:23):
Leonard had a flotilla of 180 boats, including his own worship, The Braveheart protected by armed
mercenaries, which he deployed to keep the US Navy safe. US embassies gave him diplomatic cover. He
even took part covert Navy missions against Al-Qaeda. Leonard was also a useful buffer. Paying bribes to
local authorities and allowing the US Navy to operate effectively. With so many Navy officers in his
pocket, Leonard was able to move the world's largest warships into ports that he controlled, where he
could charge more for food, fuel and water.
PART 1 OF 4 ENDS [00:09:04]
Tom (09:01):
But he could charge more for food, fuel, and water, as well as protection.
Leonard (09:09):
What he had to do was, the entire command, the chain of command, the command and control had to
be in your pocket. That's what happened. Everybody was in my pocket. I had them in my palm. I was just
rolling them around. And then I could just move the carriers like paper ships in the water. Nuclear
powered aircraft carriers, strike groups. And I could like put them in anywhere I wanted them to go. And
that's how I could influence it because I could shift the ships around.
Tom (09:47):
That's just an amazing power that you had.
Leonard (09:50):
Oh yeah, I could do wonders. And it was just move the carriers. This is a $20 billion ship, capital ships and
I'm non-military, I'm just a civilian, I'm not a US citizen. And I had that command over all these senior
naval officers who would just snap on my command. Do this, and they'll move the ships for me. Oh my
God. It was like crazy. They were coming in to take some drug lord, they came running in with guns
blazing.
Tom (10:44):
San Diego, 2013.
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 4 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Leonard (10:47):
And then slammed me against the wall and then put me on a chair, started frisking me, checking me,
everything.
Tom (10:57):
Leonard was in a suite in the Marriott hotel preparing to discuss a new round of multi-million dollar
contracts with the US Navy. Suddenly a SWAT team barged into his room. Did you get angry?
Leonard (11:19):
Yeah, in my heart I felt very upset, yes. Why was I being treated this way? There could have been a better
way of doing this.
Tom (11:29):
But you didn't resist arrest.
Leonard (11:30):
Oh no, no. What was there to resist? It's the overwhelming force. I'm a big guy, but it was overwhelming
force of firepower.
News Anchor 1 (11:42):
This is the so-called fat Leonard case.
News Anchor 2 (11:48):
Malaysian businessman Leonard Glenn Francis-
News Anchor 3 (11:51):
Leonard Glenn Francis.
Elizabeth Warren (11:53):
Leonard Glenn Francis.
News Anchor 2 (11:54):
Known as Fat Leonard.
News Anchor 3 (11:56):
AKA Fat Leonard-
News Anchor 1 (11:57):
Fat Leonard.
News Anchor 3 (11:58):
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 5 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Due to his 350 pound frame.
News Anchor 4 (12:00):
Fat Leonard is a Malaysian citizen, but he had a business in Singapore called Glenn Defense Marine Asia.
News Anchor 2 (12:06):
A big man loved the big life, fast cars, women, and travel.
Speaker 8 (12:10):
He's very charming, he's very social.
Speaker 9 (12:13):
He was a larger than life figure in many ways.
Tom (12:18):
What happened that day eight years ago upended Leonard's life. He spent years in jail, and now house
arrest, and he's still awaiting his fate.
Leonard (12:29):
I just felt very betrayed, to be honest with you. I don't think I deserve that, to be treated that way. Why
are you treating me this way? I've been a loyal person, contractor, defense contractor, and I've done a lot
for the last 30 years. Supporting hundreds if not thousands of ships, hundreds of thousands of sailors
and Marines in all kinds of places. I've never brought any harm to the United States. This was just a
financial matter. It was not me hurting anybody. Nobody got hurt. There was no blood was spilt. Nobody
was killed. Nobody was hurt.
Tom (13:19):
Prosecutors thought they had an open and shut case. The government expected to prosecute Leonard
and a few Navy officers who had signed fake invoices in return for free holidays, gifts, or prostitutes. An
embarrassing episode, perhaps, but the Navy could get back to protecting the homeland. Instead,
Leonard found himself in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego, across the table from
prosecutors from the Justice Department, handcuffs on his wrists, his legs shackled like a murderer. And
in that cold, sparse interview room, Leonard started to talk. And the tale he told about the Navy sent
shockwaves through the defense establishment.
Leonard (14:02):
Initially I was the bad guy. Me, I was mister bad. Look at what you did. It was all my fault. But as the case
rolled forward and the Navy was pushing back because they didn't want to clean house. They just
wanted to shove this all under the carpet and let me take the blame and a couple of other bad apples.
Three or four.
Tom (14:40):
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 6 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
That a foreigner was so embedded with the Navy is one of the biggest national security failures in
modern US military history. Leonard was trusted with top secret information, ship and submarine
schedules, and the position of ballistic missile defenses. And perhaps most extraordinarily of all, he was
the keeper of the sexual secrets of the Navy's most powerful men and some women.
Leonard (15:03):
And when I did explain everything. I think the investigators were shocked. They're like, "What?" And
most of the investigators were female agents and they were getting so mad that these senior naval
officers were behaving like this. It was shocking.
Tom (15:22):
In that room, he named some of the Navy's most senior commanders. He had all kinds of compromising
material on the most powerful people in the US Navy.
Leonard (15:34):
I'm telling you I have my checklist. I made a good dossier of everybody.
Tom (15:40):
What, like a kompromat?
Leonard (15:42):
Oh yeah, I do. I made my list of gifts. I made my list of whoremongers. I made my list of cash receiving
people. I broke it all down. I'm good at this.
Tom (15:54):
China is threatening the balance of power in the Pacific and the US bet on Leonard to meet this
challenge. Instead, its dealings with him have rocked the Navy to its core. Beijing could never have
inflicted this much damage. This is a story that will change the way you look at the US Navy, a revered
institution, it spawned movies and TV shows like Top Gun and NCIS. But this is a dark tale of alcoholic
Navy officers, mediocre types, willing to sell out their country for tawdry sex. David Schaus, a former
Navy officer who blew the whistle on Leonard, but was ignored, says most of his colleagues knew what
was going on. Many were too implicated or just too lazy to take action.
David (16:45):
Leonard was very good at influencing people. If you were a guy that the most effective way to get you on
his side was to buy a hooker and booze, then he'd buy you a hooker and booze.
Tom (17:01):
Prosecutors have indicted almost 30 Navy officers, including the first serving admiral to go to jail in US
history, as well as Leonard and his staff. A new round of trials involving the officers in the MacArthur
suite is set to start early next year. Here's Don Christensen, a former chief prosecutor of the US Air Force.
Don (17:23):
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 7 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
I think it's going to shock a lot of Americans and a lot of people in Congress, the extent to the depravity
that the Navy has shown in the Fat Leonard, and the lack of accountability for those who engaged in that
kind of conduct. None of the people that are involved are doing interviews, so there's nothing on
television or that you can pull up on the internet to look at, so I think that's part of the problem at well.
Tom (17:50):
So if Fat Leonard were to talk publicly about what was going on, that would change the dynamic, right?
Don (17:56):
I don't know if he even has the possibility. I don't know what his conditions of his confinement are. I've
heard he's not in good health. I don't know if that's true-
PART 2 OF 4 ENDS [00:18:04]
Don (18:00):
His confinement are, I've heard he's not in good health. I don't know if that's true or not, but...
Tom (18:08):
So Leonard, this is what I'm hoping is going to be the first of many recordings between us.
Leonard (18:13):
Yes.
Tom (18:14):
What we want to do here as we discussed in all of our other conversations that you and I have been
having here...
In 25 years as a journalist, I've never had a relationship like the one I'm conducting now with
Leonard Francis and I've dealt with many fraudsters. I co-wrote the bestseller Billion Dollar Whale about
Jho Low, a con artist who allegedly stole billions and used the money to make the Wolf of Wall street
film, buy jewelry for Miranda Kerr and Picassos for Leonardo DiCaprio. For over three years, Leonard's
been under house arrest, living in a quiet area of San Diego alone with his three children from two
Filipino mistresses. Before that he did four years in a San Diego prison, but he was allowed out after he
was diagnosed with kidney cancer. He's closely watched. You got a bracelet, right?
Leonard (19:01):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got a Uncle Sam Rolex, I call it. One of my famous watches here. You can see. I don't
know if you can see it, but I have one of my diamond Rolexes on my ankle here.
Tom (19:14):
When I was looking for my next project after Billion Dollar Whale, I came across Leonard's story and it
fascinated me. When a Malaysian intermediary offered to put me in touch with Leonard I jumped at the
chance to learn more about him. For weeks he was cagey, testing me out to see if I could be trusted.
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 8 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
He'd already turned down requests from other reporters. The fact I've lived for years in Southeast Asia
and my history with Malaysia helped kindle a bond between us.
You tell me if you look back on your life story, how would you construct it? Where would you
start?
Leonard (19:47):
I'm trying to put it all together and perspective because I've had so many different chapters in my life,
I've had more lives than a cat. There's so many different times where I personally had a lot of close debt
situations where I came back and survived.
Tom (20:12):
I've been trying to work out his motives for opening up to me. He's pleaded guilty. And as a star witness
in the ongoing cases of other Navy officers, many of whom have denied wrongdoing, his plea deal bars
him from talking about the case. And he could face much more time in prison because of this podcast.
One element could be that he's sick and so has nothing to lose.
Leonard (20:36):
It's a huge risk for me to do what I'm doing, but I'm so upset with it. Well, I'm portrayed as the bad guy
and I wasn't the bad guy. I did everything that they wanted me to do. I've lived my life. I've been up this
close to heaven and down to hell. I've seen it all. So my legacy's important too. We're all going to die one
day. And I only fear God, I don't fear nobody else. And of course, I've got to face my judge one day and
it's all in her hands, that's about it. How many life sentences can you give me? 1, 2, 10?
Tom (21:10):
But you are angry that you are still waiting around. Right?
Leonard (21:13):
Well, being angry... What can I do? Do I have a choice? I don't have a choice. Where are you going to
run? You can't run.
Tom (21:21):
So talking to me is basically a choice you do have, right? I mean-
Leonard (21:24):
Well, talking to you's also like talking to a counselor, venting.
Tom (21:32):
Along the way, Leonard will try to spin us. He's a confidence trickster after all, but he's also unburdening
himself, enjoying telling stories of his corrupt past and reliving the times when he was Leonard the
legend.
Leonard (21:43):
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 9 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
That's why Uncle Sam loves me. The agents, when they speak to me, they go, this is amazing. This is an
amazing story. When I talk to them, it just comes out naturally. And I don't need to refer to things, it's all
here. That's what's kept me going is my mind. I have a very good mind, strong mind. I've survived.
Tom (22:08):
It's our job to work out where the truth ends and the lies begin.
Leonard (22:12):
If the Navy would've charged every officer or Admiral that were involved with me, the Navy would not
have any more Admirals in the Navy. Everybody would've been put away.
Tom (22:33):
Penang, 1977.
Tom (22:36):
We have to go back to the beginning to really get a handle on this crazy story.
Leonard (22:40):
When I was 13, I was already six foot tall. I grew fast. I had sideburns when I was 13. I had my little Elvis
mutton chops.
Tom (22:54):
Leonard was a hard child to manage. He joined a biker gang and he didn't pay much attention to his
studies, but he was smart and entrepreneurial. He made money collecting the runoff from tin mining
and selling it to electronics companies and soon was working for his father, supplying merchant ships. His
father looms large in this story.
Leonard (23:16):
When I was growing up, we were having a lot of family issues because my father was always having
girlfriends. So, he had always had a second life out there.
Tom (23:25):
Leonard's father never fit in. His own father had come to Malaysia from Scotland to work on the rubber
plantations and married locally. The plantations were a hard scrabble world of heavy drinking and
backbreaking work in the stultifying heat, and Leonard's father sought escape in the British army, and in
the bottle.
Posted to Singapore, he met Leonard's mother, left the army and took over his father-in-law's
business. Young Leonard looked up to his father, but he got little in return. His father would take off to
Europe on vacations with other women leaving his family behind and doing little to further the business.
Things were even worse when he was at home.
Leonard (24:08):
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 10 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Well, my mom was always the victim because you see my dad was very abusive. So I do understand why
she left because if she didn't leave, she probably would've... My mom tried to OD a couple times, had
pills. She was traumatized by my father. My father was very violent.
Tom (24:27):
He was physically abusive?
Leonard (24:28):
Oh yeah. He was a very abusive man. Yes.
Tom (24:31):
So he beat her?
Leonard (24:32):
Oh yeah. He used to beat her. He was very violent.
Tom (24:35):
And the kids as well?
Leonard (24:36):
Yeah, my dad used the belt because... It was terrible. So that was all the trauma we went through,
growing up around him.
Tom (24:45):
Soon Leonard's family was torn apart. His mother fled to England with his brother and sister. Leonard
opted to stay behind and help his dad run the business and attempt to prove himself. But his father was
lazy and Leonard began to take a larger role in dealing with commercial ships.
Leonard (25:03):
They're selfish. My dad had his own thing. My mom had her own thing. So everybody went their own
way and just kind of left me in limbo. And I kind of found my own way on the streets.
Tom (25:14):
Bereft of a family to guide him. Leonard would soon land in big trouble.
Tom (25:20):
Penang, 1985.
Tom (25:23):
Penang Island, near the border between Malaysia and Thailand is a beguiling place with old Chinese
shop houses and white sand beaches that are popular with tourists. It also has a frontier field. In the
1980s pirates still attacked boats in the Harbor as they had for centuries. Heroin smuggling was rife. This
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 11 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
was the rough world Leonard entered as a young man. He learned to operate in a corrupt court, paying
bribes to captains for the right to supply merchant ships with food and water. The seamen, burly and
tattooed foreigners spent their time ashore in the bars and brothels of Penang and Leonard began to
accompany them.
Leonard (26:02):
I used to go visit all these clubs and massage parlors and I saw that as an opportunity to entertain my
clients again. These guys weren't exactly the best guys to hang out with because they kind of opened me
up to all this red light districts...
Tom (26:25):
Leonard spent his nights in the bars and massage parlors of Penang, rarely sleeping. He plowed some of
the profits from his business into his own bar, Tropicana. It became a hangout for Triads, the Chinese
mafia.
Leonard (26:40):
When you have these kind of players, you need bouncers and that's when the gangs start coming. And
then they start to try to control and they start to try to extort, and then you get one gang to push the
other gang out. And it starts getting very, very, very toxic. I was only like, I think 20, I was young.
Tom (27:03):
Soon Leonard-
PART 3 OF 4 ENDS [00:27:04]
Leonard (27:00):
Plenty, I was young.
Tom (27:03):
Soon Leonard was in debt. And to get himself out of dire straits, he made a move that would color the
rest of his life. He joined the Triads in his club, pock-faced young men, high on smack, blades tucked into
the belts of their jeans, in an armed robbery, as a getaway driver.
Leonard (27:28):
I was a good driver, so I always a crazy little [inaudible 00:27:31] young kid. So I had to go rent a car. So
dumb me, young, dumb, dumb. Went and rented a car from Budget rent-a-car. I was like, "Okay, I'll go
rent myself a Volvo." Back in the days, the big bumpers and all that. So I kind of thought about it, "Shit,
what if I get shot?" So I bought myself a bulletproof vest, full one, you know. "Okay, let's do this." And
then, so the day came.
Tom (28:04):
Leonard sat behind the wheel in a Volvo, across the street from a money lenders. In the back, the Triads,
carrying pistols, dripping with sweat, smoked and argued. He questioned what he was doing there, a
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 12 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
middle-class kid, but it was too late to back out. The plan was to steal from the money lenders like a
bank robbery. Eventually some men came out of the shop, carrying bulging bags of cash, dumped them
into the trunk of a car and sped off.
Leonard (28:34):
So I was driving the car, these guys are armed, they had guns. So we drove. Basically followed them from
this shop on the way to the airport. We went ahead and then we waited, overtook them and waited for
them to pass us. We saw an the area where the road was pretty clear and then drove out and then
pretended there was a collision, like an accident.
Tom (29:03):
Leonard positioned the car as if it had spun out of control, blocking the road. Then he sat and waited, a
bulletproof vest under his clothes. The other car approached and slowed, trying to work out what was
going on. Leonard gripped the wheel, until his knuckles turned white. The Triads sprung from the back of
the car, screaming and brandishing the pistols. They pulled the other men to the ground, forcing them to
lay spread eagled. Then they opened the trunk, slung the bags of cash over their shoulders and jumped
back into the Volvo. The Triads screamed at him to drive.
Leonard (29:42):
And then I spun the car around and headed straight for the Penang Bridge. And then on the way across
the Penang Bridge, we threw all the bags out into the sea.
Tom (30:00):
They drove to the Triads village, a rural area. The gangsters took the local cash and left Leonard to look
after the foreign currency and the guns. The haul was worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Leonard (30:12):
They're smart. They gave me the loot. They gave me the guns. They said, "You keep everything. Only
when we need you, we'll call you."
Tom (30:21):
Leonard Went back to work, spending his days on the docks. He paid off his debts, but he was followed
by the gut wrenching unease that he'd left a trail. Maybe it was a paranoia of the guilty, but his mind
kept going back to the guns at his house. One day Leonard was sitting in his car, outside a restaurant,
waiting for a friend. Before he could react, a police inspector slipped into the backseat.
Leonard (30:45):
And then he got into the back seat. And then he put the gun to the back of my head. And he said, "You
drive right now to police headquarters." He said, "I'm going to blow your brains out," he said, "if you
don't follow my instructions." He was a young, a little cocky, inspector. He thought he was Rambo or
something.
Tom (31:07):
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 13 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
The police searched Leonard's house and found the guns, bulletproof vest, and foreign currency hidden
in a secret compartment of a cupboard. He never learned the identity of who had ratted him out.
Leonard (31:18):
I was held in detention without trial for 60 days. And I was locked up in the headquarters with all these
hardcore criminals. Oh my gosh. The guys that were locked up with me, they were tortured. You could
hear them screaming to come back to the walk because they'll get beaten by cables under their feet.
They're gang members, robbers, whatever they were.
Tom (31:50):
Almost before it began, Leonard's shipping career appeared over. We leave him in a dank jail from the
Victorian era, a slop bucket for a toilet, a 21 year old, basically a kid in fear for his life.
Leonard (32:03):
I was the scapegoat that got caught with the guns. And I took the hit for it.
Tom (32:10):
The police charged him for the possession of guns and 30 rounds of bullets, a capital crime in Malaysia.
Leonard (32:18):
That's sufficient for you to get hung. The death penalty, you know?
Tom (32:23):
Over the next quarter century, Leonard, a failed getaway driver, the noose hanging over his head, will
transform into one of the world's most powerful military contractors. As a TV script, it would seem
overcooked. Languishing in prison, he was working out his next angle. By the late 1980s, the US Navy had
a problem in Asia. Leonard was positioning himself to benefit.
Leonard (32:50):
Because I knew if I would build this, they're going to come. And then, yes, rightfully they did
Tom (33:02):
Coming up this season on Fat Leonard.
David Schaus (33:06):
I think in the case of many people, I'm still a pariah for what I did because I took away the guy that was
buying drinks for everybody.
Elizabeth Warren (33:16):
[inaudible 00:33:16], I had hoped to talk with you about the crisis in Venezuela today. Instead I have to
ask you about yesterday's report in the Washington post. You were allegedly offered a prostitute. This
does not pass the smell test for me.
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 14 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Blake (33:30):
There is at least some popular perception of what we would call it, different Spanx for different ranks.
Marcy (33:38):
It was definitely liked the old boys club mentality, I felt like to a certain degree with some of that. So it's
like, "Let's just hush her up."
Paula Coughlin (33:45):
Fat Leonard's saw an opportunity. And it's almost comical that, "I'm going to give you these prostitutes
and you're going to be really bad and you're going to feel super guilty, but don't worry. I have this really
nice gift you can give your wife, and then we're even." Kudos to fat Leonard.
Morena (34:04):
He always threatened me and my family. You know, "Your family. I can't do anything for them." He was
very dangerous. He's very evil, evil person. He has no heart. He has no heart. He's evil.
Tom (34:18):
Were you aware that the NCIS was investigating?
Leonard (34:22):
I mean, I knew what was going on. I mean, I had top cover. I had too many informers. Everybody was my
informer. You know what, you're being unreasonable Miss, because I've been so truthful and honest to
you. And now you trying to judge me.
Tom (34:43):
Fat Leonard is a production of Project Brazen in partnership with PRX. For audiation, the executive
producer is Sandy Smallens. Mark Lotto is the co-producer and story editor. The producer is Ireland
Meacham. Mixing and sound design is by Matt Noble.
PART 4 OF 4 ENDS [00:35:15]
FL-Ep 1-Paper Ships-FOR PUBLISH 9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 15 of 15
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom (00:00):
Please note, the following episode contains mature language.
Leonard (00:05):
Oh my God. Oh my Lord. So here you go, Leonard Francis, boom. I was thrown into Penang prison.
Tom (00:16):
Penang Malaysia, 1985.
Tom (00:20):
Terrified, aged only 21, Leonard Francis, soon to be an integral part of the US Navy is festering in a
Malaysian jail. Arrested for his part in an armed robbery. The brick prison is as dank in the 1980s as it
was a hundred years earlier with rusted iron bars, peeling paint, and mold stained walls. The stench from
open septic tanks where prisoners dumped their effluence permeates the cells. The tropical heat is
overbearing.
Leonard (00:49):
This is a 1800 jail with stone floor, just a blanket. You don't have a mattress. And it's like probably a 10 by
10 or smaller than that. Eight guys in there, seven, eight guys, a bucket of a toilet. You have one little
dinky light and a hole in the door. That's it.
Tom (01:12):
For a middle-class kid never wanting for anything, the mental strain is unbearable. He's crammed up
against Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers, Westerners arrested for heroin trafficking. Foreign media are
camping outside as a diplomatic spat brews between Australia and Malaysia. Forgotten now, the pairs
gruesome death by hanging was a subject of a Julie Christie film. During fitful sleep, Leonard is pursued
by the hangman's noose.
Leonard (01:41):
The prison experience, it was traumatic because of everything that I went through and saw at such a
young tender age.
Tom (01:51):
Grips by panic, Lennon's mother rushes back from England. With his father, they pull strings to help their
son. Worried for his mental health, they get him moved to the prison hospital, but conditions are hardly
better.
Leonard (02:06):
And then I was locked up with all the loonies and [inaudible 00:02:11] and sick.
Tom (02:14):
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 1 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Leonard seems to find his troubled past a source of amusement rather than shame. I can't help but see it
as the same devil may care impulse that drove him to get involved in an armed robbery without a second
thought or to embark on a career to corrupt the US Navy.
Leonard (02:30):
I think every Thursday, everybody who has a sentence, who has a corporal punishment, they get
whipped. So after they whip, they come to the prison infirmary and put the [inaudible 00:02:43] in your
butts. They start screaming, ahh... It chops into you, it's like cutting, slicing into you.
Tom (02:52):
Leonard was fearful for his life and grasping for anything to give him sucker.
Leonard (02:57):
I was praying and praying and say, "God give me a chance. Give me a chance."
Tom (03:03):
It was a Hindu holy day and a procession of devotees we're burning incense to their Gods.
Leonard (03:10):
It was like maybe two, three in the morning, I smell the incense. And this is the truth, the incense from a
temple that was miles and miles away, it came into my prison, into my lockup.
Tom (03:28):
Near a breaking point, Leonard took it as a sign of divine intervention.
Leonard (03:33):
It was like a spirit, spirit of God, whether it was the Hindu God or what God, it came upon me.
Tom (03:41):
Then, after two weeks of anguish, Leonard was taken for sentencing. His mother, who had abandoned
him, running from her abusive husband to England. Her maternal instinct fired by despair that her son
was about to be hung, appears at his sentencing and pleads with the judge.
Leonard (03:58):
I think I was just so lucky. So my mother took the stand and mitigated and said, my son's a good boy, he
was misled, misguided from friends. And she did a little crying on the stand. And I was lucky. I was
blessed. I was fined like 20,000 for the guns and the bullets. And then I was let loose.
Tom (04:23):
In his mind, God performs a miracle, and like many people who have cheated death, Leonard, from this
moment on, would fear nothing. I'm Tom Wright. And this is Fat Leonard, a podcast from Project Brazen.
I've spent this past year talking to Leonard Francis who is now in detention in San Diego about his
extraordinary life. In this episode, we're going to see how a young man from a shipping family, fresh off
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 2 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
death row, starts doing business with the US Navy. And, in no time at all, becomes Leonard the legend to
admirals and petty officers alike. We'll explore how Leonard made his fortune on the back of America's
military expansion after the Gulf War and even more so following September the 11th. The US has pulled
out of Afghanistan after spending $1 trillion trying to rebuild that country. Leonard was a direct
beneficiary of the forever wars. He was enterprising, but he thrived in a strange time. One in which the
US feared for its very existence and military spending ran unchecked.
There isn't a how to book about becoming a contractor to the US Navy in a foreign land. It's a
dirty secret in the Navy that its reliance on all kinds of shady characters to get the provisions it needs in
far-flung corners of the world. After prison, Leonard saw an opening. The US Navy was building its
presence in Malaysia, but no one had a permanent contract to supply the ships. Through his family's
connections, he finagled invites to July 4th and other celebrations of the US embassy and he turned up a
gregarious 300 pound presence in an ill-fitting suit and bad tie.
Leonard (06:14):
There was like this circle of Independent Day receptions where I used to go get invited and go and meet
all these different [inaudible 00:06:24] introductions.
Tom (06:28):
Behind this facade of success, Leonard was struggling. After prison, he'd set up in a Chinese shop house,
his office out front and a bedroom in the back. One night, a cobra slid over Leonard while he was
sleeping. Leonard was busy sidling up to board officers and their wives like he was some personal
concierge service extending invites to the best dinner spots in town or hooking them up with a sought
after tailor.
Leonard (06:56):
They didn't demand for corruption, but they were entertained heavily by me. They were given gifts.
They're always taken out, wined and dined, fine dining.
Tom (07:08):
Soon, Leonard got his first US Navy commission; to supply fresh food to the USS San Bernardino, a tank
landing ship that had seen action in the Vietnam War. It was a minnow compared to an aircraft carrier,
but it was a start. A high court overturned his acquittal and Leonard ended up doing another year in jail.
But once out, he kept on working for the US Navy. You might think that the US Navy with its $20 billion
aircraft carriers, a professional officer class and Pacific headquarters in Hawaii would have no need for
small operators like Leonard. But when pulling into a remote port, the Navy was just as dependent on
the local help as the Clippers of yesteryear. In Navy lingo, suppliers like Leonard are actually called
husbanding agents. In the past, the husband was a colloquial term for the master of a shipyard.
PART 1 OF 4 ENDS [00:08:04]
Tom (08:00):
The husband was a colloquial term for the master of a shipyard. A damaged ship needed her husband.
And often they were just like Leonard, mom and pop shops with connections to the local police and port
mafia. Here's David Kapaun, a Navy officer who knew Leonard well.
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 3 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
David (08:19):
Yeah, well, he was one of these husbanding agents, which is a necessary evil for the US Navy. He was
probably one of the more unique husbanding agents in that he was gregarious and acted like an
American and that seemed to endear him to Navy people.
Tom (08:37):
David has just been released from 18 months in jail due to his dealings with Leonard. We'll hear in a later
episode how he's furious about the leniency shown to admirals who dealt with Leonard, but for all this,
David's still in awe of the man's skills.
David (08:54):
US Navy does very well at sea. In port, they're kind of left at the mercy of people like Leonard to get
things for them. So, yeah, the Navy supply officers and commanding officers appreciated that he was a
go-getter.
Tom (09:10):
A sometimes overbearing presence, Leonard would wattle down the ladders of ships into the engine
rooms and supply offices to trade gossip. He'd grown up on the docks and was just as comfortable with
officers as with enlisted men. He knew how sailors on the Navy ships, just like in the commercial world,
wanted their cut.
Leonard (09:29):
Shipping is full of corruption. You got to pay everybody off to get the business. So we would give cuts to
the captain. Give commissions to the chief steward, the guy that receives the stuff, and he kind of puts
the orders out. So everyone gets a cut and percentage.
Tom (09:46):
For Leonard, this point is crucial. It's going to be his justification for the events that unfold in our story.
Like many fraudsters, he sees himself as purely transactional. He didn't invent corruption in shipping. It
always has been and always will be a dirty game. Leonard was on the way up.
Tom (10:09):
Washington DC, 1991.
Dick Cheney (10:13):
Well, the Philippines, from a strategic standpoint, are important.
Tom (10:17):
Defense secretary, Dick Cheney, speaking to the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee, faced a
difficulty. The Philippines was threatening to throw the US out of its historic Naval base at Subic Bay.
Dick Cheney (10:29):
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 4 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
One of the problems you quickly run into as secretary of defense is finding places where forces can train.
We do a lot of that in the Philippines out of Clark and out of Subic.
Tom (10:41):
Subic Bay was home to thousands of troops, a ship repair facility, supermarkets, bowling alleys, and bars.
When ships came back from months at sea, it was a great spot for sailors to relax. But now suddenly, the
Navy was looking at other places in Asia for refueling, ship maintenance and R&R. Leonard was ready to
pounce.
And so by this time, Subic Bay has closed down and the need for someone like you is getting
bigger.
Leonard (11:09):
Yes. Yeah, it was growing, and they needed places to go to. So Bali was a spot that they wanted to go to.
Tom (11:18):
With its sandy beaches and famous surf, the Indonesian tourist island of Bali was a perfect spot for R&R,
but there was no proper pier for large craft. The husbanding agent was an Indonesian woman who ran a
yacht charter business, and she helped the Navy on the side.
Leonard (11:34):
Bali was like a little cartel.
Tom (11:38):
She paid turtle fishermen, poor bedraggled men, to sail out to the US Navy boats. And sailors climbed
aboard using ladders thrown over the edge of their ships. It was an age old practice, but quite
dangerous. In 1990, 21 sailors had drowned in Israel when the boat transferring them back to their
aircraft carrier overturned in rough waters.
So the Navy battle groups were being provisioned by turtle hunting boats?
Leonard (12:07):
Well, water taxis, yeah. I mean, they had mom and pop operations.
Tom (12:12):
Leonard took a risk. He partnered with a local firm that was close to Indonesia's military dictator, and
then he invested his own money to build a pier on government land. He needed to pay off all kinds of
local politicians and bureaucrats for permits.
Leonard (12:30):
Boom. I opened Bali up. We started having close to 10 ship visits a month, and Bali started to be one of
the hottest port of calls in the Pacific.
Tom (12:41):
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 5 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
No one else was offering what he did in a faraway corner of the globe. He was learning about the power
of monopoly, and he started to charge hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Leonard (12:51):
And it was very profitable because when the ships came in, back in those days, we made a very good
profit out of the port visits. We did everything for them, from the food to the fuel, to the transportation,
to the port's protection.
Tom (13:08):
Leonard was also a useful buffer, paying bribes to local authorities and allowing the US Navy to operate
effectively.
That's gotten you a reputation with the US for achieving something that was useful to them and-
Leonard (13:22):
Yes, making things work.
Tom (13:23):
... making things work. And, also, as you said last time, you're the one that dealt with all the corruption.
Leonard (13:27):
Everybody, hand me outs, I am the bag man basically. I take care of all the dirt because there's so much
of dirt there.
Tom (13:37):
Singapore, 1994.
Tom (13:42):
Leonard was establishing himself, a military contractor and confidence trickster. He'd figured out how to
tap into the gusher of US defense spending. And like Jordan Belfort, the Wolf of Wall Street, he knew
how to splash it around. He moved to Singapore, where the US Navy had a base, rented an old
whitewash colonial bungalow and began to throw legendary parties. He didn't hold wars against a target,
but there was this.
I read somewhere that you chew on glass as a party piece. Is that true?
Leonard (14:15):
Oh, yeah. Well, that's kind of my little party trick. I'm good at that. I've kind of mastered chewing
wineglass, champagne glass, over the years. What I can do... I mean, I don't know how I do it, but it's like
my mouth has become like Kevlar.
Tom (14:35):
Imagine Leonard, barely 30, chewing glass, surrounded by beautiful women and US Navy officers as
waiters fill everyone's glasses with Dom Perignon.
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 6 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
How do you go about procuring women for a party like that and hiring them?
Leonard (14:50):
Oh, we have a little network. We have a network of these all executive use, high-end. These girls rotate
with the rich and famous. So they go out with all the tycoons, the royalty. Some of them are mistresses
to very rich tycoons and aboard just want to have a little fun. So they just slide out and come and just
look for some part-time boyfriends to bang with.
Tom (15:21):
I guess they were quite expensive, right?
Leonard (15:23):
Oh, yeah.
Tom (15:24):
[crosstalk 00:15:24] charging.
Leonard (15:24):
Yes, yes.
Tom (15:26):
Leonard hired beautiful women as representatives of Glenn Defense Marine Asia, or GDMA, his new
company. Dressed in revealing outfits, these women waited on piers as Navy boats arrived and took care
of officer's needs. Blake [Hertzinger 00:15:42], then a US Navy officer, remembers a fellow sailor telling
him about the bacchanal that began as soon as a ship hit a port controlled by Leonard.
Blake Hertzinger (15:51):
They pull in, they tie up, they step off the pier, and Leonard is standing there waiting for the captain with
a set of keys for a luxury car sitting out front, brand new Mercedes. Walks out with him, pops the trunk
and the trunks full of top-shelf liquor.
PART 2 OF 4 ENDS [00:16:04]
Blake Hertzinger (16:00):
Walks out with him, pops the trunk and the trunk's full of top shelf liquor.
Tom (16:05):
At the ensuing parties, often in restaurants of five star hotels, Leonard was a larger than life presence. He
would take over the microphone and croon Elvis songs as a crowd of inebriated Navy officers joined in.
He made people feel like they were part of an exclusive crowd.
Leonard (16:25):
Love Me Tender is one of my favorite. That's for my mom.
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 7 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom (16:28):
Can I hear your voice?
Leonard (16:32):
No, I sing a lot from my heart. So I love to sing songs that are very meaningful and I have great memories
of when I entertain and I really enjoy doing it. I don't have to pretend or not like doing what I like to do.
I'm the kind of person, as you know, I go out of my heart and soul.
Tom (16:51):
Polite Singaporean society gossiped about this new arrival, a hulking figure in clothes that hung off him
at odd angles. Leonard sought to play the role of respected business titan. He joined the prestigious
Tanah Merah Golf Club and would take U.S. Navy admirals there, even though he himself didn't play.
Leonard tried to settle down, marrying a Filipino woman with whom he had two boys, but he never
stopped philandering and the marriage failed. He pursued an Indonesian fashion model.
Leonard (17:25):
I decided to go. Look at all these models, get excited.
Tom (17:28):
You met her at a fashion show.
Leonard (17:30):
Yeah. It's like when you go see Gucci shows, this show, that show. We get the front seat. It's so easy to
meet up all the girls.
Tom (17:40):
The model who became his second wife charmed officers like Steve Barney, a Navy lawyer who met her
on a number of occasions.
Steve (17:47):
These people seemed to be nice people. And when you're dealing with people in foreign countries that
seem to understand and value what you do and they're pleasant people to deal with, it makes the job
that much easier.
Tom (17:58):
Leonard learned Navy lingo and could pass for an American. He wore Navy style baseball caps with Glen
Marine in silver lettering, stars and stripes neckties. And he had his cell phone ring programed to Lee
Greenwood's God Bless the USA. He sponsored Navy balls in Singapore and became part of the U.S.
community.
Steve (18:15):
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 8 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
He waved that American flag very proudly and really presented himself as one of the greatest advocates
for the United States Navy that we could have in that region. And that aspect of his relationship and
reputation were undoubtedly valuable to him in developing his business.
Tom (18:32):
Eventually Leonard had opened a warehouse down on the water, complete with ITS own pier, and he
began to do work for a range of bigger U.S. vessels: frigates, destroyers, and cruisers. Ship commanders
started to write Bravo Zulu's for Leonard, Navy speak for commendation letters, which he used to secure
more contracts. Often he'd return home to his Tony neighborhood in the early hours only to head
straight out to work.
Leonard (18:58):
Because when I ran the business, I worked 20 hours a day and I could never sleep because it's just this
mind of mine, it's always thinking. Even as I sit and talk to you, my mind's already thinking 10 years
ahead.
Tom (19:16):
Gulf of Aden Yemen, 2000.
Tom (19:21):
On the morning of October the 12th, two suicide bombers in a fiberglass boat approached the USS Cole
in Aden's Harbor.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
One week from today, October 12th...
Speaker 4 (19:30):
Station commanding officer... Suicide bombers...
Speaker 3 (19:33):
17 sailors died and 39 others...
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Attacked the destroyer as it refueled.
Leonard (19:36):
If, as it now appears, this was an act of terrorism, it was a despicable and cowardly act. We will find out
who was responsible and hold them accountable.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
Never heard about these before Osama bin Laden.
Tom (19:53):
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 9 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
As the Al Qaeda militants bumped up against the ships port side, they detonated the C4 explosives
stashed board. 17 sailors died and 37 were injured. Leonard, however, stood to benefit in a major way.
That attack, and the events of September the 11th the following year, created a once in a lifetime
opportunity for defense contractors.
Steve (20:18):
It was a wake up call for the Navy that we needed to have a better capability to deal with those type of
threats and areas that were outside of ports under military control.
Tom (20:36):
It's easy to forget the panic in the months and years following September the 11th. I was working back
then for the Wall Street Journal in Southeast Asia. We regularly covered attacks by Al Qaeda affiliates on
Western targets. Islamists bombed nightclubs in Bali and a Marriott hotel in Jakarta, the capital of
Indonesia. A guy whom I knew from a pickup soccer game lost his legs. Danger was around every corner
and the Navy mandated its husbanding contractors to build a floating perimeter around their ships.
Nothing like this existed. And Leonard got inventive.
Tom (21:13):
What's the ring of steel.
Leonard (21:15):
The ring of steel is the barriers, the steel barriers that protects the ships from the ship borne attack. Like
what happened to the Cole.
Tom (21:24):
He started with a Jerry-rigged solution, purchasing hundreds of 55 gallon drums, the kind used for
storing liquids. And he strung them together with cables to create a floating perimeter. GDMA ran patrol
boats inside and outside of this secure zone, watching for would-be Al Qaeda attackers. Later, Leonard
upgraded to steel barges rigged together with heavy cables.
Tom (21:46):
They're around the ships in the sea and on the shore?
Leonard (21:49):
Yes, yes. They stand off like 40, 50 meters offshore. You've got to anchor them down. You need to bring a
floating crane. It's a massive operation.
Tom (21:59):
Some in the Navy weren't taken in.
Bruno (22:02):
Our office nickname for him was Earthquake, big boy. If they say he is 350 pounds they're being
incredibly generous. He would arrive in the office in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes and he was so huge he
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 10 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
couldn't sit in the passenger seat. He was in the back seat. So part of our office entertainment was
watching him emerge from the Mercedes. And then when it was over to try to tuck back in.
Tom (22:30):
Bruno Wengrowski, a former U.S. Navy contracting officer in Singapore, felt Leonard was always playing
angles.
Bruno (22:37):
He makes you feel included in the conversation, at least when you're engaging with him one on one, but
you really have to keep your guard up.
Tom (22:46):
Right, because he's trying to get something.
Bruno (22:49):
Yep.
Tom (22:50):
I know what Bruno is saying. In my hours of talking to Leonard, I felt the same way. And as I've said
before, we need to be on guard. What's he trying to get from us? During one aircraft carrier visit to
Malaysia, Bruno balked at the $680,000 that Leonard proposed to charge to erect a protective barrier on
land, basically 40 foot high containers, stacked three high. Bruno knocked his price down by two thirds.
Bruno (23:18):
When I'd have face to face meetings with him, he would say, "I know you don't like me." And I would say,
"Leonard, it's not a case of liking you. I find you very entertaining and you really have your heart in the
right place to try to take care of the fleet. But I think you overcharge and I trust you as far as I can throw
you."
Tom (23:36):
Leonard needed allies, people who would insure the Navy didn't ask too many questions like pesky,
Bruno Wengrowski. He found such an officer in Lieutenant Commander, Edmond Aruffo. Aruffo, an
Italian American in his mid-thirties was even taller than Leonard, six foot four, with greased back short
hair and blue eyes. He was a seventh fleet protocol officer, which meant he'd fly into a port before the
arrival of a U.S. Navy ship to work with the husbanding agent.
PART 3 OF 4 ENDS [00:24:04]
Tom (24:00):
He'd fly into a port before the arrival of a US Navy ship to work with a husbanding agent to get
everything ready. Steve Barney, the top lawyer for the seventh fleet worked closely with Aruffo.
Steve (24:10):
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 11 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
I'm a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan. But Ed, he's kind of almost a stereotypical New York kind of a guy. By
that I mean, he's bold, he's outspoken, he's engaged. And a lot of those characteristics.
Tom (24:26):
Soon after joining the Navy, Aruffo was selected for an officer training program. Within 15 months, he
was named Junior Officer Of the Year in the Western Pacific. But for Steve, there was something off
about Aruffo.
Steve (24:39):
I've got to admit to you that I maybe have a bias because of his New York thing and I'm a Boston guy. But
there's something about Ed Aruffo that I just don't feel comfortable with. Maybe it's just the spidey
senses were saying, "It just doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel right to me."
Tom (24:53):
Steve had good reason to distrust Aruffo, although he had no idea about what was really going on.
Aruffo, who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and is awaiting sentencing,
had gotten to know Leonard a few years earlier, while on R and R from a guided missile frigate. Leonard
says he entertained Aruffo and other officers arranging dinner, drinks, and prostitutes.
Leonard (25:16):
Aruffo was this overbearing, he was Italian. He was always getting himself in trouble. And he had a
Japanese wife, his second wife. And he was like a real party animal.
Tom (25:30):
When Aruffo later became the force protection officer in the Seventh Fleet, the two got together to
make sure the Navy used the Ring of Steel on every occasion.
Leonard (25:38):
A made a lot of money when Aruffo was in Seventh Fleet, because was the force protection officer. So
Aruffo would write all of the force protection plans for all the Seventh Fleet ships. And everybody had to
use the Ring of Steel. So literally, the military's force protection became the golden goose for me.
Tom (26:01):
Now, was that corruption or did they need that force protection?
Leonard (26:04):
Well, it is a yes and a no. I mean they could mitigate it, but if a captain or an Admiral would say, "I need
it," nobody can challenge it.
Tom (26:15):
In a Facebook message, Aruffo denied playing a crucial role in the use of the Ring of Steel, pointing out
the Seventh Fleet command in Japan ultimately was responsible for decisions about security. In a
separate phone call, Aruffo said he never took bribes for personal enrichment. In the post 9/11 world,
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 12 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
everything was on steroids, subprime lending, house prices, billionaire wealth, and of course the military.
And like American defense contractors who made millions in Iraq, Leonard built his own dynastic
fortune. In the end, the Navy paid whatever Leonard was asking, sometimes over $1 million for a ship
visit and his profits started to pile up.
Leonard (27:01):
Like I said, you don't need to overcharge the Navy, they give you their money. They'll just give you money
for free. I mean, if anybody's got a defense contract, you're good for life. Because the military overall,
whether it's the Navy, Marine Corps, Air force, every branch, there's no one that has due diligence, fiscal.
Because it's not their money, it's Uncle Sam's money.
Tom (27:29):
By now, Leonard's life started to look like an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. He built the
largest luxury car collection in Singapore. How many cars did you have?
Leonard (27:41):
In Singapore, I had over 20 cars.
Tom (27:44):
He moved into a 70,000 square foot mansion at 40 Nassim Road, the most expensive street in Singapore,
a former colonial bungalow, beautifully restored with multiple swimming pools, servants quarters, and a
landscape garden. It was worth around 130 million dollars and previously had housed the Saudi Embassy.
Leonard was renting, but thanks solely to the US taxpayer, he had enough cash to make an offer. Every
Christmas, his staff mounted a light show on the lawn at his mansion that cost a fortune, drawing visitors
from all across Singapore and landing Leonard on the local TV news.
We've been talking a long time. Now I'm just trying to get you to reflect on like what you might
have done differently. Because we agree that you did a good job, and actually, a lot of people have
checked it out and the Navy agreed with this too. But you are also living on Nassim Road, with a hundred
thousand dollar Christmas lights and a fleet of 20 luxury cars. Didn't you go too big? Didn't you take out
just a little bit too much?
Leonard (28:47):
Well, I think, that's part of success. You know, that's part of life. I mean, you look up on differently,
glamorously the Navy looked at you differently and success comes at a price. What am I supposed to do?
Just go live a humble life? Oh no, absolutely not. I'm a bigger than life kind of person. You know? You
know what the rappers have, all the sports personalities and Hollywood guys. But I did this like 15 years
ago.
Tom (29:24):
Imagine the scene, Leonard, dressed to the nines, spread out in the backseat of a militarized Hummer,
like some rap video kingpin. It's a ridiculous image, for sure. But one funded in its entirety by America's
feverish and misguided response to the threat of terrorism.
Coming up on Fat Leonard, we'll be diving into another key factor in Leonard's meteoric rise, the
deep and abiding culture of misogyny in the us Navy.
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 13 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Paula (29:56):
I would say there's just this gray area, where the military culture has always viewed women as second
class citizens, as property, as a reward when you get into port, to rape and pillage, even now. There are
these strongholds of misogynistic military men that still want to take me down. Men that believe I ruined
the military.
Tom (30:29):
Fat Leonard is a production of project brazen in partnership with PRX for audiation, the executive
producer is Sandy Smallens. Mark Lotto is the co-producer and story editor. The producer is Ireland
Meacham. Mixing and sound design is by Matt Noble.
PART 4 OF 4 ENDS [00:30:49]
FL-Ep 2-Ring Of Steel-FOR PUBLISH-9.16.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 14 of 14
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom (00:00):
Please note, the following episode contains mature language and discussion about sexual assault,
including against minors.
Paula (00:09):
Even now, there are these strongholds of misogynistic military men that still want to take me down. Men
that believe I ruined the military. One of my neighbors, former Naval Academy, his wife told me, " I've
been praying a lot for you and I've been praying a lot for my husband so that he can forgive you." I mean,
I know her from walking the dog. I don't know her from the Navy, I don't know her from anything. And
this was just like last year.
Tom (00:46):
That's Paula Coughlin, a former Navy helicopter pilot.
Paula (00:50):
She said, "Well, I've been praying that my husband can forgive you for what you did to the Navy." I said,
"I'm still not sure what I need to be forgiven for." And she said, "Well, you know, you went to the Naval
Academy and a lot of his friends did too, and they didn't make Admiral because of you." I said, "That
happened 30 years ago and I've lived down the street from you for 20 years, and this is how you initiate
a conversation that you're going to pray for my forgiveness?"
Tom (01:21):
Las Vegas, 1991.
Tom (01:26):
Hundreds of Naval aviators were packed into a conference room at the Las Vegas Hilton. The previous
day, three of the aviators shot down and captured by Iraq during the Gulf War had given presentations
about their experiences. Everyone was in a victory mood. This was the annual Tailhook convention.
Paula (01:48):
Tailhook refers to the actual device, a little hook on the back of an aircraft. It's been in existence for,
gosh, many, many years, since my dad was doing carrier aviation on a wood aircraft deck.
Tom (02:03):
That Saturday a row of Navy leaders sat on his stage taking questions from the audience. 40,000 women
had been deployed to the Gulf War earlier that year, but by law were not allowed to serve on combat
ships or fly fighter jets. One woman in the audience questioned when the Navy planned to finally open
the doors to female fighter pilots.
Paula (02:24):
I was wondering when you plan to implement that, and if it's going to be soon.
Tom (02:37):
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 1 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
The male cheering set the tone for what occurred later that evening.
Paula (02:42):
I walk off the elevator expecting to meet my boss, expecting to meet other admirals, aids, people I know,
and people I've worked with. And when I walked off the elevator into the hallway, it's a big wide hotel
hallway, but it's completely lined with aviators in swimsuits and shorts and casual clothes, all holding
drinks.
As soon as I made it to the head of the hallway, all the members, probably a couple of hundred
people close in on me, and this was known as the gauntlet. Once the call was made, admirals aid, the
ranks just closed in and I was sort of pushed, sort of pulled down, the hallway while they tried to remove
my clothes, groped, went underneath my skirt, in my shirt. I mean, it was just an entire gang of men
attacking me, and I fought back. I kicked and punched and actually bit somebody on the forearm. And
finally, probably 40, 50, 60 feet down the hallway am ejected out the end. And I turned the corner and
went into one of the hospitality suites. It was quiet there for a second and sat down. And the secretary
of the Navy, his aid, found me and said, "I heard you just went through the gauntlet. Why would you do
that?"
Tom (04:27):
The Tailhook Scandal, three decades ago, is largely forgotten these days, but it dominated the media for
months in the 1990s.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Bold stereotypes about sex crazed sailors have come back to haunt the Navy.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Charges of sexual harassment by women who say they were men handled at a gathering of Navy flyers.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
It was called the worst case of sexual harassment in the Navy's history.
Tom (04:50):
Women were assuming a greater role in the Navy. The first mixed cruise ships had supported the Gulf
War, even if they were not allowed to take part in active combat. The world was modernizing and
women were fighting for equal rights in the military, as in other careers. Tailhook showed just how far
the Navy lagged behind.
Paula (05:08):
They had posters up in their hospitality suites that said women are property. They had, in some
hospitality suites, where they could invite women in and shave their pubic area and give them shots of
alcohol. The mascot for the squadron was the rhinos. So they had a giant rhino painted on the wall and
women could come up and actually suck on the rhino's penis to get a free drink.
Tom (05:37):
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 2 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
I'm Tom Wright, and this is Fat Leonard, a podcast from Project Brazen. And I've been uncovering the
truth of the Fat Leonard corruption scandal in which Leonard Francis, a contractor for the Navy in the
Pacific, corrupted the Seventh Fleet and became exorbitantly wealthy in the process. Our story, and it's
yet to be written conclusion, shows the Navy still has not fully reckoned with its treatment of women laid
bare by the happenings at Tailhook all those years ago. And that's because, back then, as now, the Navy
prefers to protect its own. Women had to suck it up, and those who complained like Paula Coughlin
ended up being ostracized.
Paula (06:23):
In the context of what you're looking at systemically in the military Tailhook is a shiny, nasty little abscess
that is a microcosm for the attitude that, I'm sorry to say, still is very prevalent in the military.
Tom (06:41):
Well, that's what I was going to ask. The reason I'm interested in Tailhook is because it doesn't seem that
there's been any improvement in the last 30 years. It's not exactly the same situation as what you're
describing, but it's indicative of a culture that didn't change in the last 30 years times.
Paula (06:55):
Right. Well, it's what the consistencies are. Abusing women is a commodity, whether it's at a hotel in Las
Vegas provided by the Tailhook Association or whether it's by Fat Leonard, it's a currency.
Tom (07:13):
Paula Coughlin is different from other whistleblowers I've known over the years. During our video chats,
she came across as smart and humorous. The injustices dealt out to her by the Navy haven't made her
bitter. You sense a hardcore of resilience built up over years of men telling her she should have stayed
quiet, not been such a kill joy. But she's able to look at her own story, and the Navy's predicament with a
detachment, that's rare for people whose lives have been defined by an injustice.
Can you just explain to me why you think women are mistreated in the armed forces? If you
would try to analyze what are the core reasons, what would you say?
Paula (07:55):
I spent most of my career before the Navy working in an all male dominant field, and my observation is
that when men recognize that women can do their job just as well, somehow that is perceived as
diminishing the value or the difficulty of the job. So in order to maintain their stature and their
self-esteem as superstar jet pilots or boat drivers, or Naval officers or corporate leaders, whatever
position they're in, keeping women out of it, because obviously it's two or it's too technical, or it's too
physical.
Tom (08:44):
In hours of my conversations with Leonard, he constantly played on this trope that Navy officers are
somehow special, a cliche propagated by TV shows and films like Top Gun and NCIS. And Leonard
explained away the wild sexual nature of these officer as a release from the stress their under.
Leonard (09:02):
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 3 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Well, they're all war fighters.
PART 1 OF 4 ENDS [00:09:04]
Tom (09:00):
Release from the stress they're under.
Leonard (09:02):
Well, they're all war fighters. They have this insight. It's their psyche. For them is they have a lot of stress
internally. Pressure. There's a lot of pressure with their jobs. This is the way the Navy operates. It's
normal. The military is always like that. That sex drive, sex driven. That's why there's so much of sexual
harassment, rape. There's so much goes on in the military. It's covered up most of the time.
Tom (09:33):
I talked to Blake Hertzinger, a US Navy reservist based in Singapore about all this. From a Navy family,
Blake was keen to talk, angry at what he sees is a failure to properly account for the fat Leonard
corruption. He's from Sandpoint, Idaho, all American, in his 30s and well-built. We recorded in my home
studio in Singapore, where he works as a business consultant.
Blake (09:56):
It's a high stress environment, for sure. And you're away from shore for a month, and a lot of people cut
loose when they hit the shore. People go crazy.
Tom (10:04):
But the officers involved with Leonard weren't exactly battle-hardened. Although many had rotated into
Iraq or Afghanistan, few had experience of combat like the Marines or Army. And yet when they got
arrested, many claimed PTSD or stress from war had caused them to fall into corruption and debauchery
with Leonard. It's an excuse for which Blake has no time at all.
Blake (10:26):
I mean, oh, I just don't have any pity for that person who is just blatantly engaging in corruption and then
blaming operational tempo for all of his woes. No, buddy. You took your family to a hotel in Hong Kong.
This was not like, "Oh, my God, I've really been in the shit, and now I've got to blow off some steam." I'm
not Charlie Sheen breaking mirrors in a hotel room. You're on a nice vacation with your family. Martin
Sheen. Charlie Sheen? Wrong Sheen.
Tom (10:55):
I agree with Blake. These Navy officers felt entitled to the sex, a perk of the job. And only after the fact
did they resort to this self-justifying myth about the needs of combat veterans to blow off steam.
Blake (11:07):
To say like, "Oh, well, these guys have really been in the wars and now they need to come here and
engage in some sort of weird, paid for orgy in the top of a hotel in Manila," I don't know about that.
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 4 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom (11:17):
A lot of excuses have gotten thrown around in the fat Leonard saga, but Paula has an explanation for
how male Navy officers behave, and it's simpler and more brutal.
Paula (11:27):
I would say that there's just this gray area where the military culture has always viewed women as
second class citizens, as property, as a reward when you get into port to rape and pillage, and that gray
area occurs when what they viewed as property now is a co-worker or is supposed to be treated as a
co-worker, and make the leap from, "What we did in port to minors and women was bad, because look,
now we're working with women and they have such value and contribute to the workforce." That leap
has not been made.
When I was attacked in the hallway at Tailhook, those people knew exactly who I was. They were
chanting, "Admiral's aide. Admiral's aide." I became a high value target, not someone who's like, "Oh,
wow, this is an aviator. This is one of ours."
Tom (12:26):
Penang, Malaysia, 1992.
Tom (12:29):
The USS Acadia pulls alongside Swettenham Pier in Penang, a basic facility more used to hosting cruise
ships than a Navy vessel. Leonard Francis, aged only 27, is waiting expectantly on the pier. He'd done
some contracting jobs for the US Navy, but the flow of ships between the US and the Middle East during
the recent Gulf War had increased, and that made Penang attractive as a midway R&R spot.
The thousand strong crew started down the gangplank to the pier. Leonard had everything
planned out in folders: dinners, drinks, entertainment, touring, and shopping. The Acadia, an auxiliary
ship, had repaired damaged vessels and supplied Tomahawk missiles to destroyers during the Gulf War
conflict. After some time in the Pacific, it was heading back to the Middle East, but the ship was notable
for another reason. It was the first ever mixed sex US Navy vessel to be deployed during wartime. Of the
1,000 crew, about a third were female.
Leonard (13:34):
We had a lot of ships pulling in at that time that were going into the Persian Gulf. So all the submarine
tenders, or tenders as we usually call them, all the supply ships were pulling into Penang those days, and
we had a huge female crew on board.
Tom (13:53):
By the time it berthed in Penang, the Acadia already was notorious, dubbed in the US media as the love
boat after 36 women, or one in 10 of the female crew, became pregnant and had to be flown home
during the war. For years, conservatives in the Navy argued against letting in women exactly for this
reason. "They would distract men," they said.
Speaker 6 (14:15):
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 5 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
No, I don't know exactly how these women are going to handle this. I think this should be a man's war
here.
Tom (14:23):
Senators and military generals, old white men, bloviated for hours in Congress about how women were
not up to the task.
Speaker 7 (14:31):
The purpose of the military is, first of all, to defend this nation's vital security interests throughout the
globe, and second, to ensure equality.
Speaker 8 (14:41):
So it's an extraordinarily high standard of excellence which must be met, and you cannot have a dual
standard. And in my judgment, you are not going to find very many, if any, other than males, who can
meet these kinds of stringent combat and related tasks.
Tom (15:05):
But the tide was turning. Two years after the Gulf War, Congress finally allowed women to serve on
combat ships. 10 years ago, they were permitted to serve on submarines, and five years ago, they could
apply for any combat job, although no woman has yet been made a Navy SEAL. Still, the women on the
Acadia back then were in a male dominated environment and they were expected to play by the boys'
rules. Paula Coughlin.
Paula (15:30):
When you are one of the only women in the room or the only woman in the room or the only woman in
the cockpit, there's an expectation of behavior to conform to norms of communication, including
cussing, lewd conversation, bad jokes, whatever. You're part of the boys' club. I always felt like I am rough
and tumble. I've worked around men in my whole career, and I can roll with a lot of the bad humor, a lot
of it. I don't take it personally, but this idea that you're part of the boys' club is a fallacy. You're not.
Tom (16:06):
Leonard, of course, sees it differently.
Leonard (16:09):
Male, female officers, there's no difference. When they get drunk, they're so messed up. They're out of
control. I had a good time. Of course-
Tom (16:27):
Leonard and his group from the Acadia stumbled out into the street and ended up back at a hotel.
Leonard says he had sex with one of the female offices.
Leonard (16:39):
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 6 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
I mean, you're going to do what you got to do. It's survival. And I was a bachelor then, too, so it's okay. I
wasn't married. We were all just having some good fun, some good sailor fun. See, so that's why I said I
was in bed with the Navy all the way.
Tom (16:57):
Leonard makes all his sexual encounters sound fun, innocent even. He knows he's being recorded for a
podcast, but every now and then he makes a word choice that shows his deeper feelings about women.
Leonard (17:08):
Another thing that the Navy covered up was they never want to charge any of their female officers.
Tom (17:13):
We're not naming the Navy officer here for privacy reasons. It's hard to know exactly what went on 30
years ago, but we included the outline of this story for one important reason, to shine a light on
Leonard's deep hatred of women, which will become clearer later in this series with tragic
consequences.
Leonard (17:31):
She was a bloody whore. I just look at it, then. It's shocking the way they are. Conflict of interests, sexual
relationship? Man. With a contractor? Oh, lord.
Tom (17:43):
Leonard's misogyny, his gratuitous use of hostile language, perhaps started with his father who battered
his mother and had multiple affairs. But Leonard's view of women as sexual objects appears to have
deepened through his work with the US Navy in the years that followed.
Leonard (17:59):
But it's really nice when they interview you, right? They ask you, "Oh, could you tell us ..."
PART 2 OF 4 ENDS [00:18:04]
Leonard (18:00):
When they interview you, they ask you, "Oh, could you tell us were there any specific marks on the
body? Were there any mold?" What do you want me to do? Tell her what kind of nipples you had or
something?
(Silence).
Tom (18:27):
Navy defenders say most officers don't act this way and no one doubts that, but it's hardly the point. The
almost 30 officers who have been indicted for their involvement with Leonard were supposed to be
among the best and best of the Navy. Take Mario Herrera, a commander aboard the Blue Ridge who has
nicknamed Choke according to an indictment that will go to trial in November.
What about Choke Herrera?
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 7 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Leonard (18:53):
Well, that is Mario. Mario Herrera liked to strangle hookers so he used to choke them until a lot of the
girls went blue and they didn't want to see him anymore.
Tom (19:07):
Herrera has pleaded not guilty to charges that include conspiracy. Then, there's Jose Louis Sanchez,
another Navy commander, almost as huge as Leonard with a double chin and thinning hair who sent
regular requests for photos of prostitutes. Sanchez would write, "Yummy. Daddy like," according to an
indictment. Sanchez has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing. After orgies, Leonard
regularly sent around nude photos of the women for the men to ogle and comment. They call
prostitutes, barbecue ribs, chocolate shakes, and other names. One Navy official asked Leonard for
disease free hookers.
Leonard (19:53):
Well, you're a young dandy andy man. I mean I'm used to orgies. That's my specialty.
Tom (20:07):
Back then, Leonard was soaring high. In the post 9/11 years he organized lavish dinners for officers of the
biggest aircraft carriers in places like Hong Kong and Singapore. The dinners, often in Michelin starred
restaurants cost $1,000 per late. Afterward, officers smoked $2,000 a box Cohiba cigars, and $2,000 a
bottle cognac. And often, they slept with prostitutes. He also took care of the grunts when they got into
trouble in bars in far flung ports.
Leonard (20:46):
Yeah, so that's how we would get somebody out of jail. That's a quick fix, damage control, before the
press gets a hold of-
Tom (20:58):
And GDMA was involved in that?
Leonard (21:00):
Oh, we were involved in everything. We had to.
Tom (21:02):
Just give me an example of something like that, something that would happen.
Leonard (21:06):
Well, molestation, bar fights, damages, accidents, rape anything.
Tom (21:15):
Can you think of a specific rape allegation where GDMA played a role?
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 8 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Leonard (21:19):
For example, sailors would be in pubs or in clubs and then they would just go and rub a female the
wrong way, touch their breasts so that's molestation. They're going to get arrested. Sometimes the girls
are just not going to give in. These guys get drunk. They get very boisterous. They start touching women.
And then once you start touching someone who's in university going to become an attorney, she's going
to yell rape on you, molestation. And then the cops will come in and haul you in.
Tom (21:51):
And that would happen?
Leonard (21:51):
Well, then we have to go and resolve it and get the girl to withdraw the charges.
Tom (21:57):
So GDMA would play that role in multiple occasions?
Leonard (22:00):
Yes. Yes. We played our roles in molestation and rape cases in-
Tom (22:06):
And that would involve paying off the local police, right?
Leonard (22:08):
Well not just the... The victims.
Tom (22:11):
Just pay them off. Keep it quiet.
Leonard (22:12):
Yeah. Well just pay them off-
Tom (22:14):
Before it gets to court, right?
Leonard (22:15):
Well, before he gets to court, before it gets to the press. I think what they try to prevent is coming out in
the open.
Tom (22:24):
So why don't you start by telling me about the Genesis of this problem in the military? Where does it
come from and why in your view, hasn't it been dealt with?
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 9 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Don (22:34):
Yeah, that's an excellent question.
Tom (22:36):
Don Christensen, the US Air Force's former top prosecutor is now president of Protect Our Defenders, a
nonprofit that advocates for victims of sexual assault in the military. To be clear, no one in the Fat
Leonard case has been accused of sexual assault. But as Don points out, the clear misogyny in the Navy
creates a culture in which violence against women can thrive.
Don (23:00):
We know from the numbers that about 20,000 men and women are sexually assaulted every year on the
active duty force. About 13,000 of them are women, about 7,000 are men so it affects both sexes, but it
disproportionately affects women.
Tom (23:15):
Don is 6 feet tall and talks about the military with a resignation born from experience. Seven years ago,
he left the Air Force in disgust because of the military's failure to address sexual assault and its
opposition to reform.
Don (23:32):
Well, it wasn't an immediate decision. It was something that occurred over a number of years where I
had become frustrated with the justice system in the military that's control by commanders. Unlike the
civilian world, where the police would do the investigation or FBI would do an investigation and then
arrest a person and charge them with a crime, and then the prosecutors would step in and look at it, and
prosecute that crime. In the military, our investigative agencies don't arrest people. They don't charge
them with crimes. They just do a report that goes to a commander, and that commander makes a
decision whether a case should go forward or not and the prosecutor doesn't. When I was the Chief
Prosecutor of the Air Force, which sounds really cool to say, "I was Chief Prosecutor of the Air Force," but
I had virtually no authority. I had no ability to send any case to trial. That was completely a commander's
decision.
Tom (24:32):
The US military has its own legal system called the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and as Don said, a
major issue for years has been that military commanders, not independent prosecutors, decide whether
to go forward with sexual assault cases. That has meant many are thrown out.
Don (24:49):
One of my prosecutors had prosecuted a guy that had molested his 13 year old, mentally handicapped
daughter and confessed to it. And his commander and first Sergeant testified for him in findings to try to
get him acquitted. And then after he was convicted, came in and testified that they wanted him to stay in
the unit, even though he was a convicted child molester. And I was like, "Wow. What's going on here?"
Tom (25:21):
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 10 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
In 2012, Don successfully prosecuted a case involving a US Air Force F16 pilot who was accused of
sexually assaulting a civilian woman on a base in Italy. Don found the woman among the most credible
victims he'd ever worked with in over 300 sexual assault cases. Pilot was sentenced by jury of offices to a
year in jail and a dismissal that stripped him of his retirement benefits. But three months later, a senior
commander concluded the evidence was insufficient. He determined that the pilot, whom he considered
a doting father and husband, could never have the act and he threw out the verdict.
Don (26:02):
They could care less about the victim and it was last straw for me. The process needed to be changed,
but I wasn't going to be able to do it from the inside.
Tom (26:15):
Don left the air force in protest.
Is it also the case that sexual crimes are somehow not seen as crimes in the culture?
Don (26:24):
I think across the military, it's viewed that a lot of the women who come forward are complaining,
they're out to get something, they're doing this for benefits, which there really aren't that many benefits.
That they're out to get the guy. This was regret sex. So there's definitely that culture of disbelief that
makes it difficult to get these cases to trial and to get convictions.
Tom (26:49):
It's this very same military justice system that's dealing with many cases in the Fat Leonard scandal. As
we'll hear, the Navy Justice System is again, coming up short.
PART 3 OF 4 ENDS [00:27:04]
Tom (27:07):
Leonard does deserve to go to jail, right?
Paula (27:09):
Yeah.
Tom (27:10):
I mean, he's pleaded guilty.
Paula (27:12):
Oh yeah. Oh definitely.
Tom (27:13):
It's one thing to say that, "Okay. He was benefiting from a system of corruption and misogyny that
pre-existed his arrival on the scene," but that doesn't mean that he's not guilty of all those crimes that
he's been guilty to.
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 11 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Paula (27:25):
He's monetized debauchery. And it's, what? The oldest profession. He just really brought it into the 21st
century. He just really made it an empire. He really made it lucrative.
Tom (27:41):
Back in 1991, Paula Dugan, she wrote a letter to the Navy, which was leaked to Senator John McCain,
himself a former aviator who called for an investigation. The Defense Department probe found over 80
other women claimed they'd been victims of sexual assault or harassment at the Tailhook Convention.
The Navy also dug in. Because of the scale of the Tailhook scandal, the Navy set up what's called a
Consolidated Disposition Authority, headed by an admiral to administer justice. Prosecutors looked at
300 offices and 35 admirals, but did not pursue a single court martial. Some officers got censure letters
or monetary fines in what amounted to a slap on the wrist. Many in Congress pushed back against this
whitewash. In 1992, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service or NCIS was born under civilian leadership.
You've probably heard of NCIS from the long running TV show, but as you'll hear in coming episodes, it's
nothing like the crack law enforcement agency portrayed on screen.
And that's largely because ultimate prosecutorial power remained in the hands of Navy officers,
as it does to this day. Paula resigned four years later, a figure of hate for what she had done. She sued
the Hilton, was awarded a multi-million dollar judgment and reinvented herself as a yoga teacher. Today,
as a board member of Protect Our Defenders, she's still involved in the fight for equality in the military.
Going back to that woman who said, she'd pray for you, I mean, you didn't talk to her husband, but it's
indicative of this idea that boys will be boys and you unnecessarily rocked the boat. Did you get a lot of
that?
Paula (29:29):
No, it's more specific than that. I ruined the Navy. That's a pretty wow. I mean I'm 5'4, 120 pounds. I'm
super fit and I'm smart, but I'm not enough of a resource to ruin the United States Navy.
Tom (29:49):
The question now is can Fat Leonard ruin the Navy? This podcast could do great damage. Why is Leonard
even talking to us? In one sense, he's trying to blow up the institution and bring it down with him. He's
bragging about the sexual misconduct at the heart of his fraud, at the same time, exposing misogyny in
the Navy. Leonard doesn't deny the corruption or the prurience, but in his feud, everyone knew what
was going on and now the Navy's involved in a coverup. It's hard not to agree. The Navy has failed as
during Tailhook to hold its most senior admirals to account for their involvement with Leonard.
This isn't a case of a few wrongdoers, but a systemic breakdown in a culture. In the next episode,
we'll explore exactly why Leonard was so untouchable for so long. He didn't just provide prostitutes to
admirals and barred contracts, Leonard's ability as an operator in the Pacific was second to none and he
was evolving to play a crucial national security role for the U.S. That's why he survived, no, thrived
despite the corruption. And as Leonard's star rose, Russian and Chinese spies started to circle around
him.
Leonard (31:22):
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 12 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
What really worried the United States the most was their offices being corrupted by me, that they would
be corruptible by the foreign powers.
Tom (31:39):
Fat Leonard is a production of Project Brazen, in partnership with PRX. For audiation, the executive
producer is Sandy Smallens. Mark Lotto is the co-producer and story editor. The producer is Ireland
Meacham. Mixing and sound design is by Matt Noble.
PART 4 OF 4 ENDS [00:32:02]
FL-Ep 3-Paula-FOR PUBLISH (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 13 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom (00:00):
Please note the following episode contains mature language and descriptions of sexual situations.
Tell me about the Braveheart.
Leonard (00:08):
Well, the Braveheart was the ex Sir Lancelot. It belonged to the British Navy. It was in the Falklands War.
It took a bomb from the Argentines bombed and explode. It has a little bit of history there. And then, the
British sold it to a South African casino company and it was converted into a casino ship. Then, the
Singapore Navy bought it from them and turned it into a midshipman ship.
Tom (00:08):
A what ship?
Leonard (00:37):
A midshipman for training. It was called the Perseverance.
Tom (00:45):
Singapore, 2006.
Tom (00:48):
I have a photo here of Leonard. He's on the Glenn Braveheart, a warship that he purchased in 2003 and
renamed a nod to his Scottish grandfather. It captures Leonard Glenn Francis at the height of his legend.
In the photo, Leonard is wearing shades and a Glenn defense Navy-style baseball cap. The loose-fitting
safari suit is meant to disguise his bulk, but still his thighs are straining at the material. You couldn't wrap
your hands around his neck. Everything seems outsized. Even his shoes are enormous.
There's something a little clownish about the photo. He's surrounded by 23 Gurkha soldiers.
Some wear their hats at a jaunty angle, others with berets or hard hats, automatic weapons in hand.
They look faintly ridiculous, holding staged serious expressions as Leonard grins.
Leonard (01:48):
Well, the Gurkhas was my own little private mercenary force that I had on my ships. They provided
security during port visits. And at the same time, they ran all the patrol boats, the security equipment,
the sentries, the intelligence during the port visits.
Tom (02:07):
Tell people you don't know what Gurkhas are and how you recruited them.
Leonard (02:11):
Well, Gurkhas are warfighters. They're legendary in the British Army. The Sultan of Brunei has the
Gurkhas that work for him and his army's police force.
Tom (02:24):
FL-Ep 4-The Braveheart-FOR PUBLISH-9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 1 of 12
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Gurkhas are Nepali soldiers whose regiments in the British and Indian armies are renowned for their
bravery. After leaving the service, many Gurkhas take up better paid work as mercenaries.
So how many did you have working for you?
Leonard (02:39):
Well, at my heydays, I had a couple of hundred, but they varied because I rotated them in and out. And
depending on my requirement for them, I kept them in a Nepal. And then, when I had surges, I brought
them back and I flew them back. It was more economical that way. And although I did have the bunks for
the troops, as I would say, because the Braveheart could carry up to 380 troops on the ship.
Tom (03:12):
Leonard had his own warship and his own army.
I'm Tom Wright, and this is Fat Leonard, a podcast from Project Brazen.
I've been digging into the Fat Leonard affair, one of the craziest ever military scandals, with
exclusive access to Leonard Francis himself. As I continued to investigate, I uncovered the astonishing
role Leonard, the Braveheart, and his Gurkhas came to play in US national security policy. That someone
like Leonard was given access to classified secrets ranks as one of the US military's worst ever national
security failures. And we're revealing the full details here for the first time.
Tom (04:01):
Singapore, 2021.
Tom (04:08):
It may this year in a crowded bar in Singapore, just before a new round of COVID-19 restrictions, I met a
former Navy officer. And the story he told me was almost too outlandish to believe. Few people realize it,
but after September the 11th, the US waged its most successful war against Al-Qaeda not in the middle
east, but in Southeast Asia. At the time, I was working for the Wall Street Journal in the region. We
seemed to write about nothing but terrorist attacks in those days and the fear that Al-Qaeda is about to
overrun Southeast Asia.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
202 people were killed including 88 Australians when a group of extremists members of Jemaah
Islamiyah detonated two bombs in a popular nightspot in Bali.
Speaker 5 (04:57):
The blast, which brought this extraordinary level of destruction, was caused by a car bomb with a
devastating attack in the heart of Bali's most popular tourist resort Kuta.
Tom (05:10):
In the Singapore bar, the former Navy officer and I were reminiscing about those dark days. He played a
role in Operation Freedom Eagle, a US military mission aimed at rooting out Islamist fighters from their
hideouts on remote islands in the Southern Philippines. The US initially sent in over 1000 advisers,
special forces drawn from all branches of the military and CIA. The advisors provided equipment and
FL-Ep 4-The Braveheart-FOR PUBLISH-9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 2 of 12
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
technical know-how to aid the Philippines military hunt down the terrorists. The former Navy officer was
almost wistful. He talked about the "fun shit" that went down in 2002, when US and Filipino forces
"messed up" the militants. He talked about returning after missions to let loose at all-night parties in an
old lighthouse that's now a luxury hotel in Subic Bay. As we drank, a beer for him, a white wine for me,
talk turned to Leonard. And that's when he told me an astounding fact. Leonard had played a role in
supporting these covert missions.
One of the militant groups was called Abu Sayyaf and its leaders, many of whom had fought in
Afghanistan, attacked Western targets and kidnapped foreign tourists. They hit out on small islands and
evaded capture by speedboat. The US sent Navy Seals, its special operations force, to aid in the fight.
Leonard (06:42):
They brought in the Mark V boats that's for the Seals. The Seals were fighting Abu Sayyaf up in the
Southern Philippines.
Tom (06:50):
Mark V's are fast-paced patrol boats armed with Gatling guns, but they only have a small tank and can't
travel for long before running out of fuel. The Navy was looking for a solution. It could use its own ships
for replenishment, but that attracted too much attention for a stealth operation.
Leonard (07:08):
The Seals used to sail these boats across from Singapore across Indonesia, hit all the islands. And we
used to resupply these boats across because they don't have a range. They're small boats.
Tom (07:24):
One day during one of our many video calls, Leonard's late evening in San Diego and my afternoon in
Singapore, he told me about his part in the fight. He'd learned about the Navy's predicament from his
contacts, he said. In fact, one of the reasons he bought the Braveheart in the first place was to give him a
ship to help the US Navy fight Al-Qaeda.
Leonard (07:44):
So my ship, the Braveheart, used to also replenish them at sea. That's a capability we had and this was
like very hush-hush. And we did that for them. You know? We'll resupply them with fuel and give them
what they want. They would be very discreet because having Seals flipping around... And they will hit all
the different ports such as to rest and refuel, and then take off.
Tom (08:11):
Let's stop for a minute to consider the absurdity of this image. Leonard, a foreign national, who's in the
process of ripping off the US taxpayer, is playing at being a Navy Seal, hired guns at his beck and call.
There's probably no image that better sums up the war on terror than this. It would be hilarious if it
wasn't so deadly serious. And it gets more bizarre. I asked Leonard how he was able to sail the
Braveheart and his armed Gurkhas into foreign waters. He claimed the US arranged for diplomatic
clearance for his ship and men.
Leonard (08:43):
FL-Ep 4-The Braveheart-FOR PUBLISH-9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 3 of 12
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Because you see, my ships were great. They're just like Navy ships. So we're a part of like the auxiliary.
You know? And all the embassies gave me diplomatic clearance because that would avoid all the
bureaucracy of immigration, customs, declarations. So I come under the flag of the United States.
Tom (09:06):
The diplomat in that country would ask the government of that country to allow this to happen?
Leonard (09:11):
Yes, a diplomatic note. Basically, this is to announce that the logistic ship and [inaudible 00:09:18] Glenn
Braveheart, and the crew on board will be supporting the USS ship that's going to be important that
time. They'll be providing force protection and other various services.
Tom (09:34):
A couple of weeks later, I was pouring through US court documents of Navy officers caught up with
Leonard and found corroboration of his seemingly outlandish claims. A US Naval Attaché in the
Philippines called Michael Brooks, who pleaded guilty in 2016 to conspiracy to commit bribery, had
arranged for diplomatic clearance, allowing Leonard to bring the Braveheart and its armed mercenaries
into the country's waters without any inspections. As a Naval Attaché, Brooks was the official
representative of the US Department of Defense in the Philippines during the war against Abu Sayyaf.
But Brooks wasn't only concerned with the war on terror. Like so many other Navy officers, he also
enjoyed Leonard's largess.
In return for prostitutes and dinners, Brooks supplied ship schedules as well as arranging
diplomatic clearance, according to his sentencing documents. And he partied on the Braveheart, which
of course doubled up as a floating brothel. Brooks declined to comment. Here's Bruno Wengrowski, the
former Navy Supply official.
Bruno (10:40):
The Braveheart was a party boat essentially. The term for the Navy officers that run the ship is called a
wardroom. So he would have the whole wardroom and probably the chief's mess all go on the
Braveheart. You would have gambling and new dancers.
Tom (10:58):
Bruno's talking about Leonard's elite Seal team, prostitutes from across the world whom he would rotate
onto the Braveheart. As the officers drank whiskey and played roulette, the women performed life sex
shows and took men off to the rooms. Mercenary ship, floating pleasure palace. The Braveheart was at
the pulsating heart of Leonard's and the Navy's strange and hedonistic world. I was learning that
Leonard's mix of covert work for the US Navy and the sexual kompromat he had on its senior officers was
a very dangerous combination indeed.
Tom (11:40):
Manila, 2008.
Tom (11:44):
FL-Ep 4-The Braveheart-FOR PUBLISH-9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 4 of 12
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
In late May, the USS Blue Ridge pulled into the Philippines. At the time of the visit, the US mission in the
Philippines was proving hugely successful. Many top Abu Sayyaf leaders had been killed or imprisoned.
The group was in disarray, but the commanders on the Blue Ridge had other things on their minds. By
now, they were not even pretending to do their jobs. Instead, they headed straight to the presidential
suite at the Makati Shangri-La hotel and started to drink.
According to a grand jury charge that will go to trial next year, the Navel Attaché, Brooks, would
join them after his day at the Embassy. 36 hours later, after enjoying a raging multi-day party with a
carousel of prostitutes in attendance and wiping out the hotel supply of Dom Perignon, the men headed
back to the boat, the indictment says. And unbeknownst to them, Leonard says he recorded the goings
on.
At many events, Leonard claims he would put secret cameras in the karaoke machines that he'd
set up in the suites of hotels.
Leonard (12:59):
I would set up karaokes in the presidential suites. And then, we will also have the cameras rolling. My
butlers used to manage everything. My butlers that worked in the hotel, they were really good. They're
very professional.
Tom (13:13):
So they would run the cameras in the main room and in the karaoke room?
Leonard (13:16):
Yeah.
Tom (13:16):
It wasn't like you were recording the sex in the bedrooms.
Leonard (13:19):
Sex wasn't in the bedroom. It was everywhere. They're like a bunch of animals.
Tom (13:25):
The existence of Leonard's secret sex videos, never before reported, are extremely unsettling.
Did those videos, say, of the Shangri-La carousel, 36 hours of drinking, or whatever it is, so that
ended up with the DOJ?
Leonard (13:38):
No. No.
Tom (13:40):
Because what? The video is long gone?
Leonard (13:44):
FL-Ep 4-The Braveheart-FOR PUBLISH-9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 5 of 12
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
No. I have a lot of those videos and pictures, which we kept. What's the point of giving them everything?
Tom (13:51):
Where are they now?
Leonard (13:52):
Oh, I got them archived. They're all boxed up and kept in storage.
Tom (13:59):
So nobody's ever seen them?
Leonard (14:02):
No. I mean, we got them.
Tom (14:05):
Imagine Leonard sitting alone in his darkened office watching Navy officers, not to mention himself
engaging in orgies. These videos both fed his morbid fascination with sex and gave him a sense of power
over the weak sensualist officers of the Navy.
Leonard, I still don't get what you recorded it though. I guess maybe you and I have different
ideas of what's fun in the bedroom, but why did you record it? If it's not to-
Leonard (14:34):
Well, I'm not making porn.
Tom (14:35):
Huh?
Leonard (14:35):
I mean, I keep things. It's always great to see people when they're drunk and what they're capable of
doing.
Tom (14:43):
But you would keep these in your office and you would like occasionally just put them in for a laugh?
Leonard (14:47):
Yeah. I had videos. Yeah.
Tom (14:50):
So none of the guys who were videoed, until today, none of them would have known that. Right?
Leonard (14:53):
Well, they all kind of suspect I do have stuff on them. You know?
FL-Ep 4-The Braveheart-FOR PUBLISH-9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 6 of 12
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom (14:58):
It seems to me, if I'm pressing you as a journalist, I'd say you did do it to get some kind of advantage
though, because why did you do it secretly?
Leonard (15:05):
I don't think I needed to compromise. And these guys are so weak when it comes to alcohol and women.
You got them. That's-
Tom (15:12):
Yeah. But it's like you put it in secretly to get a sort of a maybe you might need it in the future kind of
thing.
Leonard (15:18):
Well, I kind of kept it more for entertainment. That's why I said I have pictures going back 20, 30 years.
Tom (15:24):
Why not give this stuff to the DOJ?
Leonard (15:26):
This is what I found out, Tom. The more I talk, the more I give, the deeper I get. Look it here. I'm nine
years. I'm stuck here. I mean, this could have all ended a long time ago.
Tom (15:41):
But what if Leonard was collecting blackmail on the Navy, photos and videos he could sell to America's
enemies; Russia or China?
Leonard (15:55):
What really worried the United States the most was their officers being corrupted by me, that they
would be corruptible by the foreign powers.
Tom (16:09):
Foreign spies began to circle around Leonard. There's someone sitting in an indictment or in a
sentencing. They said, "Well, you know what? It's really lucky that Leonard is not a violent person
because if he'd been a violent person and he'd gotten all this classified information, then it would have
been bad for the security of the US."
Leonard (16:26):
Well, I never betrayed them.
When I lived in Singapore, my house was just a stone throw from the Russian embassy.
Tom (16:41):
FL-Ep 4-The Braveheart-FOR PUBLISH-9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 7 of 12
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Leonard's sprawling white bungalow was in the most sought after part of Singapore. Across the road is a
Botanic gardens laid out by the British as a respite from the tropical heat, a reminder of home with
bandstands and lakes. His neighbors were a who's who of the city-state, including a number of
diplomats.
Leonard (17:00):
I met the Russian Defense Attaché as a Colonel a couple of times and receptions. Then, he found out
where I lived and he would just come by uninvited to drop gifts to me. You know? Vodka and stuff like
that. The same goes with the Chinese Defense Attaché. He was always very keen to invite me to play golf.
And he was always asking my staff, "I want to meet your boss. I heard so much about him."
Tom (17:33):
Since World War II, when the US occupied Japan, China has bristled at America's domination of the
Pacific. US bases in Japan and South Korea, so close to Chinese territory, remain a point of contention.
China is looking upend this balance of power in its backyard. It regularly sends fishing fleets and Navy
patrols to tiny disputed islands in the South China Sea, claimed both by China and a number of other
Asian countries. It's illegally constructing outposts on these atolls. Turning Leonard would have given
China a look inside the US Navy.
Did you ever get hacked? Did anyone ever try to hack your computers or anything like that?
Leonard (18:16):
No. We had a pretty robust system because we had so much activity going on.
Tom (18:25):
Leonard's pretty blasé about the risks he ran. More sophisticated systems than his have been hacked by
China and Russia. My own family knows the reach of China. Over the years, I've written about Chinese
Communist Party corruption. In 2018, I got hold of minutes of a meeting of Communist Party leaders in
Beijing that detailed a discussion about efforts to bug our family home in Hong Kong.
As China moved to quash democracy protests in Hong Kong last year ending any pretense of the
rule of law in that territory, my family made the decision to leave for Singapore. For many Asian nations,
the US Navy is a final bulwark against China's aggressions. Here's Steve Barney, the 7th Fleet's lawyer at
the time.
Steve (19:11):
I used to tell people that I put my head on the pillow at night, wondering, when I was in 7th Fleet,
whether war would start while I was asleep. And I had everything laid out so that if I got a call in the
middle of the night, I could be into our command center within a minute and ready to deliver advice to
the commander, who's trying to execute the defense of the United States and its allies. So extraordinary.
Tom (19:34):
As China tried to turn Leonard, the Navy, again, relied on him to help project US power.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
FL-Ep 4-The Braveheart-FOR PUBLISH-9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 8 of 12
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Indian Ocean, 2007.
Tom (19:49):
A stage five cyclone is scary with waves of six meters and winds of over 150 miles per hour. The swell was
buffeting the Braveheart and the crew wanted to turn back.
Leonard (20:05):
I had a mutiny going on because my Gurkhas basically had to commandeer a lot of my ships because the
crew which I had; Burmese, Filipinos, Indonesians; they didn't want to go through the cyclone.
Tom (20:24):
The Braveheart was sailing from Singapore to Chennai in India to support the nuclear powered USS
Nimitz aircraft carrier on an important diplomatic mission. Leonard got on the radio to the commanding
officers on the Nimitz.
Leonard (20:40):
They were very, very concerned because we went smack into the cyclone.
Tom (20:44):
Then, disaster struck. The Braveheart was accompanied by a flotilla of about 20 ships from Leonard's
company. There was a supply boat loaded up with small ferries and patrol craft and towing steel barges.
As a group of small ships were hurled here and there, the barges became loose and disappeared into the
waves. For hours, the men were tossed and turned clinging to anything that didn't move.
And then, an act of God. The cyclone passed. As the waters calmed, Leonard spotted the barges
drifting on the horizon.
Leonard (21:31):
We picked them up in the Indian Ocean. It was amazing.
Tom (21:35):
Finally, the Braveheart met up with the Nimitz just off the coast of India. Officers monitoring the trip on
radar could see the small dots of the Braveheart accompanying the warships as if it was part of the Navy.
For security reasons, the Nimitz was berthing off shore and Leonard's job was to protect the ship and to
transport the 6,000 crew to Chennai. I asked John Bradford, a former Navy officer stationed in Asia at the
time, why the US would be relying on Leonard to bring all this material from Singapore at distance of
1,800 miles, the equivalent of New York to Denver, rather than using an Indian company.
John (22:15):
It is extraordinary. What I heard at the time was that when we wanted to bring the carrier into Chennai,
there was no local husband agent that could satisfy the requirements. Because of that, he was able to
win the contract of some huge amount, enough that it made it profitable for him to actually bring
various things including these ferry boats from Singapore to Chennai.
FL-Ep 4-The Braveheart-FOR PUBLISH-9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 9 of 12
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom (22:42):
Leonard claims it was his job to make all kinds of backhand payments to local politicians to make sure
the visit happened.
Leonard (22:50):
This is how it operated. I mean, isn't this how the waterfront operates? You know? The docks in the
commercial world, how the mafia is involved? It's same thing. This is the military side of-
Tom (23:02):
Did they know about the bribes you paid or did they just turn a blind eye to it?
Leonard (23:07):
Nobody would know how much is done in the background to make things work for them. You got to
bring Little America, San Diego down to the docks of Chennai, get rid of the rats, clean up the dock, set
up an air conditioned mall on the pier so that the sailors can have their set up there just like how things
are in the United States.
Tom (23:34):
What was the sticker cost of that?
Leonard (23:37):
Oh, it was lots of money. Wasn't cheap. The Nimitz port visit was like close to $5 million.
Tom (23:44):
It was an astronomical cost, but the Navy was happy with this opportunity to stand up to China and
discuss a lucrative arms deal with India. Leonard was helping the US project his power across the Indian
Ocean.
No one in the Navy, however, had any idea that at this time Leonard was also being approached
by Chinese spies. And no one, it seemed, knew that Leonard was also working for the Chinese Navy,
supplying its ships when they pulled into Singapore.
You told me that you did some business for the Chinese Navy. Is that right?
Leonard (24:18):
Yeah. Chinese Navy. Yeah.
Tom (24:20):
What did you do for them?
Leonard (24:22):
Well, just being their agent when they came into Changi initially. I was very apprehensive dealing with
Russians and Chinese because of my relationship with the US.
FL-Ep 4-The Braveheart-FOR PUBLISH-9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 10 of 12
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom (24:32):
With all the kompromat Leonard had on US Navy officers, his contact with the Chinese Navy was
extremely worrisome.
Did the Americans know you were doing that business?
Leonard (24:41):
Kind of. Yeah. But you know? They didn't bother about that.
Tom (24:45):
But wouldn't have been bothered by it?
Leonard (24:46):
If there's anybody snooping around, it was always the Chinese or the Russians. You know? It's not the US
side.
Tom (24:52):
Meaning they just didn't pay attention.
Leonard (24:54):
No, they kind of trusted me a lot. I was like part of them. You know? I was them.
Tom (24:59):
Steve Barney agrees that Leonard's behavior put the US in grave danger.
I mean, this was a massive national security risk. Right?
Steve (25:07):
Yes. I think that that's exactly what it is.
Tom (25:10):
I asked Steve why he thought his friends and colleagues on the USS Blue Ridge secretly handed over ship
schedules and other classified documents so readily.
Did they just see Leonard as part of the Navy because he was so embedded with the Navy at
that point?
Steve (25:27):
I think at some level, yes.
Tom (25:29):
Even Leonard acknowledges the national security failure at the heart of his story.
Leonard (25:34):
FL-Ep 4-The Braveheart-FOR PUBLISH-9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 11 of 12
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Certain things I'm supposed to know and certain things I'm not supposed to know. I probably had too
much information.
Tom (25:44):
My investigations have uncovered another side of this story, one which is much more problematic for the
Navy. This isn't a question of a few corrupt Navy officers, but a massive security breach in the US Fleet
charged with keeping the world safe from China. Leonard says he never gave up information to China or
Russia, sexual or strategic. He was making too much money. But if nothing leaked, it's a miracle.
Over the next two episodes, we'll turn to focus on the human cost of Leonard's actions like Paula
Coughlin, whose military career was derailed by the Tailhook scandal in 1991. A number of women
would have their lives wrecked by Leonard's personal cruelties. How Leonard brought one commander,
an American immigrant success story, under his sway, and the price his wife and children paid is like a
tale from Goodfellas.
Marcy (26:42):
He gave me the whole pep talk about, "Oh, being a spouse in the Navy is the hardest job." I always tell
him Mike he needs to punch out and go home and spend time with his... Oh. Okay. So he's telling me
that in one sentence. And then the other sentence, he's making arrangements for him to have
prostitutes in Tokyo. I mean, this is just gross. Disgusting.
Tom (27:04):
Leonard was becoming a don and his naval conspirators were acting like mob foot soldiers. They would
hold their secrets close and demand their wives do the same.
Marcy (27:18):
So it's like, "Let's just hush her up."
Tom (27:24):
Fat Leonard is a production of Project Brazen in partnership with PRX. For Audiation, the executive
producer is Sandy Smallens. Mark Lotto is a co-producer and story editor. The producer is Ireland
Meacham. Mixing and sound design is by Matt Noble.
FL-Ep 4-The Braveheart-FOR PUBLISH-9.17.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 12 of 12
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom (00:00):
Please note, the following episode contains descriptions of assault and domestic abuse.
Tom (00:07):
Littleton, Colorado, 2013.
Marcy (00:11):
When I flew out to Colorado after he was arrested to bail him out, up until that point, he was very cold,
standoffish. I thought he probably would feel better for a stranger he met on the street than he felt for
me. But once he was bailed out and we spent a day and a half together after his arrest, he was a little bit
more of the person I, sorry, the person I knew.
Tom (00:41):
Marcy Misiewicz, then 45 years old, was dealing with a tangle of emotions. For years, she'd endured the
indignities of a Navy wife, a cheating husband who was never around, domestic abuse, and an institution
that cared more for operational tempo than the security of her family. When she complained even to
senior Navy officers, she was told to endure it.
Then, her husband, Captain-select Michael Misiewicz, became one of the first officers to be
arrested in the fat Leonard scandal. Marcy was in turmoil. She was a whistleblower who'd helped bring
down Leonard. She'd never expected her actions would lead to Michael's arrest. But finally she no longer
felt voiceless.
Marcy (01:29):
And I think at that point, I mean, there was remorse, I think, there for him. There was none of the
standoffish I, meaning Marcy, is the crazy person, and he doesn't understand why I'm upset about this,
that, and the other. That had gone onto the wayside. And he admitted that his choices and his drive to
do so well in the Navy was very detrimental to our marriage and to his family.
Tom (01:56):
You must have felt vindicated.
Marcy (01:58):
There was a small amount of vindication there, yes.
Tom (02:01):
Today Marcy is 53, living in Shannon, a village of 750 people in rural Illinois, the area where she and
Michael met over three decades ago. She's smart and articulate, but prone to self-doubt and blaming
herself for what happened in her relationship. She's angry at what she sees as a coverup that has spared
the Navy admirals who were involved with Leonard.
Marcy is in a much more precarious position. Despite her role in bringing down Leonard, she has
been left financially insecure, forced to fight for pension money from the Navy. Now divorced, her
ex-husband just released from jail, she's working in a bank after years of putting her own career on hold,
scraping together cash for her four children's education.
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 1 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Marcy still loves the US Navy, but she doesn't buy the story that only a few bad apples like
Michael are to blame.
Do you think that unless the Navy really comes to grips with what happened in the fat Leonard
scandal, it's not going to be able to move on, right?
Marcy (03:03):
No, it's a huge bruise on the Navy. Yeah, I mean, they have to recover from it. I just don't know. It has to
be more than a wrist slap and it has to be more than figure out how someone like Leonard was able to
weave his way in to weaken these otherwise ... I don't know if weaken is the right word, but be able to
sway these people who otherwise you would never imagine them to do these things. I would've never
imagined Michael to do anything like this.
Tom (03:29):
I'm Tom Wright, and this is Fat Leonard, a podcast from Project Brazen. I've been burrowing deep into
the Leonard Francis story, trying to work out how a contractor could so deeply infiltrate the US Navy.
In this episode, we are going to explore the human cost of the scandal. How was Leonard able to
exploit weakness to make good people do bad things? Few set out to be criminals, especially someone
like Michael Misiewicz, a soft-spoken American immigrant hero with a seemingly happy family life.
Leonard loved The Godfather as a child, and now he built his mafia inside the Navy, a group of people
who called themselves La Familia. What did it take to bring someone like Michael, who had given his life
to the Navy, into the fold? And we'll hear how Marcy, unlike many Navy spouses, wasn't willing to turn a
blind eye to the wrongdoing.
Tom (04:34):
Sihanoukville, Cambodia, 2012.
Ron (04:38):
I remember he was originally born in Cambodia. He was adopted and went to the US Naval Academy. It's
a famous story that everybody had talked about at the time. When he went back to Cambodia to meet
his family, we were on the USS Blue Ridge when this happened.
Tom (04:56):
Commander Michael Misiewicz, in his mid 40s, looked out from the deck of the Blue Ridge, the seventh
fleet's flagship, to the land of his birth, the strife-torn Southeast Asian nation of Cambodia, a place
almost as foreign to him as the next man on board. It was a poignant homecoming to celebrate an
extraordinary life, the kind of immigrant success story on which the American myth is built.
The officers of the Blue Ridge climbed downstairs onto the pier, and Michael in his crisp white
uniform, three gold bands and a star on his epaulet, saw his aunt waiting for him in a huddle. He moved
toward the woman, in her mid 70s, bowed by illness, and they embraced. Other family members
crowded around, Michael at the center of the group, his stern, well proportioned face breaking into a
smile.
Captain Ron Carr, a fellow officer on the Blue Ridge, found the scene moving. That evening there
was a lavish party, food, drink, dancers, and a band.
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 2 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Ron (06:04):
And so that just looked pretty darn special. Knowing his career, knowing his background that he had
been born in Cambodia, it's an amazing, so to speak, rags to riches story, to go on to become a
commanding officer of the US Naval warship DDG after coming from a place of poverty and being
adopted by a US family, that he went on to the Naval Academy.
Tom (06:30):
For all the heartwarming backstory, though, Ron didn't trust Michael, although he kept those feelings to
himself.
Ron (06:36):
It's eight years ago, but just his personality. It came across as someone that I couldn't really connect
with. I just never really connected with Mike Misiewicz.
Tom (06:47):
One of Michael's jobs on the seventh fleet staff was to manage the schedules of 60 ships and
submarines, 150 aircraft, and 20,000 sailors in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was a powerful position.
In Ron's eyes, Michael seemed secretive about the information he controlled.
Ron (07:06):
I remember he would use the word, "close hole," like, "Don't tell anybody this. Hey, be careful on that."
Tom (07:10):
Ron's instincts were solid. Michael kept all kinds of secrets from the Navy and from his family, and one of
them was the identity of the benefactor who had paid for this lavish reunion.
Ron (07:25):
As a US Navy officer, I don't know how you get to the point that Commander Misiewicz could have
gotten to, that could have allowed this to get so out of hand. And amazingly, I'll just say I must have been
naive, how I didn't see this, how I did not realize what they were doing.
Tom (07:44):
Back in Japan, where the USS Blue Ridge was based, Marcy was happy that her husband could reunite
with his family. She had a newborn and three other children to take care of and so hadn't been able to
join this or other trips to Cambodia.
Tom (07:59):
So you missed out.
Marcy (08:02):
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 3 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Yeah, but I distinctly remember him calling as they were leaving Cambodia, and he called and he was in
tears and just that it was such an awesome experience and that we would all have to go back as a family.
And it just left an impact.
Tom (08:17):
Michael Misiewicz was born as Vannak Khem in Cambodia. During his childhood in the 1970s, the
country was ravaged by the Khmer Rouge, a murderous group of Maoist guerillas who wanted to take
the country back to a stone age agricultural utopia. His family fled its village, as the Khmer Rouge fighters
approached, taking refuge in a stilt house over mosquito infested waters in the nation's capital. His aunt
landed work as a cleaner for Marna Misiewicz, an Army administrative assistant at the US embassy. The
aunt took her nephew to play while she cleaned. Marna took a shine to the little boy, who ate popcorn
and watched cartoons.
Marcy (08:58):
His father had some inkling that things were going bad with the Khmer Rouge, the imminence of that,
and arranged for Marna to adopt Michael and bring him back to the States. I remember him telling me
that when he was saying goodbye to his biological mother, leaving Cambodia, and she was so upset, that
he told her, "Don't worry. I will go to the States and get a good education, and someday I'll buy you a big
white house." So I think he always had that in the back of his head that he wanted to fulfill that
commitment.
Tom (09:29):
Marna took Vannak Khem back to Lanark, Illinois, a town of 1,500 people, many of whom had never laid
eyes on an Asian. The little boy worked hard to fit in. He took a new name, Michael Misiewicz, and
learned to speak English with an American accent, slowly forgetting his Khmer. News from Cambodia was
spotty and letters to his family went unanswered.
So she's from the same small town that you were from.
Marcy (09:56):
Correct. Correct. He was the only person of any ethnic background in the whole school. Everybody else
looked like me. So he stood out, but I mean, he was gregarious. He was smart. He was personable. He
was a good athlete. He was an excellent student, easily liked. So he stood out that way a lot. And all of
his athletics that he took part in, people knew who he was.
Tom (10:14):
What was he, a football player?
Marcy (10:15):
Football player, basketball, wrestling, baseball, all of it.
Tom (10:21):
Michael adored his adopted mom, whom he idolized for making a huge sacrifice to bring him to America.
He thanked her in a Memorial Day speech in Lanark in 2013.
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 4 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Mike (10:33):
She's been my personal [inaudible 00:10:34] heroine. And as I stated today, today's not only about those
that have been lost, but [inaudible 00:10:41] you gain, and I want to thank my mom for her sacrifices to
both myself and to give up her youth for allowing us to enjoy the freedoms today.
Tom (10:53):
After high school, Michael enlisted in the Navy. He was a year above Marcy and would come back to
Lanark on furlough. They had hung out as kids. Now a long distance romance blossomed. As news of the
Khmer Rouge genocide filtered out of Cambodia, Michael lived with the unfaltering weight of guilt.
Around 1.8 million people had died in the killing fields, and he thought often about his family.
Marcy (11:19):
I think there was some amount of guilt, maybe, that he escaped some of the tragedy that his family
endured in Cambodia. His father perished because of the Khmer Rouge. He was murdered, killed by
them. And one sister died of probably an illness that Western medicine could have taken care of at the
time, but in war torn Cambodia, that probably wasn't going to happen. And then another sibling was
born after his dad died and perished as an infant.
Tom (11:56):
In the killing fields?
Marcy (11:56):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Tom (12:00):
The guilt drove him to work hard to rise out of the enlisted ranks and become an officer.
Marcy (12:05):
If they said he had to be here at 6:00, he was there at 4:30, 4:00 or 4:30. It got to be a source of
frustration at times. But for me, especially when the kids came along, but yeah, he just put in the time.
He's very competitive, so that came into play, too, I think.
Tom (12:23):
Marcy married Michael after he graduated from the Naval Academy, and they moved around like all
Navy families, Texas San Diego, Washington, DC. After high school, she'd taken a promising job at an
insurance company in Milwaukee, but she gave that up and also shelved her plans to study business in
college. While Michael did a tour in Iraq, for which he was awarded the bronze star, Marcy put her own
ambitions on hold for the sake of her husband's career and for the good of the Navy.
I contacted her on Facebook earlier this year, and at first she wasn't keen to engage. Reporters
had been asking her for years to talk, but the wounds were still festering. Then we got chatting, and
Marcy's story started to tumble out, a cathartic process after years of relegating her own happiness to
that of others.
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 5 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Marcy (13:11):
I'd made attempts to go back to school, and then just with moving and everything, I just worked clerical
jobs, office positions, whatever I could find. And then I worked retail for several years just because that
was easily mobile with his career.
Tom (13:26):
She had young children and gave herself completely to rearing them while Michael was away at sea. He
was on a career path to one day commanding his own ship. The fact he'd served as an enlisted man, not
going straight to the Naval Academy, gave him a way with the crew, and the family was proud.
Marcy (13:45):
You see the movies, the stereotypical officers who were screaming at people. You think of Jack Nicholson
in A Few Good Men, where he's just screaming. There are definitely screamers, and I think he probably
did at some point, too, but he just had a calm about him. And I mean, I had people over the years tell me
that they respected him a lot, that they appreciated him because of the way he led the enlisted and that
sort of thing.
Tom (14:12):
Behind the facade, though, Michael felt like an imposter. How could he, a fatherless immigrant from
Cambodia, one day run his own ship? Marcy began to ask why he was home less than the other officers.
Marcy (14:26):
Michael would always fall back on, "Well, he's probably smarter than me or he's whatever." He knew he
wanted a command at sea eventually, and he knew what he needed to do.
Tom (14:34):
As he dealt with his own insecurities, Michael began to belittle Marcy.
Marcy (14:38):
I was never fit enough. I was never skinny enough. I was always too this or not enough that. I was a
basket case.
Tom (14:51):
Would he listen to your opinions or not really?
Marcy (14:53):
Sometimes, but no. He always told me that I was smarter than him, but that I lacked certain amounts of
self-esteem or confidence, and that's probably true to a certain degree.
Tom (15:05):
On one of his Asian tours, Michael allegedly began an affair with another sailor's wife. He and Marcy
went to counseling, but he didn't show any remorse.
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 6 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Marcy (15:16):
He said to our counselor, he's like, "I know this sounds messed up," but he says, "if I'm with Marcy,"
based on the feelings he has for this mistress, he feels like he's cheating on her, even though he's
married to me. It's just a different mentality, I guess. I don't know. I mean, at the time, of course, I was
like, "That's just weird and not right."
Tom (15:41):
Under military law, adultery is a court martial offense. But Michael was a skilled officer, and in 2009, he
got command of his own boat, the USS Mustin and its 380-strong crew. The family left the US for the first
time to a new life in Japan and a fresh start for the marriage. Then he was moved to the USS Blue Ridge
and onto the radar of Leonard Francis.
Tom (16:15):
Manila, 2011.
Leonard (16:25):
No, they're with the girls. They're wrestling with the girls, I think. I wasn't there. It was Aruffo was there.
It was a clown.
Tom (16:34):
The ringside bar in the Philippines capital has a full boxing ring in the center where a dance floor should
be. Michael stood with Ed Aruffo and other officers from the seventh fleet, holding a beer as he watched
the goings on. In Manila, nightlife can be out of the ordinary. There was a hobbit house, a Tolkien
themed bar set up by a former Peace Corps volunteer, and staffed entirely by little people. Not to
mention the scores of karaoke bars, fronts for brothels that grew up to service the sizable US military
presence after World War II.
At the ringside bar, there was a bout between little people. Then women dressed in revealing
outfits began to spar in a desultory fashion. Men came up and put on gloves and pretended to hit the
women. The crowd pushed forward against the ropes, leering and shouting. Then it was Michael's turn
to enter the ring. He ducked under the ropes. Quickly his top came off, and he ended up mock wrestling
with women. It was Valentine's Day. Someone snapped a shot of Michael on the floor of the boxing ring
wearing only his jeans, two Filipino women in blue and red boxing uniforms bending over him.
The photo seems to be they're about to take a shot off his body or something. Some kind of like-
Leonard (18:00):
Yeah, pictures speak a thousand words, always.
Tom (18:05):
Ed Aruffo had arranged for Michael and others from the Blue Ridge to party in this bizarre Manila bar.
Aruffo was the confident, slick Navy officer from New York who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
defraud the US and is awaiting sentencing. He'd left the Navy, gone to Cambridge in the UK to study for a
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 7 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
masters, joined Barclays for a while, and now was in Japan, working for Leonard's company. Outside the
Navy, his job was to stay close to the seventh fleet.
Leonard had built out a mafia like network in the seventh fleet, reaching from the chief of staff
down to petty officers, according to a grand jury charge that will go to trial next year. These conspirators,
many of whom have pleaded not guilty, helped to push ships to ports that Leonard controlled, where he
could charge exorbitant fees, according to the indictments. They overrode ships' complaints about
Leonard's high costs and they helped him win business over rival contractors.
By now, Leonard had a near monopoly in the Pacific region using his Navy conspirators to win
contracts in Australia, Thailand, and the Philippines, as well as Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. The
scheme constantly needed new recruits, just like the mafia, as officers were rotated in and out of the
seventh fleet. In Manila, they were testing out Michael to see if he was the right kind of material. That
night, Michael went home with a prostitute paid for by Leonard, according to court documents. A few
weeks earlier, according to an email exchange entered into court records, Leonard had written Aruffo
about Michael, "We've got to get him hooked on something."
Leonard (19:47):
Misiewicz, he had value. He was the number two guy in the scheduling department.
Tom (19:53):
Aruffo replied that Michael liked Japanese women, but they were costly and suggested Leonard could fly
him to Bangkok or else he would take him to Tokyo. In a Facebook message, Aruffo denied ever providing
prostitutes to anyone. Leonard knew about the gossip on base about Michael's affair.
Leonard (20:11):
Well, if you look at Misiewicz, he's actually a really nice guy, a very gentle personality, friendly, great dad
to his kids, a womanizer.
Tom (20:25):
And he knew Marcy wasn't happy.
Leonard (20:29):
Aruffo basically kind of went in and embedded her husband.
Tom (20:37):
Aruffo started to appear more at the Misiewicz's detached house on base at [inaudible 00:20:42]. Marcy
had a bad feeling.
Marcy (20:45):
I mean, I think like I've told you and I've told many people, he has that cheesy car salesman schmarmy
personality. He can talk to everybody from the janitor to the CEO, and he's going to charm anybody.
Tom (21:00):
Life on a US Navy base can be like a hot house.
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 8 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Marcy (21:04):
It's referred to a lot as a bubble, a bubble there on base, because it's still a little America on base.
Tom (21:10):
Everyone knows each other's business: affairs, problems kids are having at school, that kind of thing. And
on the [inaudible 00:21:18] base, many Navy officers knew enough about Aruffo and his relationship
with Leonard to tell their wives to avoid him.
Marcy (21:24):
And I'm hearing other stories of people saying, "Oh yeah, my husband says, 'That is not someone you
want to hang out with. Steer clear.'"
Tom (21:33):
Aruffo tried to befriend Marcy, arranging for family tickets for the Lion King musical in Tokyo, according
to court documents. Although Marcy enjoyed the show, she was a little surprised that Michael would
accept the tickets from a representative of a Navy contractor.
Marcy (21:50):
I don't know, because he was always, in the past when people offered gifts or whatever, he was like, "We
can't do that because that's frowned upon," or whatever. But when they talked about the Lion King
tickets, I was under the impression that at some point we were paying Ed back.
Tom (22:06):
Michael was spending more time with Aruffo and Leonard, supposedly for dinners in Tokyo. She
suspected women were involved, although he denied it, claiming she was paranoid and insecure.
Aruffo's presence became cloying.
Marcy (22:21):
He gave me the whole pep talk about, "Oh, being a spouse in the Navy's the hardest job." I always tell
Mike he needs to punch a out and go home and spend time with his ... Okay. So he's telling me that one
sentence and then the other sentence he's making arrangements for him to have prostitutes in Tokyo. I
mean, this is just gross, disgusting.
Tom (22:43):
Some of the seventh fleet wives allegedly had no qualms about taking gifts from Leonard. One received a
$8,400 Versace purse, another a $25,000 [inaudible 00:22:55] watch, court records show. Some even
allegedly helped rope others in. One woman whose husband was an alleged conspirator approached the
wife of an official that Leonard wanted to bring in, offering her an expensive gift supplied by Aruffo,
according to an indictment. They called these operations shaping. Like wives in a mafia movie, it's easy
to imagine these women turning a blind eye to their husbands infidelities, but enjoying the lifestyle.
Leonard (23:24):
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 9 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
They want to live that life. They wanted to have the good life that they could not have. They wanted the
fine dining. They wanted the fine gifts, the hotel rooms, the sedans, the luxury cars, the watches,
handbags, fancy meals, alcohol, cigars.
Tom (23:47):
Marcy, however, wasn't going to be a way to get to Michael. She was too principled and wary of Aruffo,
and their marriage was still strained from his affair. So they focused instead on Michael. The partying and
the prostitutes helped, but they found another way in, Michael's need to see his Cambodian family.
In mid 2011, Michael got word that his 72-year-old aunt in Cambodia was ailing. Leonard
stepped in to pay for the trip, sensing this was his weak spot. Since reconnecting with his family, there
was pressure to pay for so many flights. He knew taking from Leonard was wrong, but he also felt the
pressure of a successful immigrant, the Navy commander, and maybe he was trying to assuage the guilt
he'd felt since a child, the weight of having escaped the killing fields.
Marcy (24:42):
I asked him how he got to Cambodia, and he basically told me by means that neither of us could speak
of. So in my head I'm like, okay, that's probably because of Ed. And then in turn, of course, fat Leonard,
because, I mean, their two names are synonymous with one another. I'm like, "Well, how deep is he in
with this guy now?"
Tom (25:05):
A couple of weeks later, Leonard made his first demand, classified US Navy ship schedules for Australia.
Michael sent them over using a new private Gmail account he'd set up for just this purpose. "We got
him," Aruffo emailed Francis. "You bet, Godfather," Leonard replied. Back in Penang as a kid in the 1970s,
Leonard had fantasized over The Godfather when it first came out. I asked him what he loved about the
film.
Leonard (25:36):
Oh, how the family was so close knit and how much of respect and power a single don could have over
entire clan.
Tom (25:54):
Michael started to hand over reams of ship schedules, and he intervened to send ships to ports where
Leonard could charge more. "See, you ask, I deliver," he wrote Leonard. He began to call Leonard, who
was three years older, "big bro" in emails. And Leonard kept paying for the family to keep in touch, a
miracle sent from heaven. But for Leonard, it was no more than leverage.
Leonard (26:18):
I flew his family back to Cambodia. I bought all the tickets, then took his kids, flew them, I think it was
twice, going back to Cambodia to visit his family.
Tom (26:27):
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 10 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
In his Memorial Day speech, Michael had warned his proud town about the dangers out there in the
world.
Mike (26:33):
This reminds me of a recent article I read about a type of people in our world. They're either wolves,
sheep, or sheepdogs. For many, there's a peaceful acceptance in being a sheep and hoping the wolves
won't get them.
Tom (26:51):
He had set out to be a sheepdog protecting the US from foreign threats. But as Michael sunk into
dependency on Leonard, he looked more like the prey.
Marcy and Michael were apart for months on end. On the base, Marcy worried neighbors were
gossiping about his infidelities. One day when he returned, the children noticed he didn't even hug her.
She started to talk about divorce.
Marcy (27:21):
But leading up to that, I had told him, "We really need to sit down and have a conversation. We need to
figure this out. You've moved me and the kids overseas. We need to figure this out."
Tom (27:31):
One day, Michael was laying on the couch at home, watching a Navy football game, when Marcy asked to
go outside and talk. He was furious at being interrupted and exploded in a volcanic rage. She had never
seen him like this in over 20 years of marriage.
Marcy (27:47):
Yeah. He grabbed me and pushed me and then pushed me up the stairs. And then, of course, there was
no productive conversation after that. And it just kind of I went my way, he went his way, and it wasn't
until a couple days later that I had a friend notice that I had some bruising.
Tom (28:04):
And he had never done something like that before.
Marcy (28:07):
No, mm-mm (negative).
Tom (28:09):
Is it tempting to see that as part of by that point, he's getting enmeshed in Leonard's web, right?
Marcy (28:15):
Yeah. I mean, I think there were many plates spinning at that point. And, of course, I don't know that. I
know that the Navy is stressful, but when you're, I mean, almost living a dual life at that point, I would
imagine it's hard to keep everything spinning and not get stressed out about it.
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 11 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom (28:32):
Under pressure from her friend, Marcy reported the incident to the seventh fleet command. After an
investigation, the Navy issued an order of protection, forcing Michael to live temporarily on the Blue
Ridge away from his family. Marcy declined to press charges, worrying about the embarrassment on
base, but she applied to the Navy for her and the kids to be returned early to the US. A female Navy
doctor on the base advised this would be prudent, given the toxic atmosphere at home, according to a
copy of a letter to the seventh fleet commanders. The Navy did not approve the request, instead
ordering Michael to stay on the ship until the end of his tour.
It seems to me that your happiness and safety and your family's was put under the Navy's need
to keep a family together of somebody they considered to be a rising star or already a commanding
officer. Is that a fair way of putting it?
Marcy (29:28):
Yeah, I mean, I just I felt like there was little relevance given to what it was doing, how it was affecting
me. As we touched on, it's a fishbowl there. It's hard, because you're trying to put on a happy face, but
it's not. You've got all this stuff going on in the background. It was not. It was brutal.
Tom (29:44):
Leonard, too, got wind of the problem. An angry Marcy was going to make it more difficult for him to
control Michael. So he supplied the commander with a Gucci handbag, a gift to give to his wife.
Marcy (29:56):
I had to have asked him where that came from, and I don't even really remember what he said. And I put
it in my closet and that's where it stayed. I've never used it.
Tom (30:05):
Marcy's misery made little difference to Michael. He kept on partying with Leonard and Aruffo at events
that cost tens of thousands of dollars, and his star kept rising. The Navy even awarded him the Legion of
Merit, a prestigious US military award for his time in the seventh fleet.
Marcy (30:22):
I mean, I was like is this even the same person that I know, that I was married to and had four children
with?
Tom (30:28):
I mean, does it get to this point that you can never really know anybody?
Marcy (30:32):
Yeah. I mean, there's that saying like, "Gosh, you think you know a person." I mean, yeah, there's
definitely some of that there.
Tom (30:36):
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 12 of 13
This transcript was exported on Oct 06, 2021 - view latest version here.
Marcy stewed at home, emotionally wrung out, but also angered she could not relocate her family for
another year.
Marcy (30:43):
It was definitely like the old boys' club mentality, I felt like, to a certain degree with some of that. So it's
like, "Let's just hush her up. Oh, if we do this protective order and that'll appease her. That'll hush her up
for a while."
Tom (30:57):
But Marcy, as we'll hear later in the series, wasn't going to stay quiet, not about Michael's infidelities and
not about all the gifts and trips he was clearly taking from Leonard. She didn't know everything, but she
knew enough to go to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Marcy (31:15):
Perhaps had they gotten me out of Japan sooner, maybe I wouldn't have met with NCIS. None of this,
that part of it maybe wouldn't have happened. I don't know.
Tom (31:27):
I've been asking myself why the Navy would protect someone like Michael after he struck Marcy. And the
answer seems to be that Michael was very good at his job, a workaholic who kept his ship running no
matter what. That's why Leonard continued to flourish, despite his personal cruelties toward Marcy and
many other women in this story. And that's why I decided to track down Leonard's own former girlfriend,
one who had paid a terrible price.
Morena (31:58):
I said, "Oh, we're going back to Philippines. We can stay with your family, your childrens, but left my
childrens with me."
Tom (32:07):
The loss of her children. How are you able to get the kids to the US?
Leonard (32:19):
Everybody came legally. Everybody knows, Uncle Sam knows what I'm doing for them. My children are
my children. My wellbeing is more important than anything else. I am their star witness.
Tom (32:37):
Fat Leonard is a production of Project Brazen in partnership with PRX. For audiation, the executive
producer is Sandy Smallins. Mark [Valotto 00:32:48] is the co-producer and story editor. The producer is
[inaudible 00:32:52]. Mixing and sound design is by Matt Noble.
FL-Ep 5-Marcy-FOR PUBLISH-10.4.21 (Completed 10/06/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 13 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom Wright (00:00):
Please be advised that this episode contains depictions of domestic violence.
Leonard Glenn Francis (00:07):
They came to me with their eyes open. They weren't blind. They all knew I had multiple wives and
partners and I was kind of a playboy and they all knew it. It wasn't like I was this Virgin Mary from the
convent or something.
Tom Wright (00:25):
In his own telling, Leonard is a likable rogue who has sex with a lot of women, but wears it on his sleeve.
They know what he's about. No one gets hurt. It's all good sailor fun.
Leonard Glenn Francis (00:37):
Females out there dropping like flies. I push everybody away because that comes with problems. Unless
you're a good guy, you get married and you stay with your wife for a long, long time. I've had multiple
partners. Wives. It's not I'm a bad husband, it's just that women can't keep up with me.
Tom Wright (00:59):
His first wife, mother to his first two children.
Leonard Glenn Francis (01:02):
First wife was just too lazy for me.
Tom Wright (01:05):
The second, the Indonesian catwalk model.
Leonard Glenn Francis (01:08):
That one was messing around with me and saying that I was... She got it so bad for me. She said I was
impotent and it was me, that's why I couldn't have kids. I go, "BS. There's no way." She was on birth
control and just trying to keep her figure.
Tom Wright (01:27):
And then I met Morena Galvizo De Jesus.
All right, so can you just start by telling me your name and what you do?
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (01:35):
I am Morena de Jesus, I'm here in Australia as a student visa and I work part-time in a nursing home and
a cleaner.
Tom Wright (01:49):
Morena was the mother to Leonard's third and fourth children, and her story will break your heart.
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 1 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (01:55):
He always threatened me. "You don't know me. You know what happened in Manila? There's a popular
politician there who kill this wife. I can do that to you," he told me. "I have a lot of connections with
everyone so I can kill you anytime I want."
Tom Wright (02:17):
I'm Tom Wright, and this is Fat Leonard, a podcast from Project Brazen.
VO Actor (02:23):
Singapore, 2004.
Tom Wright (02:37):
Just go back to when you first met Leonard Glenn Francis and tell me a little bit about that.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (02:41):
When I first met him in Singapore, I was training as an HRM, hotel restaurant management, for six
months, and they are the guest in Amara Hotel.
Tom Wright (03:07):
Leonard walked into the Amara Hotel in Singapore. He was comfortable there. It was luxurious, but also
quiet, a little outside the central business district, and he was less likely a bump to anyone he knew.
Leonard liked to meet corrupt Navy supply officials here and he used a dark bar to hand over
envelopes full of cash to ensure he won contracts. He spent so much time in the hotel he'd gotten
friendly with Morena de Jesus, a receptionist at the Amara. The 23 year old was doing a short job
training as part of her college studies in the Philippines. She was smart and driven with shoulder length,
dark hair, and a wide smile. She came from a poor family in a rural area north of Manila, and Leonard,
aged 40 at the time, seemed so worldly, arriving at the hotel in chauffeured Rolls-Royces, staff running to
his every whim. He also seemed pious, an attraction to Morena who, like many Filipinos, is a practicing
Catholic.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (04:09):
When I first met him, he is good. He's a big man and he always bring what we call this wine, if you are
familiar with the rosary and Mama Mary.
Tom Wright (04:21):
Leonard's mother was descended from Portuguese Mariners who had landed in Asia, bringing the faith
with them. And she had brought her son up as a Catholic. He carried the rosary beads with him at all
times.
Leonard Glenn Francis (04:33):
Oh yeah, I am a deep, deep practicing Catholic. Grew up around it. My grandparents. My parents.
Church. I mean, you see God around me, crucifix all over my house. From the time I'm young, I carry my
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 2 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
rosary. I carry my Bible. I can be foul, but the hardest God. Same with my kids. You can find holy water
around me. I'm just like that.
Tom Wright (05:00):
Leonard took a liking to Morena and invited her to church one Sunday. Alone in a foreign country, asked
to church by an intriguing older man, Morena accepted.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (05:11):
I think this guy is a good guy.
Tom Wright (05:16):
He began to court Morena. Leonard told her about his two children, both over 10 years old, with his first
wife, also a Filipino, but he didn't mention he was remarried to the Indonesian model.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (05:28):
He courted me and I refused because he has already two sons, and of course I'm not looking for a
boyfriend that time.
Tom Wright (05:41):
After her training was over, Morena returned to the Philippines. But Leonard kept calling and texting her.
He offered to pay for her to fly to Hong Kong to meet him. She was unsure, but eventually accepted.
Morena's father was a poor farmer and she never expected to be able to travel the world.
It must have been quite exciting for you at the beginning when you first met him, right?
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (06:07):
Yes.
Tom Wright (06:07):
He can be a charming guy as well.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (06:09):
Yeah, of course. Definitely. When I first met him, he was generous. He sent me money and then he said,
he promised me, "I will help you. I will. Of course. I will help you and your family. We will be together."
Tom Wright (06:30):
He put her up in a luxury apartment in Manila and although he was a transitory presence in her life,
coming into the country now and again for business, she had fun. In 2007, she gave birth to their first
child, a baby boy. And within a year a baby girl.
Was he very happy? Did he come to the hospital?
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (06:48):
No. My first son, he didn't visit me at the hospital. I gave birth by my own.
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 3 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom Wright (06:56):
Who was with you when you gave birth?
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (06:57):
My parents, my sisters, my family.
Tom Wright (07:01):
Having a child out of wedlock was stigmatized in the Philippines, and Morena started to pressure
Leonard to get married.
What did your parents think about the fact the father was not around when you were giving
birth? Did they have questions about him?
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (07:15):
We have a plan that we're going to marry. How can I do? I cannot push someone, so I have to wait.
Tom Wright (07:22):
For all his womanizing and his happy go lucky posturing about sex, Leonard harbored deep insecurities.
For Morena, Leonard's father, with his multiple mistresses and violence towards Leonard's mother, had
left the son with deep psychological scars.
Do you feel like he was very paranoid about the women that he was with cheating on him?
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (07:43):
Maybe. Yes. Because he has his story about his father. And his mother is about... How do you call it?
Philandering?
Tom Wright (07:56):
Yeah, his father was a philanderer.
PART 1 OF 4 ENDS [00:08:04]
VO Actor (08:03):
Penang, Malaysia, 1979.
Tom Wright (08:07):
Michael Francis, with gelled back hair, a bulbous nose, and uneven teeth, grabbed Leonard's mother and
smacked her across the face. She screamed and cowered as Michael kept on lashing out. Who knows
what drives a man to hit a woman, but Michael, then 42, felt insecure, a poor man's son married into
wealth. His own father, a rubber plantation worker from Scotland, his mother a local. His marriage into
the wealthy Portuguese/Sri Lankan family of Leonard's mother left him feeling never quite good enough,
but he enjoyed his new riches and the women that it brought. Michael was cruel. He'd bring his
mistresses back to the family home in front of his wife and children. His wife would complain, and
Michael would batter her.
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 4 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
For years, Leonard had to endure the violence, as small children always do. Michael beat him
too, along with his brothers and sisters. By the age of 15, Leonard was already six foot tall, with
Elvis-style muttonchops, a young man, not a boy, and ready to challenge his father. He was in a biker
gang, hung out with Triads, and had seen enough of the blows waning down on his mother. That
evening, Leonard grabbed his father and pulled him off of her.
Leonard Glenn Francis (09:38):
I pushed him on the bed and set him down, and that was it. He was shocked, because the first time in his
life someone challenged him. I just could not see the years of his abusive on my mother. I just could not
hold that in anymore. He never touched my mother again. I said, "I'll kill you."
Tom Wright (09:58):
Leonard's father, scrawny compared to his lumbering son, was taken aback. He never laid hands on her
again.
Leonard Glenn Francis (10:06):
I've seen him batter my mother so many times, and it was just not right. My mother was just, like any
wife, definitely going to be jealous if you're going to bring another woman to the house. Your maternal
home. Your kids and everything, and your wife being there. How could you? My dad didn't care.
Tom Wright (10:27):
He would beat her until she was black-eyed?
Leonard Glenn Francis (10:30):
He would just lock her up in the bathroom or in another room, and just go into the other room with his
little mistress, and just do his job or whatever.
Tom Wright (10:37):
Then he would beat her so that she was actually broken bones?
Leonard Glenn Francis (10:40):
Yeah, to submissive, to just shut up and be quiet.
Tom Wright (10:43):
Did she have to go to the hospital?
Leonard Glenn Francis (10:44):
My dad was-
Tom Wright (10:45):
I mean, that kind of beating?
Leonard Glenn Francis (10:46):
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 5 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
No, just bruises and stuff like that. It was just a coward hits wives.
Tom Wright (10:53):
His mother tried to take her own life.
Leonard Glenn Francis (10:56):
Basically, she was trying to cut her wrists, swallow pills to OD. My dad used to rush her to the hosp,
because my dad was always going out every day. Then he'd go to the clubs.
Tom Wright (11:10):
When his mother, brother and sister went to live in England, Leonard had opted to stick with his father
despite the violence. I asked him why.
Leonard Glenn Francis (11:20):
I always have this principal of you have one mom and one dad. Whether they're good or bad, you still
need to respect them. That's in the Bible.
Tom Wright (11:29):
After that happening, were you ever able to resurrect your relationship with him? Were you in the
position of power after that?
Leonard Glenn Francis (11:34):
Yeah, my dad always loved me. I was my dad's favorite no matter what. My dad know he's wrong. I still
took care of my father, no matter what.
Tom Wright (11:46):
Michael died in April, aged 84, during the making of this podcast. Leonard was crumpled by grief, and we
didn't talk for a month. Under house arrest, he could only witness his father's death through the screen
of a computer.
Leonard Glenn Francis (12:01):
That really took us, in a very hard way, to seeing your father die in front of you and he's struggling to
breathe with his oxygen mask. You could see that. You could see his eyes, his tears. Oh my God, my dad
was always this lion and you could see the fear in his face to die. The life was just coming out of him, and
he was calling his mother's name. I don't cry. I don't shed tears. I always kind of stay very stoic in my
facial expressions in front of everybody. There was tearing in my eyes, but not in front of my kids. My
kids were all breaking down, so I had to hold the family together.
Tom Wright (12:44):
What makes a person? It's hard to know, even as we look inwards, to find explanations for our own
behavior. As we peel away the layers to get to Leonard's dark core, it's hard not to see this childhood
trauma as a Seminole event in his life. It helps explain, if not excuse, the savage behavior towards
Morena.
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 6 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
VO Actor (13:07):
Manila, 2009.
Tom Wright (13:11):
One day, Morena found out from someone at Leonard's company that he was still married. Then,
another Filipino woman came to Morena's door. She said she was the mother of another of Leonard's
sons, born only a few months after Morena's baby girl. Morena decided to confront him. The next time
Leonard came to the apartment, Morena told him she wanted to split up. He could support the children
and still them, but they should go their own ways. Leonard was furious. He immediately assumed there
was another man in the picture, and he demanded to know if he was the father of the children. Leonard
became unhinged after she asked to separate. He allegedly sent her terrible deranged text messages,
entered into court record in the Philippines, fueled by his fears that she had other men.
November 6, 2009, 11:53 AM
"God will burn you in hell, bitch prostitute. Go sell yourself with your sisters, bitch."
November 14, 2009, 7:11 PM
"You low dog prostitute. Your sisters act like angels in front of me. They're all cheap like you. I
will kill you soon, bitch. You better find a job. Your time is up."
November 15, 2009, 10:25 PM
"Get ready to sell your handbags and shoes. You're too old to sell now. Cheap price. Want to take
photo in bikini, bitch? You had a good life for five years. Now go back and rot in the provinces with the
worms."
The next month, Leonard appeared to have calm down. He asked Morena to come to Singapore
on vacation. By now, he was divorced. She was only 28, and extremely naive. She took the flight with
their two infants, age one and two.
When Morena landed, Leonard's driver took them from the airport to a service department. She
was surprised not to be staying at his palatial Singapore home. Later, the driver returned to take the kids
to spend time with Leonard's mother in the mansion. He fought Morena off, telling her that he did not
want his teenage sons to meet her. Morena had little to do, so she invited over a male friend whom she
knew from her hotel internship five years earlier. While the friend was at the apartment, Leonard walked
in.
Leonard Glenn Francis (15:46):
So one day, I walked in there unannounced, and knocked the door, I mean opened the door, and I saw
this guy there with her. She was dressed in shorts and T-shirt, and talking with him. My kids were there
with the nannies. Then I asked her, "Who's this guy?" She goes, "Oh, this is my best friend's friend."
PART 2 OF 4 ENDS [00:16:04]
Leonard Glenn Francis (16:00):
Then I asked her "Who's this guy?" She goes, "Oh, this is my best friend's friend." Of course, I could read
that best friend, friend's story. I caught her red handed.
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 7 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom Wright (16:09):
Leonard of course omits what happened next. He starts railing at the guy to get out, filter bursting with
anger that his mistress, his possession, would even talk to another man.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (16:21):
I said, "Oh, we're going back to [inaudible 00:16:25]. You can stay with your family, your children's, but
let my children's with me."
Tom Wright (16:29):
Morena says Leonard threatened her.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (16:32):
He always threatened me and my family. "You know your family, I can do anything for them." He's very
dangerous. He's very evil person. He has no heart. He has no heart, he's evil.
Tom Wright (16:44):
Her tourist visa for Singapore was running out, and Leonard told her to go back to the apartment in the
Philippines for eight days before returning. He seemed calmer and she decided to go. She left her
children behind with Leonard's mother. It was the worst misstep of her life.
When she arrived back at the apartment, it was cleaned out. Her possession's all gone. The lease
terminated and the doors locked. The return air ticket also was canceled.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (17:21):
They planned that they will stop everything. And then after that, I kept on calling him. "Leonard I want to
see my children." They left me like a beggar, and I sleep anywhere, sleep with my friends.
Tom Wright (17:21):
So were all your bank accounts shut down?
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (17:21):
Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yes.
Tom Wright (17:40):
So you had no money at all?
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (17:42):
No, no. No money at all.
Tom Wright (17:45):
So where did you go?
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 8 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (17:46):
I went back home.
Tom Wright (17:47):
To your parents?
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (17:49):
Yes, yes, but my parents not [inaudible 00:17:51] my father is sick. He's sick that time. I am the eldest of
the family. So how can they help me? So no one's help me. This is my two children. So I need to fight for
my children.
Tom Wright (18:06):
Incapacitated by grief, with no money in fighting a more powerful opponent. Morena began her long
struggle to get her children back. She took any job she could to raise money for a ticket. A friend helped
out. But when she got back to Singapore, standing in front of the mansion gates, there was no reply.
Back in Manila. Morena began legal proceedings against Leonard borrowing money from a friend. A year
later, a Philippines regional court ordered Leonard to return the children. And that decision was upheld
by the Singapore family court. But by then, Leonard had been arrested in San Diego. His mother in 2013
had fled Singapore to Kuala lumper in Malaysia with the children. Morena couldn't locate them.
The court orders were unenforceable. Since Leonard's arrest. Morena has been trying to find her
children presuming they were in Kuala Lumpur. What really happened to them? She never could have
imagined.
VO ACTOR (19:12):
San Diego, 2021.
Tom Wright (19:15):
How are you able to get the kids to the us?
Leonard Glenn Francis (19:18):
Everybody came legally. Everybody knows, uncle Sam knows, you know what I'm doing? Not say they
don't know about it.
Tom Wright (19:26):
Of course.
Leonard Glenn Francis (19:27):
For them, my children, my wellbeing is more important than anything else. I am the star witness.
Tom Wright (19:35):
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 9 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
After Leonard was arrested. His mother looked after Morena's children and another infant from a
different Filipino woman. When Leonard moved from prison to house arrest in San Diego over three
years ago, he sent for his three infant children.
Leonard Glenn Francis (19:49):
The kids want to be with me of course, I'm super daddy, mommy, granddaddy, grand, everything my kids
understand. They all know I'm a very open dad. I don't hide anything.
Tom Wright (20:03):
Leonard's looking after them alone in his detention, over our late night conversations, he talked tenderly
about his children and the need to get them ready for school the next day.
Leonard Glenn Francis (20:12):
These little ones now, I'm here for them. I am it. I do everything myself.
Tom Wright (20:19):
So you know, you are a good dad and your estimation. Why not give your kids access to their moms?
That's what I don't understand.
Leonard Glenn Francis (20:26):
No, it's not the right time for it. And it's going to complicate them. Because right now the kids are steady.
They're doing really good, good grades. I'm sending them to the best schools that they could go to.
Tom Wright (20:41):
In his delusional world Leonard has saved his children from mothers who are nothing more than craven
fallen. Women, not living, breathing people. He's incapable of seeing women other than his own mother
as anything but sex objects or baby making machines.
Leonard Glenn Francis (20:56):
When you're wealthy, you got money. And everybody wants a piece of cake. I call it, they try to children
to you. I don't believe in that, that's not me. This is my flesh and my blood. I'm responsible. I bring up my
kids. I love my kids. I don't have babies just for fun. It's not me.
Tom Wright (21:15):
Abandoned himself as a kid, Leonard thinks he's charting a better path as a father.
Leonard Glenn Francis (21:20):
I love children. And I enjoy being a parent. I enjoy doing what I do. Again it's also my responsibility that I
have to complete what I've done. Bringing them to this world, the young ones, I've still got a long way to
go. That's why God has given me life. It's a miracle I'm alive today. I'm here to finish my mission besides
for uncle Sam, my kids in my life.
Tom Wright (21:46):
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 10 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
I asked Leonard why he'd abducted the children and the answer lays bare the moral character of the
man on whom the US Navy was dependent.
Leonard Glenn Francis (21:55):
No, I did not kidnap the kids. They were all just mistresses and my children were legally born and they
have my name and they're Malaysian citizens. So she was the mother. Unfortunately it's a long story
short because they were Mistresses. They were fooling around. I caught them and I fired them that's it.
Tom Wright (22:18):
The last time I spoke with Leonard just before this podcast began to air, our relationship began to sour.
As I challenged him about Morena.
I mean, after all this time of talking to you, I was really shocked to see your SMS's to Morena. I
mean, why didn't you write that stuff?
Leonard Glenn Francis (22:34):
What was that?
Tom Wright (22:37):
[crosstalk 00:22:37].
Leonard Glenn Francis (22:37):
Listen my life before is the past. It's not the future. Whether I wrote those SMS's, those texts, whether
they were mine or not, I've not seen them.
Tom Wright (22:51):
This is when you were furious. When you told me that you thought she was having an affair with some
man, she knew from [inaudible 00:22:57] the Amara hotel right?
Leonard Glenn Francis (22:58):
You know, I'm not going to talk about all this. It's not important to me. There are nannies. They're the
managers that took care of him. They're all there. And this is all too petty stuff. I think of the big picture
right now. This is all petty, you, me, you, me, you, me and I'm dealing with mistress.
Tom Wright (23:15):
But this is Leonard Francis' life story.
Leonard Glenn Francis (23:19):
Yeah. But like I said, it's going to do more damage to me now in my position, because the hate is going to
become even more. What has happened? Why have you changed? Do you think, oh, I'm such a bad guy
because what Morena said to you? Is she really getting to you? My God.
Tom Wright (23:37):
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 11 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
That's just part of it.
Leonard Glenn Francis (23:38):
The department of justice, this doesn't give a damn about hookers okay. I'm shocked that you're so
concerned about it.
Tom Wright (23:44):
Morena worked hard in a hotel and now in a nursing home and never was a prostitute. That Leonard
would claim this about the mother of his children says so much about him.
Leonard Glenn Francis (23:56):
Well, they're all part of the same thing. Why did I say all those things? You're just going on and on and on
and on about all this, non-
PART 3 OF 4 ENDS [00:24:04]
Leonard Glenn Francis (24:00):
... thinks. You were just going on and on and on and on about all this nonsense.
Tom Wright (24:03):
I thought she worked in a hotel.
Leonard Glenn Francis (24:06):
Well, everybody worked in a hotel. I am really confused by what is important to you right now. Do you
want to talk about the big picture of this case, or you want to talk about my personal life and all this
mistresses?
Tom Wright (24:18):
I'm also tired of this. I'm tired of it too, because I think you're a misogynist.
Leonard Glenn Francis (24:26):
Yeah. I'm not. I just think you're getting the wrong idea about everything. And I feel that you trying to
now, turn it around and try say, "Oh, I'm the bad guy." I don't think so. You know what? You're being
unreasonable, and I should have just drawn the line from the beginning. I don't want to talk about it, I
don't want to talk about it. I'm not like that. Just because I'm being so truthful and honest to you, and
now you're trying to judge me.
Tom Wright (24:52):
Morena, eventually married a Filipino and moved to Sydney where she studies and works in a nursing
home, trying to raise money to find her kids. Did you decide not to have more children because of this
experience?
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (25:03):
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 12 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Yeah. Maybe, maybe. Because unfair. That's why it's unfair for my husband, but he knows my husband.
Maybe my husband love me so much because he knows that I know I'm finding for my two children, so
and I don't have anyone else.
Tom Wright (25:20):
Until I spoke to her for this a podcast, she had no idea what had happened to her kids. I know where
your children are. They are with Leonard in San Diego. So they're living with him in the house there. And
I think he's looking after them by himself. I don't understand how that's able to happen given that he's
pleaded guilty. And he's a criminal who is waiting sentencing. Morena was not surprised. She has
firsthand experience of how Leonard, who still controls millions of dollars, can get what he wants.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (25:53):
With some money though.
Tom Wright (25:55):
Have you ever heard that before?
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (25:56):
No. I never heard that, but I have read in the newspaper, the family visit him, but I never think that my
childrens are there.
Tom Wright (26:07):
Maybe this podcast will make a difference. Perhaps the US government will ensure Morena and the
other mother get access to their children. They are 13 and 14 now, an older boy and a younger girl. And
she hasn't seen them for over a decade.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (26:24):
I think they are bigger than me.
Tom Wright (26:27):
Do you think about them every day?
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (26:29):
Of course. It is not only think about them. I've always dreamed them every day. But whatever I saw in my
dream, they're just only a little, they're still young. They're still young, but I don't know what they look
like now, but every time I dream about them, they are still young. It's very sad. That's why I keep myself
busy, not thinking. Because I need to move on also. How can I pray for my children if I will not help
myself too?
Tom Wright (26:58):
Morena has a composed way of talking about her personal tragedy. She never cried, like Marcy. But as
she talked to me from her apartment in Sydney, looking down the camera of a computer, I found myself
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 13 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
thinking that I've rarely come across someone who has suffered such a life defining loss and is still living
with the pain of not knowing.
Morena Galvizo De Jesus (27:18):
Before, I want to end my life. I want to end my life. I don't want to live anymore because they are my first
love. They are my childrens. I don't want anymore. I don't want to eat. I don't want to anything. I want to
ruin my life. Right. I sleep for just two hour, but still thinking of them, dreaming of them. It just [inaudible
00:27:43]. It just only if you want to sleep, you don't want to wake up anymore. If you're dreaming about
that you are happy, you want to stay in same dream and you don't want to wake up. Because after you
wake up, you will remember everything. That's not a dream anymore. This is the reality. As I have to
survive.
Tom Wright (28:05):
Coming up next, on Fat Leonard.
David Schaus (28:07):
Leonard looked at me was immediately enraged by my comment. And he stood up and he pounded on
the table a few times with his fists. Told me, I think that was I calling him a liar?
Tom Wright (28:23):
Not everyone was as powerless against Leonard as Morena. As his fraud deepens a few brave whistle
blows move to take him on. Soon, Leonard will be backed into a corner and lashing out to survive. Fat
Leonard is a production of Project Brazen in partnership with PRX. For audiation, the executive producer
is Sandy Smallens. Mark Lotto is the co-producer and story editor. The producer is Ireland Meacham.
Mixing and sound design is by Matt Noble.
PART 4 OF 4 ENDS [00:29:06]
FL-Ep 6-Morena-FOR PUBLISH-10.13.21_2 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 14 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom Wright (00:00):
Please note, the following episode contains mature language and descriptions of sexual situations.
David Schaus (00:09):
Leonard looked at me, was immediately enraged by my comment. And he stood up and he pounded on
the table a few times with his fist. He told me, I think, "Was I calling him a liar?"
Tom Wright (00:24):
David Schouse, a 25 year old Navy Lieutenant from Portmouth, New Hampshire, had just challenged
Leonard Francis, the most powerful contractor to the Navy in the Pacific. And by this point, nobody
questioned Leonard the Legend.
David Schaus (00:38):
He was in my office at the time. And he's a big guy, and he's a heavy guy. At the time, I think he weighed
about 400 pounds. I can remember him standing up and like using his height, and I'm not a huge guy. I'm
five foot nine. And I remember him like hovering over me. And we exchanged a few words. He was
yelling. I was trying not to.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Hong Kong 2004.
Tom Wright (01:04):
Was he there to railroad it through in some ways?
David Schaus (01:07):
Oh, yeah. You know, he was going to shove this through and show us how it's done.
Tom Wright (01:13):
And intimidate you or try to.
David Schaus (01:16):
Oh, yeah. His intention was certainly to intimidate me.
Tom Wright (01:21):
David, who is smart and doesn't suffer fools, had found something amiss, and he wasn't scared of
pointing it out. The USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group had just docked in Hong Kong. And David, who
was an assistant officer in charge of an office in Hong Kong that helped supply U.S. Navy ships, suspected
Leonard was overcharging for fresh water.
David Schaus (01:40):
Maybe there was five people sitting around a table. As they were going through everything I recall
saying, "Hey, this quantity for fresh water for this destroyer doesn't make sense to me because a
destroyer can't hold that much water."
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 1 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom Wright (01:51):
Leonard was furious. His company GDMA had just won the contract to supply U.S. Navy ships in Hong
Kong, and he wasn't going to stand for a junior officer questioning his invoices.
David Schaus (02:02):
He said, "I don't take orders from Lieutenants." He said that for specifically to me. And I found this very
strange, because I'm a junior officer, but I'm still a commissioned officer in the Navy. And in my mind,
he's just a contractor. He provides us with water and water taxis, and we need those things. And I'll give
him that respect, but he's not in a position to overrule and tell me that a destroyer can hold more water
than the tanks can hold. I mean, that was kind of where I was coming from.
Tom Wright (02:32):
David is not the kind of person to back down. GDMA was clearly trying to push through fraudulent
invoices and Leonard was facing an unusual situation. Someone from the Navy, however junior, had
crossed him.
David Schaus (02:45):
When I told to leave, he wasn't leaving. He was just standing there, because he didn't want to obey an
order for me, is kind of how I felt he was thinking about this. You know, because he would only listen to
an Admiral, not a Lieutenant. I can remember thinking to myself, "Am I going to call the police and have
the police come and take this guy away for trespassing?" But yeah, it was strange. It was negative. And
nobody had told me beforehand that, "Well, you got to be careful of this guy," or gave me a heads up
that this guy has a lot of powerful friends. I had no idea really who this person was. He was simply a
contractor.
Tom Wright (03:21):
David couldn't have been more wrong. I'm Tom Wright, and this is Fat Leonard, a podcast from Project
Brazen. We've been charting the rise of Leonard Francis, who corrupted the U.S. Navy in the worst
military fraud scandal since the Vietnam war. The story is still playing out and we have exclusive access to
Leonard, who's under house arrest in the U.S. awaiting his fate. In this episode, we're going to hear how
some righteous Navy officers begin to question Leonard's corrupt practices. At first, they're ignored as
Leonard's cozy relationship with Admirals gives him cover to carry on, but as defense budgets get
squeezed and the fear of terrorism recedes, the spotlight finally falls on Leonard and cornered, he'll do
anything to survive.
Hong Kong's Shangri-La hotel sits on a rises above the Harbor. The majestic outline of Victoria
Peak soaring behind. On the 56th floor with sweeping views of the boats below, Leonard was hosting a
lavish party. Dressed in a dark suit with a Christmas tree pin on his lapel and festive tie, Leonard was
talking to the commanding officers of the USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group. To spice things up, Leonard
had paid for Western women dressed in revealing Santa outfits to mingle and flirt with the guests. He
tried to put the argument with David Schouse out of his mind. The party was a celebration of the U.S.
Navy's decision to give him the Hong Kong contract, and he wasn't going to let that upstart ruined this
event.
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 2 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Leonard Francis (05:02):
Well, Shaws was just a young Lieutenant, you know, very ambitious, cocky. The way he approached
people and talked was very rude.
Tom Wright (05:10):
He saw to it that David wasn't invited.
David Schaus (05:14):
This was Leonard's coming out party to show everyone he had made it in Hong Kong. And he had hired
prostitutes in Santa helper's outfits to give out cigars and champagne. And it was lobster tales and steak.
Tom Wright (05:28):
A number of U.S government officials who attended realized that a contractor like Leonard paying for all
of this amounted to bribery.
David Schaus (05:36):
Some of the State Department or military people not involved in the supply Corps went to this and
immediately realized this was not appropriate. And that's kind of when it got on the State Department
radar, but the State Department doesn't want to step on the Defense Department toes.
Tom Wright (05:54):
As always, Leonard had the cover of top Naval officers, many of whom he counted as friends. He chatted
with Captain Craig Faller, the commander of the USS Shiloh who was 43, but looked older with
prematurely graying hair and sparkling white teeth.
Leonard Francis (06:10):
Faller was the CEO of the Shiloh, and this was the event in Hong Kong for that Christmas get together for
the Abraham Lincoln Strike Group.
Tom Wright (06:21):
What are the Santa Ninas?
Leonard Francis (06:23):
Oh, they're my little Santa girls that attended the party. So, when we had this Christmas party, I had like
half a dozen or more girls that basically charaded as Santa Nina outfits. Little short mini skirts dressed up
as little Santas. And they were like sitting on everybody's laps and snapping pictures and rubbing
everybody down. And a couple of the important customers got laid. So, I set that up at my reception.
That's what we always do, because these guys, they're never going to say no. So, Faller was one of them.
And Admiral Faller went on to become a one star, later on, for a Strike Group.
Tom Wright (07:10):
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 3 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
That was just the start of Captain Faller's rise to become a four star Admiral with one of the top jobs in
the U.S. Navy, running the Navy's Southern command, including Central and Southern America. The
Washington Post, in 2018 first, reported that Leonard told investigators he had organized a prostitute for
Faller. The Navy found " insufficient evidence" that Faller had patronized a prostitute, The Post reported.
In a statement to the newspaper a Pentagon spokeswoman said "Faller never solicited a gift, dinner,
service or item from GDMMA and never attended an event without clearance from an ethics counselor."
In October, as this podcast was airing, Faller retired from the Navy. He did not respond to requests for
comment.As he hobnobbed with the top officers, Leonard didn't think he needed to worry about the
likes of Lieutenant Schaus, but the events of that Christmas sewed seeds that marked the beginning of
the downfall of Leonard Francis.
We've explored in this series of how Leonard's fraud worked. In his inner circle, he allegedly lent
on officers like Lieutenant Commander Edmond Aruffo, who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud
the U.S. and is awaiting sentencing. He counted on Commander Michael Misiewicz and others to direct
ships into ports he controlled, where he could charge huge sums for protection and fuel, according to
court records. And Leonard delivered, keeping ships safe and ensuring supplies were always available,
not to mention getting sailors out of trouble. His parties with the Navy's top Admirals, who may not have
dirtied their hands with the details, gave him a veneer of respectability. But those Admirals, they were
never paid cash in envelopes or anything like that.
Leonard Francis (08:59):
No, but they all received gifts. When you are attending a thousand ...
PART 1 OF 4 ENDS [00:09:04]
Leonard Francis (09:00):
... Received gifts. When you are attending a $1,000 plate dinner, that is a bribe. Is not a $10 McDonald's
here. Everyone's looking down, "Well, if the Admiral's all doing it with his staff, why can't we party too?"
We all want to have a good time.
Tom Wright (09:21):
We've heard about many parties in this series, but this next one perhaps marks Leonard's high
watermark.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Singapore, 2003.
Tom Wright (09:33):
From the helipad of the Swiss hotel, the Stamford, a semicircular 741 foot tower designed by I.M. Pei.
The 35 officers of the Nimitz Strike Group, drinks in hand, could see hundreds of oil tankers and
container ships waiting to unload at Singapore's port. Beyond them, Leonard pointed out the islands of
Indonesia. Then in the other direction, he gestured towards the glistening lights of Singapore's business
district, and further still the faint glow from a far off Malaysian city.
Leonard Francis (10:06):
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 4 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
It's a fabulous view. So you can see three countries in one spot, and it's a very impressive venue for
cocktails. At the hotel, they don't allow this. Only very special guests are allowed to host this, because
that's the Helo pad up there.
Tom Wright (10:26):
Suddenly a Singapore F-16 fighter jet came barreling overhead on a training flight drowning out the
sound of the Filipino band.
Leonard Francis (10:36):
So for the aviators, for them it's like, "Wow."
Tom Wright (10:40):
So you go downstairs to dinner, you have a very expensive, what kind of food was it?
Leonard Francis (10:45):
Oh, it's a French Michelin star dinner, a foie gras. We'll have appetizers. What I remember is foie gras and
then We'll have the different pairing wines. You start off with champagne, then you have white wine,
then you pair it off with red wine, it's top notch, the bottles are like $500,000 bottles of wine.
Tom Wright (11:17):
The Nimitz, the largest nuclear powered war in the world, a symbol of us military might, had just
anchored and Singapore on the way back from supporting operation Iraqi Freedom. Robert Gilbeau in his
early forties, Salt and pepper hair and jowls was the supply officer on the ship. Leonard had known
Gilbeau for a number of years since he was a junior supply officer or SUPPO on an amphibious landing
ship.
Leonard Francis (11:43):
I met him when the ship pulled into Bali. You can always feel out a [inaudible 00:11:51] whether he's a
player, most of them are. It's in their DNA. They all want to get laid. That's part of the parcel of the
business.
Tom Wright (12:00):
Gilbeau was gregarious. He liked to take the microphone at Navy events, acting the host. He was married
with children, but like most Navy officers was absent from home for months at a time. In Bali Leonard
had applied him with meals, hotel rooms, and prostitutes. According to court papers filed by
prosecutors, Gilbeau presented himself to women as a fighter pilot. Leonard nicknamed him Casanova.
Servicing the Nimitz with over 5,000 crew and 90 aircraft and helicopters is a prestigious and lucrative
job for a husbanding agent. So Leonard was putting on a celebration and making the point that his
company was now playing in the big leagues.
Tom Wright (12:41):
You're having a good time, you get drunk, and then everyone's got a room in the hotel. Is that right? Or
are they going back to the ship?
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 5 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Leonard Francis (12:47):
No, no, no, no, not everyone. So what I do is I would always have available two, three rooms.
Tom Wright (12:55):
Leonard says he'd arranged for Chinese prostitutes to be waiting in the rooms for select guests. Gilbeau,
who was responsible for signing off on the Nimitz's bills, allegedly was among them. Another woman
was waiting for Admiral Samuel J Locklear, III, Commander of the Nimitz Strike Group, and one of the
most powerful men in the Navy, Leonard says. In a gap between courses, Leonard claims he handed
them both a room key.
Leonard Francis (13:19):
So What happens is after the dinner starts, the different courses, then everybody starts standing up
drinking, singing, dancing, all kinds of things start going on. And that evening I had two rooms. So I sent
Gilbeau into one because he was [inaudible 00:13:42] paying the bill and then the Admiral and I gave
him the key and he went off to his room, but that was not at the same time and nobody knows what's
going on because you just go in for a quickie and take off. Everything's ready to go. What you need is
there.
Tom Wright (14:00):
And then they can came back?
Leonard Francis (14:02):
They come right back like nothing happened.
Tom Wright (14:04):
As the evening wound down a group of Chinese prostitutes arrived at the hotel for the more junior
offices, the party Leonard said, cost $50,000, a clear breach of Navy rules, which limits sailors to
accepting gifts of no more than $20. Gilbeau later pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about never
receiving gifts from Leonard, and he acknowledged destroying documents. In emails entered into the
court record he discussed arrangements for prostitutes with Leonard during the trip to Singapore.
Attempts to reach him were not successful. Admiral Locklear did not respond to requests for comment.
The Washington Post first reported these allegations about Locklear in 2018. He denied sleeping with
prostitutes and said he had ethical clearance to attend the dinner. A fighter pilot on the Nimitz was
quoted in the Post as saying Locklear left when the Chinese prostitutes arrived at the end of the evening.
Leonard says this is untrue.
Leonard Francis (15:02):
And then he claims that, oh, when the hookers came, the busload of PRC hookers came, he walked out
of the room. What BS. He had all the [inaudible 00:15:11] first. He had the [inaudible 00:15:13], then the
busload of women showed up later, and of course he had to leave. He was trying to have that politically
correct, I can't go. I mean, come on. I know how to set things up. I know how to take care of the bosses,
the decision makers, the guy that writes you the check. You got take care of these guys privately. You
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 6 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
don't kind of just spread the women out there. They have their own time. They don't share. They're
important, so we do that. That's how it is.
Tom Wright (15:44):
Leonard says he more than recouped his costs thanks to Robert Gilbeau, whom he claims signed faked
invoices and took $40,000 in cash in return. Gilbeau's counsel said prosecutors found no evidence he
ever got this money from Leonard, and he took a polygraph test, which found his denial, "Not indicative
of deception."
At this juncture, you may be asking why out of 20,000 sailors in the seventh fleet, no one called
out the blatant fraud and overcharging before now. The fate of David Schauss answers the question.
David Schaus (16:22):
Leonard was very good at influencing people. So what I mean by influencing people is, if you were a guy
that the most effective way to get you on his side was to buy a hooker and booze, then he'd buy you a
hooker and booze. If you needed cash, then some people like my commanding officer are just very lazy.
So every time I did something that inconvenienced fat Leonard, he would write a letter to the chief of
contracting.
Tom Wright (16:56):
David says he was told by his boss to stop as asking questions about Leonard, including the overcharging
for water.
David Schaus (17:04):
Lieutenant Schaus get back in your box, do not investigate Glenn Defense. Lieutenant Schaus it is not
your job to investigate Leonard Francis. Lieutenant Schaus, I'm ordering you to stop this. I pushed back
against him and I said, why? I was like, I was always taught that it was everybody's job to call up fraud,
waste and abuse.
Tom Wright (17:29):
David's complaints went nowhere.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Hong Kong, 2006.
Tom Wright (17:39):
Two years later, we in the USS Ronald Reagan Aircraft Carrier sailed into Hong Kong, a supply officer on
board trying to get David to sign off on some inflated invoices for sewage removal. This time he was at
his breaking point. He decided to contact NCIS. You may know of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
or NCIS from the beloved TV show on CBS. NCIS...
PART 2 OF 4 ENDS [00:18:04]
Tom Wright (18:00):
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 7 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
From the beloved TV show on CBS, NCIS, now on its 19th season, is the second longest running scripted
TV show after Law and Order, Special Victims Unit. The NCIS's primary role is to investigate criminal
activities involving the Navy and Marines. It was set up in 1992 under civilian leadership after the failure
of the Navy to prosecute anyone for their role in a tale of sexual assaults, the year before, which we
explored in episode three. Not surprisingly, the real NCIS bears little resemblance to the TV version,
where Mark Harmon plays a former Marine sharp shooter who holds corrupt officers to account.
David Schaus (18:38):
I immediately picked up the phone and called NCIS and called NCIS and said, "Look, Ronald Reagan just
told me that they had falsified all the invoices, or some invoices in Port Plain, and that they intend on
falsifying the invoices in Hong Kong." I said, "I'm asking you to do an investigative on this."
Tom Wright (19:04):
NCIS officers interviewed David and the commanders on the Ronald Reagan and prepared a report. But
unlike the TV show, the real NCIS lacks the power to prosecute cases. Instead, it handed the report to the
commanding officer of the ship. The Ronald Reagan's commanding officer was Captain Terry Kraft who
would later become an Admiral. On that visit, Kraft attended a dinner in Hong Kong, organized by
Leonard that cost almost $800 per attendee, according to a later censure letter issued by the Navy
secretary. He issued a Bravo Zulu commendation letter for GDMA, calling it the best contractor in the
world. A copy of the NCIS report laying out David's claims says the commanding officer of the Reagan,
that is, Kraft, he apprised of its contents. The NCI S closed its investigation without any action.
In an email, Kraft said that Bravo Zulu was a proforma document issued by the supply
department. He said he had ethics approval from the Navy to attend the dinners, for which he paid over
$100. And Kraft said that he was not made aware of the NCIS report.
And if you think about it, that's the core of the problem. What David experienced played over
again and again. A number of Navy supply officers who ordered provisions for ships from the husbanding
agents began to make complaints about Leonard's high costs. In fact, the NCIS opened 27 files around
this time, according to law enforcement records obtained by the Washington Post, but the agency closed
them all without action.
David Schaus (20:41):
Let's remember that NCIS has so much egg on their face over this. This was just more egg on NCIS's face,
because I'm sorry, what else could I have done that would've been a stronger action?
Tom Wright (20:54):
Leonard had the ships in his pocket, and he used his Bravo ZUS to block anyone questioning him and to
make these inconvenient NCIS investigations go away.
Leonard Francis (21:04):
So if they would shut me down, who else did they ask? And then there was all this investigation and
complaints from people like Schaus, but 99 times I was doing a great job. Everybody gives me Bravo
Zulus. So all this investigation is unsubstantiated. "Yeah, everybody knows the [inaudible 00:21:25]'s
overcharging." I said, "Okay, where's the proof?" There was no proof.
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 8 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom Wright (21:30):
David was often alone in the small supply office in Hong Kong. So when the USS Blue Ridge came into
port, he looked forward to the socializing.
David Schaus (21:38):
The only time I really saw what I would say is colleagues was when the ships came in. And I'd like to go
out and have a beer with some of the junior officers. It was just a different kind of socialization than I got
in Hong Kong, where I didn't have my colleagues like this.
Tom Wright (21:52):
But many of the officers on the Blue Ridge stayed away from him, David says.
David Schaus (21:56):
And that made me feel bad. I didn't want to be the snitch, but I simply wanted to do my job and be able
to socialize with my colleagues.
Tom Wright (22:07):
Soon after, David left the Navy, disillusioned. Leonard claims he saw to it that the Hong Kong ship supply
office was shut down, further reducing any scrutiny.
Leonard Francis (22:18):
His position went away. We shut them down. And then basically the liaison office, that position was
actually taken out. That was part of my way of getting rid of troublemakers in the Navy.
Tom Wright (22:38):
Leonard was so influential that he could get a Navy position eliminated. But David wasn't finished yet.
Out of the Navy, David took a job in Hong Kong, working for a contractor that competed with Leonard.
He was bent on revenge. There had always been rumors about Leonard's criminal past, his jail time for
armed robbery in the 1980s. And David had a friend who worked in security for an investment pull up
the court records. He set up an anonymous email account, fraudjohn23@yahoo.com, and sent the
documents to the state department and NCIS.
David Schaus (23:14):
I faxed and emailed that to every defense attache and military person I could find an address for in
Southeast Asia.
Tom Wright (23:23):
Under US Navy laws, a contractor can't have a criminal record. The NCIS somehow worked out that
David, considered a troublemaker, was behind the anonymous email.
David Schaus (23:33):
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 9 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
And then I get a call from NCIS asking if they can come interview me. Special Agent Albert Wong came to
Hong Kong, came to my work, interviewed me. And no, I agreed to be interviewed. And all he wanted to
know if is I sent this, and I would never admit to sending it. Yes, I sent it, but at the time I wasn't going to
admit it, because I didn't have to. I was not in the Navy anymore. But what really struck me about this is
that Special Agent Albert Wong never asked me a single question about the veracity of any of the
complaints that were in this letter. All he wanted me to say is that I had done it so that he could
somehow warn me about doing this again.
Tom Wright (24:12):
And they continued to use Fat Leonard as a contractor.
David Schaus (24:15):
Oh yeah, they continued, oh yeah, until 2013. So it was quite amazing to me that somehow that didn't
even stop him.
Tom Wright (24:23):
No.
David Schaus (24:24):
It was just clearly he was in violation. He was not eligible to have that contract, so clear. Yet not even that
could pierce his shell of defense.
Tom Wright (24:34):
Agent Wong referred questions to the Navy, which declined to comment. Today, David still lives in Hong
Kong with his American wife, a lawyer, and children. Like most whistle blowers, his experience of being
ignored has left its mark. Not long ago he gave up his us passport for a Hong Kong one. That possibly am
the first ever us Navy officer to become a Chinese citizen.
David Schaus (25:02):
I left the Navy with a bad taste in my mouth. Overall I still love the Navy. My time in the fleet, operational
on ships, if you did your best, if you followed the rules, you were right, period. Easy to understand.
When I got out here to Hong Kong with the supply corps community, there was all this shades of
gray that didn't have to be gray. Things were pretty black and white in my mind throughout this whole
thing. But people would frequently tell me I didn't know what I was talking about. Okay, well, I think it's
been proven that I did know what I was talking about, and these were not shades of gray, this was just
black.
Tom Wright (25:42):
I asked him what most stood out about what Leonard was able to do.
David Schaus (25:46):
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 10 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
When I look back and say, this is crazy, what is the craziest element? Well, this guy was directing where
US Navy ships were going. A battle group with 10,000 sailors was being basically directed to Port Klang
instead of say Hong Kong or another port, because Leonard wanted to make more money.
Tom Wright (26:13):
Well, David's right, that's pretty remarkable. But it's not the craziest part of this story. Leonard was about
to corrupt the investigators.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Singapore, 2010.
Tom Wright (26:29):
David felt like he'd failed. But just after he left the Navy, another official picked up the baton, a Navy
civilian called Teresa Kelly. She recently had joined the supply office in Singapore. Blonde, in her forties,
Teresa had quickly built a network in the office, and drank with the senior offices at the Terra Club, a bar
and pool at the US Navy base. She was well liked, open and friendly, but also tough. After Barack Obama
became president and the war on terror slid down the agenda, the Navy was reining in its budgets.
PART 3 OF 4 ENDS [00:27:04]
Tom Wright (27:00):
... agenda. The Navy was reining in its budgets. Teresa's job was to negotiate the contracts with
Leonard's company. And she paid extreme attention to detail.
Why did all of these investigations gain traction at this time and not before? What was the big
difference?
Leonard Francis (27:17):
Well, there were too many haters there. You know? And the Navy was basically broke the new
administration of President Obama. The military budget was cut and there was a couple of haters there
like Teresa Kelly.
Tom Wright (27:35):
Teresa was principled and determined. She knew Leonard was overcharging. And crucially, for this story,
she was not susceptible to Leonard's bribes of cash or prostitutes. And she wouldn't be swayed by other
Navy officers just to let it drop.
Leonard Francis (27:50):
Teresa Kelly just had a personal vendetta to go after with this.
Tom Wright (27:54):
Why was it personal for her?
Leonard Francis (27:57):
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 11 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
She was just a hater. She was just like a hound dog. You know? She'll bite and she won't let go. She'll just
keep bugging you and bugging you and bugging you and bugging you. That's what she is.
Tom Wright (28:08):
Teresa sent an email to a male colleague in a contracting office in Singapore outlining her suspicions that
Leonard was bloating his costs to protect Navy ships in Thailand. Rather than help, the colleague, a
middle-aged man called Bobby Pitts, who enjoyed entertainment provided by Leonard, immediately
forwarded the email to a representative of Leonard's company, according to court documents.
Leonard Francis (28:29):
Oh, I had inside information of course. I had too many informers. Everybody was my informer.
Tom Wright (28:36):
Pitts used a personal AOL account to avoid detection. But the Thai navy told to Teresa that Leonard had a
copy of her email. She was furious and immediately suspected Pitts. She confronted him in her office.
Taken aback by anyone bothering to question the relationship with Leonard, Pitts claimed that he'd been
hacked, court documents show. Pitts pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the US. Attempts to reach
him were unsuccessful. Teresa wouldn't be deterred. She forwarded her complaint to the NCIS and
pushed the agency to open yet another investigation into Leonard. It's no surprise that it would take a
woman to take on Leonard. Faced with a strong female, he didn't know how to act.
Why would she not have been enjoyed the largesse of GDMA?
Leonard Francis (29:28):
Because she just wanted to do things right and she just didn't want to have a monopoly. And there are
people with vendettas who have agendas.
Tom Wright (29:37):
Did you try to bring her into the fold?
Leonard Francis (29:39):
No, she's not... I know when people are capable of coming in and those who are not. There was a lot of
bad blood. She's already been poisoned from the beginning. You know? She was poisoned.
Tom Wright (29:51):
But it's very unusual.
Leonard Francis (29:53):
Yeah. You know? Kelly's the kind of woman is once it's ingrained in her head, she's not going to change
her mind.
Tom Wright (30:01):
Leonard was starting to get worried. He'd swatted back complaints by David Schaus and others. But with
a strong opponent in Teresa, this investigation didn't look like it was going away.
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 12 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
One night drinking in a bar in Singapore, Leonard sent a chilling message to a US Navy official in
the Philippines who was also questioning his costs. He got a young lieutenant commander drunk and
sent him out from the bar to buy a burner mobile phone and a prepaid SIM card. Leonard had provided
the officer with the employee's phone number and told him to send threatening, anonymous text
messages. "Back off," one of them read. He was getting desperate.
When I challenged Leonard on these threats, he was uncomfortable. They don't fit with his
narrative of being a loyal servant of the Navy. At no point in our story is the mafia aspect of the fraud
more apparent than in these texts. He tried to make it sound like the young lieutenant commander, not
Leonard himself, was behind threats.
Leonard Francis (31:10):
Look. In my business. I didn't have to cause any harm. I kind of used more of the chain of command. I
didn't have to use it. What do you call it? Heavy handed cases.
Tom Wright (31:22):
Threat. Threats. Why did he do that?
Leonard Francis (31:23):
Oh, just to impress me. Honestly, there were many opportunities if I was really in that, wanted to do
something there. But I got a conscience. I don't do such things. I was more of like using the Navy against
the Navy.
Tom Wright (31:40):
This is bluster. Leonard was destabilized by Teresa's doggedness and the questioning of other Navy
officials. And he feared he was losing his grip. The threats didn't work. Teresa continued to press. And
the NCIS investigations rolled forward. Leonard needed to stay one step ahead. He needed a mole in the
NCIS and he found one in John Beliveau II, a rising star at the agency.
Were you aware that the NCIS was investigating? Was that one of the reasons you wanted to get
to know him?
Leonard Francis (32:13):
No. Beliveau came to me with information. I didn't even have to ask him. He'll come tell you.
Tom Wright (32:20):
The information Beliveau had to impart was most unwelcome. After years of failure, the NCIS was finally
taking matters seriously this time around. Fat Leonard is a production of Project Brazen in partnership
with PRX. For Audiation, the executive producer is Sandy Smallens. Mark Lotto is the co-producer and
story editor. The producer is Ireland Meacham. Mixing and sound design is by Matt Noble.
PART 4 OF 4 ENDS [00:32:57]
FL-Ep 7-Suppos-FOR PUBLISH-11.4.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 13 of 13
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom Wright (00:00):
Please note, the following episode contains mature language.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Bangkok, Thailand, 2012.
Leonard (00:13):
One of my girls, a trader. She was one of the girls that worked for us. He was a Southern Thai girl.
Tom Wright (00:23):
In a conference room, a young Thai woman known as Yin was holding a meeting with staff. Yin was the
head of the Thailand offices for Leonard Francis, the largest US Navy contractor in the Pacific. And she
had a problem. Leonard's company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, was the focus of an ever expanding
fraud probe by Navy investigators, the NCIS. And Yin, under pressure from Leonard, was trying to get him
out of the mess.
As Yin talked, one of her female staff leaned in over the table. The two women didn't like each
other and often were at loggerheads in the office. And now, unknown to Yin, the woman was about to
exact the ultimate office revenge. Under her clothes, she was wearing a wire.
Leonard (01:15):
She hated the manager, Yin. And so they wired her up and then was trying to record what she was
saying, tried to corner Yin.
Tom Wright (01:26):
And this was to do with when Teresa Kelly was complaining about costs and port security and that kind
of thing.
Leonard (01:33):
Yeah.
Tom Wright (01:35):
Finally, after years of NCIS investigations going nowhere, this one, pushed by Teresa Kelly, the tenacious
Navy supply official in Singapore, had traction. Teresa had at suspicions Leonard was overcharging the
Navy for fuel and to protect its ships in Thailand. Yin, whose full name was [inaudible 00:01:55] had
prepared fake invoices from port authorities to justify the exorbitant costs.
According to a grand jury indictment, she has pleaded not guilty. As the NCIS agents listened into
their headphones, she was caught on tape discussing what to do next. But Leonard was deeply
entrenched with the Navy. His top level connections had allowed him to smother NCIS investigations
over and again. He always had inside information, and this time, so he thought, would be no different.
What happened then? Because I think it says in the indictment that then that person stopped
cooperating afterwards, right?
Leonard (02:38):
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 1 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Yeah. She got scared.
Tom Wright (02:44):
I'm Tom Wright and this is Fat Leonard, a podcast from Project Brazen. Over the past seven episodes,
we've charted Leonard's improbable rise to become one of the most powerful foreigners in the US
military. Leonard's told his own side of the story, however biased, and we've heard from the women
whose lives he destroyed. Now, as the NCIS closes in, we'll hear in this episode how Leonard develops a
double agent inside the US government. He thinks he's got everything under control, but a woman and
mother hurt by his con will be his ultimate undoing.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Quantico, Virginia, 2012.
Tom Wright (03:29):
The town of Quantico, on the Potomac River, just south of Washington, D.C., is surrounded by a huge
Marine base, the FBI academy, and the Russell Knox building, home to the NCIS. The building was brand
new, completed at a cost of 361 million dollars, and featured an office and training center for 3000
personnel, a gym, and retail convenience store.
It seemed like the drab headquarters of any medium sized company, only barbed wire on the
perimeter hinted at the classified nature of the work going on within. That August night, most of the
employees, the staff of multiple military criminal investigative agencies, had already gone home. John
Beliveau II, special agent in charge of the NCIS headquarters, switched on his computer, and looking
furtively around, accessed a system called K-Net. He tapped away fast as he searched through K-Net,
which contained all details of ongoing NCIS investigations.
In his mid forties, single, Beliveau had the fleshy face of a heavy drinker, topped with a mop of
graying hair parted at the side. He blended into the background like any suited government bureaucrat.
He appeared dedicated to protecting the US Navy, and he'd risen up the ranks. He'd recently been
named Agent of the Year in an organization of over 1000 people, and had snagged the sought-after
position as director of the Quantico office.
This is the stuff of TV dramas. Beliveau should have been solving crimes like Mark Harmon or LL
cool J on NCIS, dressed in a baseball cap and staff jacket. Instead, he was a mole for Leonard, and he had
a troubled mind.
Leonard (05:23):
Yeah, Beliveau. He was in nut case.
Tom Wright (05:26):
Leonard had known Beliveau for several years, back from when he was an NCIS bodyguard for a Navy
Admiral stationed in Japan.
Leonard (05:34):
And so there, that relationship built up. So I invest in the future. Although Beliveau at that time was of
no value, but I knew this guy was going to show up again in a different position.
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 2 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom Wright (05:51):
And sure enough, Beliveau was promoted to an NCIS job in Singapore, ensuring the protection of Navy
ships. It was then, as investigations into Leonard began to build, that Beliveau started to offer up tidbits.
The pair would meet at a Japanese restaurant in the Goodwood Park hotel, an eclectic Victorian-era
building with a turret like a Rhineland Castle. Nothing major at first, just office gossip.
Leonard (06:18):
He would like say, hey, let's meet up. I got something for you. Then he started talking. He goes, hey,
they're looking at you. He'd start opening up the conversation. Then I'd say, looking at what? And he
goes, no, they're saying that you are doing this and that, then he'll just laugh.
We'll drink, get another drink, and then I'll say, well, tell me what's going on. Then he goes, yeah,
it's stuff they're looking at, you better be careful. I said, so can you give me more information? And he
goes, yeah, of course. I could do that.
Tom Wright (06:55):
Leonard began to reel Beliveau in. He gave him cash to spend in nightclubs. And of course, he arranged
for women, according to court documents.
Leonard (07:04):
He had like a manic kind of a personality, and women would never want to be with him because the way
he was, he just gives them this very uneasy feeling.
Tom Wright (07:15):
And where did that come from with him?
Leonard (07:17):
Well, I don't know. He claims he has some issues, anger issues. He has a lot of anger issues. He wasn't a
very well-liked guy. So, I was kind of like his fake friend.
Tom Wright (07:28):
Beliveau was lonely, had struggled with obsessive compulsive disorder since a child, and had never
experienced a steady relationship, his defense council later claimed. After arriving in Singapore, he
traveled for work to the small nation of East Timor, where he'd witnessed a beheading. He was in a
perturbed state when he came under Leonard's tutelage and would do almost anything the big boss
asked.
Leonard (07:54):
Well, Beliveau was a volunteer force. I never had to ask him for things. He would just come and put it on
my lap because he wanted things for me. He just wanted to get laid, he wanted to get paid. But he was a
geo bachelor and he drank heavily and he wanted to go out every night.
Tom Wright (08:16):
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 3 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
And slowly, Beliveau began to divulge information about the NCIS investigation, sparked by Teresa Kelly's
concerns about overcharging in Thailand.
Leonard (08:26):
So he started off with that. It's always an offer. I didn't have to ask. He starts with enticing me. And then
once he started giving information, it's like drugs. I need more, you give me more. And I started giving
him more.
Tom Wright (08:42):
By 2012, Beliveau had transferred to the US, promoted to the Quantico job, where he was in a much
better position to act as Leonard's spy. Beliveau knew Special Agent [Sats 00:08:52], a long time NCIS
investigator, was leading the probe into allegations GDMA was defrauding the Navy. And so, that August
night, he searched for [inaudible 00:09:02].
PART 1 OF 4 ENDS [00:09:04]
Tom Wright (09:00):
That August night, he searched for sands and glam and the phrase oral wire intercept court documents
show. He was shocked to find a writeup of the recent meeting in Bangkok between Yin and her staff
member. Earlier complaints about Leonard like those from David Charles had gone nowhere. This was a
serious investigation involving wire taps. Beliveau reached for his mobile phone and tapped out a
panicked message to Leonard in Singapore. We've got an actor to read his messages.
Voice Actor- Beliveau (09:32):
I have 30 reports for you. Not good. Your girl in Thailand effed up and got caught on tape.
Tom Wright (09:38):
Leonard and Beliveau quickly exchanged 22 text messages. Leonard was fighting for his survival and
although he won't admit it to me, he or someone else clearly put pressure on the Thai employee to stop
cooperating with NCIS agents.
What did you guys say to her?
Leonard (09:55):
She got scared. I think the word got out that someone was talking to NCIS so she got afraid.
Tom Wright (10:06):
But she must have found out that you guys knew that she was talking to NCIS, right?
Leonard (10:11):
Somebody told her.
Tom Wright (10:14):
And then why'd she left, so?
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 4 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Leonard (10:16):
Yeah, she kind of like got spooked.
Tom Wright (10:20):
Somebody in your office down there.
Leonard (10:23):
Yeah, in Thailand.
Tom Wright (10:27):
Beliveau was not happy. He knew Leonard was finally in trouble and that his information was gold. But
now in the U.S., he couldn't get easy access to spending money and prostitutes. He fired off an angry
email according to court documents.
Voice Actor- Beliveau (10:43):
I will always be your friend, but you will get nothing else until I get what you promise. You give whores
more money than me. I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I am not an amateur.
Tom Wright (10:57):
The emails went back and forward with Beliveau suggesting a payment through Western Union. How had
this NCIS star performer become so corrupted? The behavior of this top U.S. military law enforcement
agent is scandalous. Leonard has his own theory.
Leonard (11:12):
Anybody who joins the NCI now they're all like third graded or fourth graded, you know. All of them are
just bunch of clowns, you know. Wannabe, I call them wannabes. I mean, if you compare them to like
FBI, then you see a different caliber of investigative officers. CIA, FBI.
Tom Wright (11:35):
The NCIS had failed to do anything about Leonard for years, ignoring whistle blowers like David Schaus.
With agent Beliveau in his pocket. Leonard even now felt like he had control all of the situation. But
there was another complication. Beliveau's snooping that August night had uncovered a more perilous
development than the wiretap in Thailand. As he scrolled through the documents, his eyes alighted on a
report that detailed a new cooperating witness in the investigations. It was Marcy Misiewicz, the
estranged wife of Commander Michael Misiewicz.
VO Actor (12:10):
Yokosuka, Japan, 2012.
Tom Wright (12:14):
On Father's Day, Michael Misiewicz had plans to improve his relationship with his two eldest children.
There were strains after he'd hit Marcy and Michael had been cast out to live on the USS Blue Ridge. He
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 5 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
picked the kids up from the family home on base and brought them to Tokyo for dinner. The next day,
the Navy had organized a family cruise on the Blue Ridge back to the base in Yokosuka.
At dinner that evening, there were two unexpected guests, Leonard Francis, and Edmond Aruffo,
the former Navy officer who now worked for GDMA. When the children returned from the cruise, they
told Marcy about the dinner. Marcy had never met Leonard, but she knew he'd been paying for vacations
to Cambodia for her husband and his family, and she suspected Michael was sleeping with other women
and that Leonard was a bad influence. Despite the talk of divorce, she felt jilted and furious. Michael was
allowing her children to be around Leonard. Marcy agonized over what to do. And then, she made AOUS
decision. She set up a meeting with the Chief of Staff of the seventh fleet on the base. In the meeting.
She reported her husband suspected adultery, and she handed over emails from Michael about his
vacations in Cambodia.
Marcy Misiewicz (13:33):
I mean, I pretty much sealed my faith with my marriage in the fact that I've turned over every dirty little
thing I could based on Michael's history of the things he did.
Tom Wright (13:43):
What did you turn over?
Marcy Misiewicz (13:45):
Emails between him and the woman he had his affair with.
Tom Wright (13:47):
Credit card statements to show that he was living beyond his means, that kind of thing?
Marcy Misiewicz (13:51):
Right. Also, some of the pictures he sent me from Cambodia stating that he was there by means which
neither of us could speak of. Well, then I knew that ... so I turned all that over.
Tom Wright (14:03):
Marcy had grown to believe her husband was taking corrupt payouts. Some Navy spouses enjoyed the
lifestyle and stayed quiet. But Marcy, fired by indignation about Michael's adultery, took action. She
began to suspect the Gucci purse that he gifted her was not, in fact, a present from Michael.
Marcy Misiewicz (14:21):
Because here's the thing, Tom. You know, yes, I got that purse that I didn't know where it came from.
And I did not want ... I don't know if I can even say it would be one way if we were getting along, because
I probably still would've been telling him, "Well, this isn't right. What are you doing? We shouldn't be
doing this." But I did not want anyone Navy or otherwise to think that I was in agreeance with this or
that I agreed with all this or that I was party to it.
Tom Wright (14:49):
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 6 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
The next month, Marcy says an NCIS agent named Erica Mariner called her in for an interview. Dressed in
jeans with a polo shirt, her NCIS badge on her belt, Mariner had long black hair and a steely manner.
Marcy's information had been woven with other strands the NCIS was collecting about Leonard. And
what Mariner told Marcy stopped her dead in her tracks.
Marcy Misiewicz (15:11):
I don't know the whole scope of this whole investigation at that point. You know, when I sat down with
NCIS Agent Mariner told me, "Do you realize that Michael's involved with this person and he is being
investigated for taking tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars from the Navy?" Well, no, I didn't
really realize all that.
Tom Wright (15:31):
Michael was on the NCIS radar, not for adultery or breaking the Navy's policy on receiving gifts, but as
part of a major criminal investigation. And Agent Beliveau accessing KNET that day knew that Marcy was
cooperating. Beliveau immediately contacted Leonard by Skype, warning him about Marcy and telling
him to keep his distance from Michael now that he was under investigation court documents show.
Voice Actor- Beliveau (16:01):
Don't trust him. Never email or text him. Never speak on the phone with him. Sopranos. Trust me only in
person with noise and protect yourself through bugs.
Tom Wright (16:14):
The NCIS agent was educating Leonard in the arts of spy craft, but Leonard disregarded the advice. He'd
been untouchable for too long and that bred an arrogance in him. Instead, Leonard did exactly what
Beliveau had warned him against. He emailed Michael, letting him know about his wife and the NCIS
investigation. Michael immediately deleted his private email accounts. One called littlebroLGF or Little
Brother of Leonard Glen Francis. But he decided not to tell Marcy that he knew about her cooperation.
Marcy Misiewicz (16:50):
If Michael tells me that he has heard from Leonard, that's only going to make him look obviously guilty.
He's not going to tell me.
Tom Wright (16:58):
Right. So, Michael keeps that to himself?
Marcy Misiewicz (17:00):
Yeah. I mean we never had that conversation.
Tom Wright (17:04):
After meeting NCIS agent Mariner, Marcy finally had transferred back to the U.S., relocating to Shannon,
Illinois, near where she'd first met Michael in high school. She filed for divorce and got a job in a bank.
Although their life together was ending, Marcy felt wretched about what she'd unleashed.
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 7 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Marcy Misiewicz (17:22):
I mean, at that point I was as spent and bedraggled as a person could be, you know. I'm trying to
re-acclimate my kids to living stateside. My marriage is ending and there was a little bit of, "Oh my God,
what have I done." At the same time, it's like, I couldn't know this stuff and be party or privy to it and not
... It just wasn't right.
Tom Wright (17:41):
Another NCIS agent visited Marcy in her home in Illinois. But by now, she was distraught trying to keep
her family together and she'd lost faith in the Navy's judicial process. She stopped responding to phone
calls from NCIS agents. Again, Leonard thought he had the situation under control, but he'd been
careless. As agents monitored Michael Zim-
PART 2 OF 4 ENDS [00:18:04]
Tom Wright (18:00):
But he'd been careless. As agents monitored Michael's email, they saw the warning from Leonard about
Marcy. How could he possibly know about this secret investigation and Marcy's corporation? The NCIS
ordered its cybersecurity teams to look into who could have tipped Leonard off. And they soon came
across a stupefying fact. Agent [Bellevue 00:18:22] who was not assigned to the case had been
downloading hundreds of pages of investigative documents from [KNet 00:18:28] all at night and on
public holidays. A review of security footage showed Bellevue using a CD burner to take the files out of
the office without detection.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
Tokyo, 2012.
Tom Wright (18:45):
November the 30th, a chauffeured Mercedes picked up Michael for the hour long drive from the USS
Blue Ridge to the Ritz Carlton in Tokyo. There, Leonard was waiting for him in his suite with spectacular
views of the city and Mount Fuji, according to court documents. Even knowing Michael was under
investigation didn't stop Leonard. The NCIS had never acted before. Why would it do so now? In the
room, Michael, Leonard, and another officer poured over organizational charts of the seventh fleet.
Michael, too, would soon relocate back to the US and the conspirators were looking for another officer
to fill his shoes.
Then Michael handed over an envelope filled with 40 pages of classified material, ship schedules
stamped secret covering the next 14 months according to court records. The wad of documents also
included the positions of top secret US ballistic missile defenses in Asia. These defenses would protect
US allies like Taiwan in the event of a Chinese missile attack. They remain classified until today. It's not
clear why Michael would hand over this kind of classified material or what benefit it gave Leonard. And it
seems unlikely Michael knowingly was acting against US national security interests. Perhaps it was a
mistake.
Here's something I really don't understand. Right? So Bellevue tells you and they're looking into
[Misiewicz 00:20:21], right? He tells you be careful with Misiewicz, but then you continue to meet
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 8 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Misiewicz. But it also means you weren't really at all worried about these NCIS investigations that
Bellevue was telling you about, right?
Leonard (20:38):
No, because I was always ahead of the game. I knew what was going on. I mean, I had top cover. I had
intelligence. I had the fleet protecting me. I had the admirals behind my back. Everybody knew I was
under investigation. The flag officers knew. I mean, they were still wining and dining me in their official
residences.
Tom Wright (21:01):
Whether admirals knew he was under investigation, I don't know. But while the NCIS probe moved
forward, Leonard rubs shoulders with the highest ranked admirals at Navy events aboard the Blue Ridge
in Hawaii and Annapolis media reports show. Leonard just couldn't imagine the Navy cleaning house and
dealing with the festering sore at its heart. Then agent Bellevue contacted him with an even worse piece
of news. The NCIS, realizing the severity of the security breach with Michael, had roped in the justice
department. This was no longer purely a Navy matter. The FBI was involved.
Leonard (21:42):
He starts telling me about all those open investigations that are out there and that he starts telling me
that this investigation has feet because DOJ is involved.
Tom Wright (21:53):
Right. And until that point DOJ had never been involved. This has just been internal naval [crosstalk
00:21:58], right?
Leonard (21:58):
No. So when the Department of Justice is involved, then you got prosecutors involved.
Tom Wright (22:03):
Bellevue warned Leonard by text to take precautions. A grand jury was considering charges.
Voice Actor- Beliveau (22:10):
Indictments are coming. Did you dump your Gmail? I cleaned it. Maybe not best to send me anything
from your Gmail account. Delete all contacts and boxes and delete your trash bin.
Leonard (22:22):
Oh yeah. He was advising me on how to evade and clean up all the servers and counter intelligence on it.
Yes.
Tom Wright (22:34):
And did you follow any of that?
Leonard (22:36):
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 9 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Well, I basically kind of followed through with some things because I had my own IT folks working for me.
And then what we did was we just shifted to a Chinese server, a PRC server for protection for all my back
channel work that I was doing with all my moles.
Tom Wright (22:58):
And did that work?
Leonard (22:59):
Yeah. I mean, in a way it did, but it was a bit difficult because it was hard for us to communicate with the
guys on the ship, when they're on deployment. Chinese servers just didn't kind of work well.
Tom Wright (23:14):
The security risk of US ballistic missile defense documents being hidden from the NCIS on a Chinese
server is hard to overstate. One thing Leonard didn't do fast enough was close his Gmail accounts. Just
before he got around to doing that, agents had sent what's called a preservation hold to Google. They
kept all details of the account, even though Leonard thought it was deleted. By this point, the NCIS and
Feds were monitoring Bellevue. The NCIS knew they had a mole and so they set up a top secret group to
investigate Leonard. The handpicked team of agents signed nondisclosure agreements. Even many top
admirals were not informed of the unit's existence. To get Bellevue and Leonard off their trail, agents
planted fake documents in the NCIS database that the investigations against Leonard were closed and no
charges would be filed. It worked. "The cases are closing. The cases are closing," Leonard wrote Michael
in an email. It was, thought Leonard, the resumption of business as usual.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
San Diego, 2013.
Leonard (24:27):
Well, actually I nearly missed that flight. And when I arrived, they had a buggy ready for me and just
shuttled me right up to the aircraft. Normally when you check in, even though you're flying first class,
you still got to be there like 30 minutes. I got there like 15 minutes. So I could have missed that flight. I
could have actually not been on that trip.
Tom Wright (24:56):
In September, Leonard was on the way to San Diego to go win some more business from the Navy. He
thought the cases were closed. He even had a plan to go to Columbia on vacation with Agent Bellevue
after meeting Navy admirals. If anything, Leonard thought he might just have to repay some money to
the US government, some kind of fine. That's how untouchable he'd been for years. He thought himself
indispensable.
Leonard (25:22):
I flew in with my eyes open. It wasn't that I didn't know. I was not naive or dumb about it. I knew the
chances were very high because I was warned and warned and warned by Bellevue. Although I knew
there was an indictment, I knew that the Department of Justice were involved, so I thought that it wasn't
as serious as what it was. I never was concerned because I had the best attorneys. I had everything. And I
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 10 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
actually didn't think that the Navy would allow this to happen because if [GDMA 00:26:06] went down,
that would affect them at the same time. But they didn't care.
Tom Wright (26:13):
When Leonard landed at LAX, he was bundled into a room by immigration officers for questioning about
the purpose of his visit. This was unusual, but Leonard thought little of it.
Leonard (26:23):
So what was happening was they were holding us up so that the agents would get in position to start
trailing us.
Tom Wright (26:30):
After an hour, Leonard was allowed into the US and he was driven to a Marriott in San Diego where he
checked into a suite. He met for dinner with former Navy officers who now worked for GDMA including
Ed Aruffo. They went to Nobu for dinner with their wives. The next day, Leonard gave a PowerPoint
presentation to the Navy about a new round of contracts that he hoped to win.
Leonard (26:52):
I returned back to the Marriott, got changed. I was going to plan to leave the next day to Beverly Hills.
And it was like mid morning, probably about...
PART 3 OF 4 ENDS [00:27:04]
Leonard (27:00):
And it was mid morning, probably about 12:30, 1:00. The doorbell rang, ding dong. And then I opened
the door and then I saw there was this guy and a female, male in suits, and then they said, "I'm so and
so. I'm NCIS. Can we talk to you? We want to talk to you." I said, "Sure."
Tom Wright (27:25):
The NCIS agents were just there to assure Leonard was in the room. They asked him some vague
questions about bribery in the Navy.
Leonard (27:33):
So he's just trying to have small talk with me at the same time. They were just [inaudible 00:27:39]
what's going on. And then we spoke for about 10, 15 minutes, and then they go, "Okay, we got to go." So
as soon as they stepped out the door, we had a posse of agents and SWAT team. My God, it was crazy,
like they were coming in to take some drug lord. They came running in with guns blazing and then
slammed me against the wall and then put me on a chair, started frisking me, checking me, everything.
Tom Wright (28:16):
You didn't resist arrest, right?
Leonard (28:18):
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 11 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Oh no, no. What was there to resist? It's an overwhelming force. I mean, I'm a big guy, but it was
overwhelming force and firepower.
Tom Wright (28:32):
In a coordinated action, the FBI arrested John Beliveau in Virginia, Ed Aruffo in San Diego, and Michael
Misiewicz in Colorado, where he'd been transferred after Japan. When Marcy heard the news, she
traveled over from Illinois to bail him out. Like many newly arrested people, Michael was delusional.
Marcy Misiewicz (28:52):
He was a nervous wreck. I mean, he was just, "I don't know why they're asking the stuff," and many
conversations of, "Maybe I just need to put in my papers now and retire. My whole plan was to
command at sea. I did that."
Tom Wright (29:07):
As the news flowed out into the international media about Michael's crimes, especially the prostitutes,
Marcy was embarrassed and seething. His avows of culpability to her shortly after his arrest didn't last
long.
Marcy Misiewicz (29:21):
At one point, Michael had told Merrick that I was the reason he went to jail and I would be the reason
that he would go back to jail. This was after he was bailed out in Colorado. "Well, your mom is the
reason I was in prison. And if I go back to prison, it will be her fault." I didn't really think he needed to tell
the 14 year old that, but that's just me.
Tom Wright (29:43):
You told me he also defended himself by saying, "Look, these weren't street hookers. These were college
girls."
Marcy Misiewicz (29:50):
These were, yeah, young women you'd see on any college campus. His need to deflect any sort of guilt
from himself and have to point fingers that, "Well, they weren't this kind of prostitutes. They were this
kind of prostitutes. Well, maybe I did wrong, but if I go back to jail, it was your mom's fault, not mine. It's
not anything I did."
Tom Wright (30:13):
Michael pleaded not guilty at first, but faced with a much longer sentence, changed his plea. He
admitted to one count of conspiracy and one count of bribery. Before going to jail, he gave an interview
in which he argued Leonard played an important strategic role for the US Navy. " He was a crook, but he
was our crook," he said. In April, 2016, Michael was given a jail term of 78 months, one of the longest
sentences handed out yet, due to the top secret ballistic missile defense documents he provided to
Leonard. Agent Beliveau pleaded guilty and was given 12 years, which he's still serving, the longest jail
time [inaudible 00:30:53] out so far. My attempts to reach him were unsuccessful. Aruffo, who has
pleaded guilty to running a fake invoicing scam for Leonard's company in Japan, is awaiting sentencing.
He answered a few questions on Facebook, as mentioned in earlier episodes. He recently passed a
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 12 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
California BAR exam, pulled his study notes together as a book, and is running classes for aspiring
lawyers.
Michael served his time in a low security jail in [inaudible 00:31:21], California. One of his
cellmates was a parent sentenced in the college admission scandal. Marcy called it Club Fed. In the
summer of 2020, he was allowed into house arrest due to COVID after four years in jail. He's due to be
released fully next spring after serving five and a half years, about a year less than his original sentence.
He did not respond to my efforts to get in touch with him. Marcy is making the best of things,
surrounded by a loving family. She still goes down to see Michael's Cambodian relatives in Texas, but has
cut off most ties with her ex. Despite everything that's happened, her eldest son is final year at the Naval
Academy, where his father studied all those years ago. There's little contact between father and son.
How do you feel about the Navy after everything that's happened?
Marcy Misiewicz (32:12):
Because of the Navy I've been able to see and do some pretty awesome things. And in hindsight, I
probably would do some things differently, but I've made some of the greatest friendships my life
because of the Navy. I've always tried to instill in my kids a great ... what's the word I want ... to be good
patriots, to be patriotic.
Tom Wright (32:30):
But Marcy's wondering, as indeed am I, why more Navy admirals haven't faced more severe punishment.
Well, isn't part of the problem that it was given cover from the very top admirals?
Marcy Misiewicz (32:40):
Yes. Right. What do you do?
Tom Wright (32:43):
And what about justice here? Because we've talked about you and you've had to struggle with your kids
and the assets frozen and everything. Some of the admirals who helped Leonard by moving ships for
them, or getting fuel from expensive places to help him make more money and going to parties and
sleeping with prostitutes, some of them retired without any demotion of rank. They didn't go to jail.
They were dealt with inside the Navy system.
Marcy Misiewicz (33:04):
I picture this whole Michael handing the envelope over that was the ballistic missile, that information. It
sounds like some scene from a movie, but other than that piece, I think what did he do that's any
different than what some of these others have done? There's prostitutes, there's tickets, there's meals,
there's all this other stuff. And Michael was sentenced to 78 months and other people got a letter, "oh,
you should have done that. Here's your letter of censure, but go on your way." No assets were frozen,
their GI bill wasn't taken away. They've even been able to stay active duty. Some have even continued to
serve. So it's beyond my comprehension.
Tom Wright (33:46):
The problem for the Navy was that as Leonard started to talk, it dawned on investigators just how many
officers were involved with him, not just commanders like Michael, but captains and even admirals.
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 13 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
That's why eight years after his arrest, Leonard, possibly one of the longest serving cooperating
witnesses in US judicial history, has still not been sentenced. In our concluding episode to Fat Leonard,
we'll hear how despite the arrest of mid-level players, the Navy moved to protect its elite. It wasn't
willing to go after some of the most powerful admirals in the fleet.
The lower ranks are furious in the US Navy because they feel like they do want to see these
admirals go down and that there be some accountability.
Leonard (34:36):
And it's never going to happen. It doesn't happen in the United States military institution. That's how it
is.
Tom Wright (34:48):
Fat Leonard is a production of project bran in partnership with PRX for audiation. The executive producer
is Sandy Smallens. Mark Lotto is the co-producer and story editor. The producer is Ireland Meacham.
Mixing and sound design is by Matt Noble.
PART 4 OF 4 ENDS [00:35:11]
FL_Ep 8_The Sting_11.8.21 (Completed 11/18/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 14 of 14
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom Wright (00:00):
Please note, the following episode contains mature language.
Leonard Francis (00:06):
Oh, I felt so betrayed. I felt very, very upset because look at what I'm going through. Look at what has
happened. I've destroyed my entire life, my business, my family. Everything was gone. It was like being
hit by a tsunami. I had over 2,800 staff working for me. I had a business in 30 other countries. Everything
folded, everything went. So many innocent people were made jobless, families destroyed, my family too,
deliberate financial ruin upon me.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
San Diego, 2013.
Tom Wright (00:52):
Leonard Francis, for 30 years, the most powerful US military contractor in the Pacific, finally has been
brought low. He believed himself untouchable. And in the blink of an eye, he's shackled in the
Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego.
Leonard Francis (01:09):
As soon as you get there, they strip you down, you squat, it degrades you, you become an animal. You're
chained up. They just cuff you. They put chains on your leg. You got leg chains and handcuffs and you're
chained up. It's a wake up call. It's not that I'm not being incarcerated before or being locked up, still I
found myself being betrayed.
Tom Wright (01:43):
How does that feel when you are contemplating something like that in a cell?
Leonard Francis (01:47):
Well, you got to be mentally strong, praying. I pray a lot. That's what kept me going. And of course, my
kids, thinking about my children every day, every moment, every beat of my heart. I still do until today.
Tom Wright (02:04):
Leonard was denied bail. The reason, his imprisonment almost three decades earlier, for his part in an
armed robbery in Panang. For years a vaunted businessman, Leonard was furious. Prosecutors painted
him as a common thief and a threat to society. What did they saying in the bail hearing that made you so
angry?
Leonard Francis (02:27):
Oh, they brought up my past, they talked about this ridiculous stuff.
Tom Wright (02:33):
What made you the most angry?
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 1 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Leonard Francis (02:35):
Talking about what happened to me when I was 21 years old. I think that at no relevance, 30 over years
ago, this is what happened to me back then, that this happened to me in Malaysia, I had firearms and all
that. And that got to me because it embarrasses me and my kids never knew about it. My growing up
kids and my parents and it affected me there.
Tom Wright (03:03):
They painted you as a violent criminal.
Leonard Francis (03:05):
Oh yeah.
Tom Wright (03:06):
As someone who may shoot or kill someone.
Leonard Francis (03:08):
Oh, basically I'm a threat to society. Basically, my ships were going to come and my private army is going
to come and break me out of prison. But it just brings back a lot of bad memories. It's just humiliating,
the way they cut you down.
Tom Wright (03:25):
Leonard had only one weapon left. And right there in the investigation room in San Diego, he started to
exact his revenge.
Leonard Francis (03:33):
I was brought in initially to talk to the government and we kind of chatted a little bit. And then they said,
"You got to let us know because you're going to do 50 years if you don't talk to us." So initially, I just
spilled out the beans, probably 30, 40 names initially. I was just giving them some names for them to test
out, see where I was going to get to them, and I got nowhere.
Tom Wright (04:02):
So you basically started to tell the whole story of how deep the rivalry went in the US Navy?
Leonard Francis (04:09):
Oh, yes. They were shocked. I think I opened a Pandora Box. Just kind of shipped the citadel of the Navy,
the foundation.
Tom Wright (04:26):
I'm Tom Wright, and this is Fat Leonard, a podcast from Project Brazen. In this, our final episode, we're
going to hear about the Navy's efforts to protect its admirals from sanction. While almost 30 sailors have
been indicted, half of them sentenced to jail and other trials still ongoing, we'll learn how many senior
officers involved with Leonard got let off with a slap on the wrist. You've heard over this series for the
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 2 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
first time, the full disquieting details of this little known scandal. As we bring our narrative to a close,
we'll explore how the Navy has handled the affair and what the future holds. You said once to me that
you thought that they didn't go after the Navy because it would be bad for morale. But somebody else
put it to me that actually the lower ranks are furious in the US Navy because they feel like they do want
to see these admirals go down and there to be some accountability.
Leonard Francis (05:28):
And it's never going to happen. It doesn't happen in the United States Military institution. That's how it
is.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Cobble, Afghanistan, 2013.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Malaysian businessman Leonard Glenn Francis, known as Fat Leonard for tipping the scales at more than
400 pounds.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
In September, the Justice Department arrested Francis and two Navy commanders as well as a top agent
in the criminal investigative service who allegedly fed him information.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
[inaudible 00:05:58] some of the investigators are looking at is how did Leonard and his company get
these contracts over time, despite some clear problems with some of the services he was providing?
Speaker 2 (06:07):
In court, Francis appeared next to his alleged co-conspirator, trading in his tuxedo for a jail jumpsuit and
shackles.
Tom Wright (06:14):
Rear Admiral Robert Gilbeau's heart began to palpate and he broke out in a sweat as he read the
headline on the newspaper handed to him on the US military base. His fellow service men and women
were discussing the bombshell arrest of Leonard Francis. Not only Leonard, but commander Michael
Misiewicz and NCIS agent John Beliveau were named. Gilbeau, the supply officer on the USS Nimitz, who
had a history with Leonard dating back to the 1990s, had gone up in the world. Now he was a Rear
Admiral, putting him in the ranks of the top 250 or so officers in the Navy. That evening, his subordinates
noticed Gilbeau making strange ponderous statements about Leonard and dinners and women,
according to court documents. "What was his connection to this breaking story?" they gossiped. In the
coming days, Gilbeau, who was on a tour in Afghanistan, removed electronic devices from his living
quarters.
He inquired with IT support staff how to erase files and he destroyed other documents. He
began to insist on meeting advisors in open fields and he asked others to remove cell phone batteries to
ensure they weren't being snooped on, and he made peculiar inquiries of them about receiving gems
and money in Afghanistan. Gilbeau's superiors on the base noticed this erratic behavior and he was
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 3 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
relieved of command and medevaced to Germany where he lied to NCIS investigators about the receipt
of things of value from Leonard, according to court documents. It was too late. Leonard, in jail in San
Diego, had begun to tell FBI agents about all the admirals who were involved with him, and he started
with Rear Admiral Robert Gilbert and the party in Singapore back in 2003.
Leonard Francis (07:53):
Gilbeau was the first and only active service flag officer charged and found guilty, the one and only
admiral ever incarcerated in history.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
San Diego, 2017.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
56 year old Rear Admiral Robert Gilbeau.
Speaker 6 (08:16):
Is it Jilbeau? How do you pronounce it?
Speaker 7 (08:16):
Gilbeau.
Speaker 6 (08:19):
Gilbeau?
Speaker 7 (08:19):
Robert Gilbeau.
Speaker 6 (08:20):
Status, pleaded guilty June 2016 to making a false official statement.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
Walking out of a San Diego courtroom Wednesday morning with his wife and therapy dog by his side.
Speaker 8 (08:31):
The first active duty Admiral to be sentenced for a federal crime. He'll serve 18 months in jail for lying
about his relationship with Leonard Glenn Francis.
Tom Wright (08:40):
Admiral Gilbeau, dressed in a black suit with a gray tie, walked up the steps at the courthouse of the
Southern District of California in San Diego, his small white service dog, Bella, on a leash. Doctors had
prescribed the dog as a [inaudible 00:08:54] for his anxiety. Gilbeau's case was sensitive, as no Admiral
had ever been criminally indicted in the Navy's then 223 year history. But the Justice Department pushed
for a prosecution.
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 4 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Leonard Francis (09:07):
And the Navy had no choice. They had to allow the Department of Justice to charge him. If they had it
their way, he wouldn't have even been charged. He would've just have got [inaudible 00:09:19] like all
these other admirals and captains, or maybe demoted from a one star to a captain.
Tom Wright (09:28):
Gilbeau pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about never receiving gifts from Leonard, and he
acknowledged destroying documents. At his sentencing, he claimed PTSD due to an explosion in Iraq as a
mitigating factor. "I know in my heart of hearts that I'm not corrupt," he told the judge. "I'm still proud of
my Navy career and I'm proud to be an American." Another Admiral who had studied with Gilbeau at the
Naval academy stood up to say that his former friend's scandalous actions had unfairly cast suspicion on
everyone in the Navy. Gilbeau, surrounded by friends and family, was handed an 18 month sentence. He
served it in Long Park, California alongside Michael Misiewicz. Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.
The FBI had taken the lead on the investigation and they began working through the names Leonard had
provided. The Bureau decided which cases to prosecute criminally, while passing hundreds of less
serious cases to the Navy. Leonard, who plead guilty in 2015 and since has been the government's star
witness, says there was tension from the start between the Navy and the Justice Department.
Leonard Francis (10:42):
Well, I think the Navy was taken aback by the Department of Justice that are looking at it more seriously
because the Navy was trying to cover up. They did not want to accept, they didn't want to charge any of
their senior leadership. So that's when you could see DOJ and the Navy locking horns.
PART 1 OF 4 ENDS [00:11:04]
Leonard Francis (11:01):
The DOJ and the Navy locking horns because the Navy wanted to protect their own and they still do to
this very day, that's how the military is.
Tom Wright (11:12):
The Justice Department and the Navy citing ongoing judicial action declined to answer a list of detailed
questions. Former Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, in 2019 said there had been a thorough effort to
investigate any wrongdoing and many innocent people's careers had been scuttled. This scandal took in a
huge percentage of flag officers. It really hamstrung the Navy in terms of promotions, in terms of
positions. He said, we focused on just a few Navy officers in this podcast. [inaudible 00:11:43], Mike
Misiewicz, and John Beliveau of the NCIS, but the Justice Department indicted almost 30 officers and
enlisted men as well as supply officials and Leonard and his staff. The US government says the scheme
cost the country around $35 million, which Leonard agreed to forfeit. But the true number is
undoubtedly many factors higher. The Justice Department also handed the names of over 450 people,
including 60 admirals to the Navy for review. These were cases that DOJ declined to prosecute, in some
circumstances because too much time had passed since the alleged crime.
Leonard Francis (12:18):
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 5 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
They had my servers and my phone. So any officers, admirals, captains whoever's names or emails were
in my contact list, everyone was investigated, and nobody could be promoted, transferred whatsoever, or
retired. Nobody could retire. So thousands of senior leadership in the Navy got jammed and basically the
entire chain of command of the Navy from the chief of the Navy-
Tom Wright (12:56):
The Navy set up a consolidated disposition authority, or CDA, headed by an Admiral to decide what to do
with these cases. As during the Tailhook scandal back in 1991, which we covered in episode three,
military leaders have been left to decide on punishments for their equals and as back then, the Navy has
failed to administer justice. And it hasn't exactly been transparent. The Navy stopped updating the public
on its actions in mid 2019. Only one officer has received time in confinement, and then only 165 days.
The Navy has given out 11 letters of sentience, official reprimands, and forced some officers to retire
with diminished rank. The most senior leader to come before the CDA was Admiral Samuel Locklear, who
was Gilbeau's commanding officer on the USS Nimitz, and by 2013 was commander of all military forces
in the Pacific and a leading contender to head the joint chiefs of staff.
The Washington post in 2018 reported that Leonard told investigators that Locklear had slept
with a prostitute that evening while the Nimitz was in Singapore. Locklear had been on a White House
shortlist to head the joint chiefs of staff, according to an email from a national security council official
made public by Wiki leagues and first reported by the post. The official noted that Locklear's chances
had dimmed and he likely would be forced to retire due to his alleged connections to fat Leonard.
According to the post Admiral John M. Richardson, then head of the CDA wrote in a memo
regarding Locklear that it would be, and I quote, "inappropriate to substantiate allegations of misconduct
in regards to these dinners or any other matters." Locklear did not respond to emailed questions about
the evening. In a letter to the post, he denied Leonard had provided him with a prostitute. "It is
inconceivable to me as it is to others who know me that I would engage such activity, no matter the
circumstances," he wrote. "So once again, let me be clear. I was never offered a prostitute by Leonard
Francis. I never requested a prostitute from him and I never discussed prostitutes or escorts with him. If
there were prostitutes, they did not resent themselves to me as such and I had no reason to suspect they
were."
Leonard Francis (15:29):
They are only discounting my evidence to senior leadership. They're not discounting my evidence to the
lower rank guys. Locklear was a four star admiral. He an appointee of the president and Senate. There's
no way they're going to embarrass the president or the senators by charging somebody of such high
rank. That would've been a disgrace and humiliation. It would've been so demoralizing to the Navy, the
rank and file.
Tom Wright (15:58):
Weeks later, Locklear retired from the military, The Post said. Today, he sits on the board of a defense
contractor and is a senior fellow at the National Defense University. I asked Don Christensen, the former
chief prosecutor of the air force about the matter.
I think in Locklear's case, he was able to retire with the same rank. That's crucial, isn't it? If you
retire with the same rank, then your pension and all of these benefits in intact, that's really not much of
a punishment in any way.
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 6 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Don Christensen (16:26):
It is no punishment. If you retire as a senior Admiral, you're going to make more in the rest of your life
doing nothing than the average American tax payer who's paying that salary will make if they were
working two or three jobs.
Tom Wright (16:41):
Then there's Admiral Craig Faller, a four star who we met in episode seven. Leonard told investigators
that Faller slept with a prostitute at a dinner in Hong Kong back when he was a captain, The Washington
Post wrote the story and Faller, at his Senate confirmation hearing to become head of Southern
command, including central and Southern America was grilled by Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Elizabeth Warren (17:02):
Admiral Faller, I had hoped to talk with you about the crisis in Venezuela today. Instead, I have to ask you
about yesterday's report in The Washington Post. You were allegedly offered a prostitute. This does not
pass the smell test for me.
Admiral Faller (17:17):
Senator, every decision I made in my nearly four decades of service has been tried to be through the best
ethical lens with ethics counselor. One of the benchmarks I use is would my wife of 34 years or my two
grown daughters, if they were present or watching me or saw it on video, would they be embarrassed or
would I have discredited them? And I can look you in the eye, and the committee and say that I believe
I've passed that benchmark.
Elizabeth Warren (17:41):
I appreciate that, Admiral. But if I could just ask you to answer my question, which is, is it now, or was it
then common for senior Navy officers to attend events at which prostitutes and when in scantly clad
outfits were expected to provide entertainment?
Admiral Faller (17:58):
No.
Elizabeth Warren (17:58):
It's a pretty straight- Now you understand why I'm asking this Admiral Faller. Events that feature women
as objects of entertainment, contribute to a culture that does not respect women. Given the persistently
high rates of sexual harassment and assault in the Navy, across the military services, and frankly around
this country, it is long past time that we have a conversation about exactly these kinds of events. You
have been nominated to serve as the four star combatant commander to the US Southern command.
You'll have many women officers under your command. What do you say to women officers when they
see that this is the kind of event you have attended?
Admiral Faller (18:44):
Senator, I have always had the utmost respect for all service men and women.
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 7 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom Wright (18:49):
The Navy found "insufficient evidence" that Faller had patronized a prostitute, The Washington Post
reported. In a statement to The Post, a Pentagon spokeswoman said, "Faller never solicited a gift, dinner,
service or item from GDMA and never attended an event without clearance from an ethics counselor."
Admiral Faller retired from the Navy in late October after this podcast began airing. He did not respond
to requests for comment and the Navy declined to answer questions.
Leonard Francis (19:21):
Anybody who is at flag officer or senior officer, they don't sleep with prostitutes. Anybody who is below
that? Oh yes, they sleep with prostitutes. So, that is the mentality that they have. Well, if he was captain
and above, no, no, they don't do such things. But guess what? All these guys were captains too, they
were commanders, they were lieutenants. They all worked their way up to chain of command. I've
known some of these guys when they were young pups.
Tom Wright (19:49):
Admiral Terry Craft, who we also heard about in episode seven was the commander of the USS Ronald
Reagan. When David Schaus, the whistleblower, made a complaint to NCIS about fake invoicing. Craft
was censored by the Navy for accepting expensive dinners from Leonard and writing a Bravo Zulu
accommodation letter, calling Leonard the best contractor in the world. Craft, in an email, said he was
ordered to attend the dinners by his boss and paid $100 per head. He denies ever seeing the NCIS
report. He retired without any reduction in rank and is now working for General Atomics, the maker of
predator drones.
Did you see that report that came out last week or earlier this week in The Wall Street Journal
about the Navy? See this one?
Leonard Francis (20:33):
Was it the one written by Montgomery? I was just laughing about that one.
Tom Wright (20:42):
In July this year, Mark Montgomery, a former US rear Admiral wrote a major report on the fighting
readiness of the US Navy, prepared under the direction of a number of Republican members of Congress.
It was picked up by The Wall Street Journal and talked about widely in defense circles. For the report,
Montgomery canvassed a wide range of Navy personnel. The interviewees included a former secretary of
the Navy, now almost 80 years old, who opined that political correctness was hurting the US's war
fighting ability.
He cited a number of World War II Navy heroes, admirals who today would not have made it
past captain level because of their heavy drinking and womanizing. The report cited an incident in 2019
in which a Naval officer was overheard by a journalist encouraging sailors to clap like you're at a strip
club for then vice president, Mike Pence. Amid the ensuing media coverage, the officer resigned.
Montgomery and his co-author, rather than decrying the sexist language, found the media to be
conducting nothing short of a witch hunt of an experienced officer. The report found disdain among
interviewees for what they call the one mistake Navy or the idea an officer's career can be terminated
over one and error of judgment. The authors said that the isolated infractions such-
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 8 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
PART 2 OF 4 ENDS [00:22:04]
Tom Wright (22:01):
The authors said that the isolated infractions such as alcohol related indiscretions should be weighed
against an overall service record. But Montgomery himself has had little trouble recovering from his
mistakes. He was censured by the Navy in 2018 for his dealings with Fat Leonard.
Leonard Francis (22:19):
Well, Montgomery is a big target for me. I know who Montgomery is. You see, the big fish, I always
remember. The little ones, I don't really matter too much, but Montgomery was important to me. That's
why I knew him for years.
Tom Wright (22:34):
Montgomery's Navy censure letter, although redacted, shows how he intervened in August 2007, when
commander of a destroyer squadron, to ensure two US Navy vessels took expensive fuel from Leonard
after they had initially declined. Montgomery also gave Leonard advance notice of ship visits, and he
improperly endorsed GDMA in email traffic, the censure letter stated. Montgomery solicited discounted
hotel stays for his family, and helped plan a dinner in Hong Kong costing $32,000, for which he paid
nothing, it says.
When asked by the Navy about the hotel stays and dinners, Montgomery made a false official
statement, denying accepting a hotel room in Hong Kong and a dinner in Tokyo. The letter ends with an
admonishment: "You were expected to the core values of the Navy as a leader. Instead, you abused your
position to accept gifts from Mr. Francis, improperly endorse GDMA and commit graft."
He had already retired from the Navy and is now a senior director at a conservative think-tank in
Washington and executive director of a US government commission on cybersecurity. He kept his rank.
Montgomery didn't respond to request for comment. In a previous statement viewed by the
Navy Times, he "categorically denied" several of the allegations in the censure letter. The Navy Times
gave no further details. His report about the Navy's war readiness doesn't mention the Fat Leonard
scandal. There are others in the Navy who think the investigations have gone too far, freezing
promotions, firing talent, unfairly hurting the careers of people only tangentially connected to Leonard.
They say the Navy is in disarray because of it.
Two US Navy ship collisions in Asia in the summer of 2017 that killed 17 sailors, and a fire last
year on an assault ship docked in San Diego, show how the Fat Leonard investigations have hollowed out
the Navy's leadership, they argue. But as the rehabilitation of Rear Admiral Montgomery himself shows,
rather than a witch-hunt, the Navy has not gone far enough.
Here's Blake Herzinger, the US Navy Reservist in Singapore, expressing a sentiment I heard time
and again, from the rank and file.
Blake Herzinger (24:52):
I think there's an impression that it has not been even handed. There is at least some popular perception
of what we would call different spanks for different ranks. Yes, some senior officers were punished,
others were censured, which to someone who is more junior who loses their career, loses their
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 9 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
retirement and ends up with jail time, when they look up and see an admiral who was able to retire with
full benefits and just got a mean letter in his record, that doesn't feel like an even-handed way to treat
this.
Tom Wright (25:24):
The week Montgomery's report came out, I was set to record an interview with David Kapaun, a former
Navy commander, a much more lowly figure than a rear admiral, who had just finished 18 months in jail
in Hawaii due to his connections with Leonard. David told us in Episode Two about how Leonard did a
great job for the Navy. At the time, David, who is 62, with a walrus mustache and a languid way of
talking, was working in Singapore, and he admits to writing letters for Leonard, handing over a ship
schedule and taking drinks, food and prostitutes. While in jail, David had time to read the censure letters
of admirals who avoided jail time.
David Kapaun (26:02):
There's a couple things makes me feel, now that I'm past it... At the time, this thing went nuclear, and I
just wanted to get out of it, which I did. But now that I'm out of it, I'm outside of the blast zone, so to
speak, now that I have a chance to look back, I don't understand it. Now, you could say, "Well, maybe the
Feds just didn't look deep enough because these are admirals." That's possible. They seemed to look
deep enough for me.
Tom Wright (26:28):
When Leonard was arrested, David never expected to go to jail. Events moved quickly.
David Kapaun (26:33):
When he was arrested in 2013, yes, the chills did go up my spine, because at the time I rationalized my
behavior on the fact that, yeah, I made some Navy ethical violations. They were obviously Navy ethical
violations, but I was naive enough to think that they wouldn't arise to the level of Justice Department
interest.
Now, when I did my proffer session, I think they were still trying to figure out what to do with
me. So when we sat down, they started asking me questions, and they said, "Well, we know that
Leonard gave you meals and hotel rooms and other services. What did you give him in return?" My
answer was, "I didn't really give him anything." I said, "Yeah, I wordsmithed some letters he wanted to
write." And then they pulled out the ship schedule and they said, "Well, what about this?" And then I
thought, I had honestly forgotten that. At that point, my lawyer called a break and said, "My guy needs a
break."
Tom Wright (27:33):
In the end. David pleaded guilty for failing to declare his connections to Leonard on a standard security
clearance.
David Kapaun (27:40):
I was relieved. To me, and this is just me, bribery and giving away classified information just sounded to
me much worse than false statement. Nobody even knows what that means. I don't know if that was any
comfort to my family or anyone, but it was to me.
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 10 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom Wright (27:57):
Then the reality of the public shaming hit David. It mentions prostitution in your plea deal. Did that have
any personal ramifications for you or was that okay?
David Kapaun (28:05):
In May of 2017, when I got the change of plea, there was an article in the local paper here, of course, the
[Huddlestown 00:28:15] Advertiser, and that was the first time I think my wife saw that, and it didn't go
over very well. And then-
Tom Wright (28:22):
And how long had you been married?
David Kapaun (28:24):
At that time, we had been married 30 years. And then stories came out and her sisters and stuff were
calling her, and I don't know, we just didn't speak about it a lot. It was unspoken, and still is. I don't know
if that's a good or bad thing.
Tom Wright (28:49):
As he stews at home in Hawaii, writing posts about films and politics on his blog, David is seething over
what he sees as unequal treatment for admirals.
David Kapaun (28:59):
I just got off supervised release about a month ago. While I was under supervised released, I kept the
gloves on a little bit. Who knows what they're going to do to you? They still had my passport. I just got
my passport back this week, but now the gloves are off, and now I'm looking myself at more of this
information. No, I'm not happy at all. I'm quite angry. In fact, I plan on putting in for a pardon. Yes, I'm
going to be very vocal about this, and that's why I'm talking to you. If you would have called me two
months ago, I probably would have ignored your email, but now, yeah, I'm not happy at all, and I'm going
to be very vocal. I don't have a platform like you do, but I'll create one.
Tom Wright (29:38):
Leonard himself agrees that Rear Admiral Montgomery was worth more to him than David Kapaun.
Leonard Francis (29:43):
I would say in terms of value, Montgomery would have probably given me more value than Kapaun.
Kapaun was just... What do you call it? Low-fruit commander. He was more of a [inaudible 00:29:55].
Montgomery was where the big bucks were. For example, he could direct his ships to take fuel in my
port, and I could make millions out of it because he is the boss. He would direct it. Don't take fuel here.
Just go there and get your gas there. And that's where the money's made.
Tom Wright (30:12):
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 11 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
How the hell is it that Montgomery didn't get more than a slap on the wrist in a censure letter? I think he
didn't even lose his rear admiral status when he retired.
Leonard Francis (30:20):
Of course not. He's a two-star admiral. He's a blue-eyed boy. Like I was telling you over and over again,
the officer corps, they're so protected. It's amazing how they all get away. That's why DoJ does not want
to let all these seven fleet guys away off.
Tom Wright (30:40):
Leonard's talking about the only major criminal trial left in this matter, of the seven Navy officers of the
Seventh Fleet who have pleaded not guilty to charges including bribery, conspiracy, obstruction of justice
and making false statements to investigators. The trial is set to start in February in Federal Court in San
Diego. Some of these seven fleet officers were involved in the MacArthur suite party, which opened this
series. Others partied in the Shangri-La in Makati, which Leonard videotaped. Leonard is the star witness.
Leonard Francis (31:12):
This is a very sensitive case. This is the military. This is what the United States of America is all about. The
highest rank of the military are [inaudible 00:31:23] in this huge corruption scandal, which they don't
know what to do.
Tom Wright (31:33):
It's true the Navy has made some reforms. Today, it relies on multiple contractors, not one behemoth like
Leonard, and set rules to keep costs under control. Apart from GDMA and its subsidiaries, the Navy has
debarred hundreds of vendors from contracts. As a result, Navy visits to some of the far-flung places that
Leonard serviced, like Thailand, have fallen in frequency.
But as we finished off the recording for this podcast, the US appeared to have uncovered
another Fat-Leonard-like corruption scandal. The Justice Department, in September, unsealed an arrest
warrant for the CEO of a huge Navy husbanding firm, MLS, which had taken over many of Leonard's
contracts. It sounds like the Fat Leonard scandal all over again: allegations of cash bribes to a Navy
official and fake invoices. Leonard, it seems, is right to say that corruption is endemic in the Navy.
In late October, as his podcast was airing, I took a train out of New York to meet a source in his
charming cedar-shingled home. The source, a well-connected individual, had recently spoken to a senior
Chinese Communist Party official. The official, the source said, had told him a worrying piece of
information. China's government was in possession of sexual kompromat.
PART 3 OF 4 ENDS [00:33:04]
Tom Wright (33:00):
Government was in possession of sexual kompromat, photos and videos of US Navy officers. As we sat in
the library after lunch, the source told me the Chinese official said that Leonard hadn't sold the material,
instead, China had identified him as a target and hacked GDMA, his company. And as you'll remember,
Leonard had moved all his files onto Chinese service to avoid the NCIS investigation. What else the
Chinese got hold of? The position of ballistic missile defenses for instance, is unclear. What's for sure is
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 12 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
the US is still trying to work out, years after the fact, the extent to which its national security has been
compromised.
Leonard Francis (33:49):
Try and understand where I'm coming from. I'm trying to explain to you and don't get me wrong that I'm
taking you for a ride all these months.
Tom Wright (33:59):
In our final conversation, Leonard seemed to lose his certainty that speaking out was a sensible course of
action. He asked for this podcast not to come out after hours of taped conversations and brave talk that
he didn't care what the judge does in his case.
Leonard Francis (34:14):
Yeah. I don't understand a writer. I don't understand. I thought it's my memoir. I don't understand a
journalist. I haven't spoken to anybody except you. Many approach me, but I don't talk to them, because
I've been warned about talking to people. I speak to you because I trust you. And I just want you to know
that, it's about how serious this is. Just be patient, we're about there. We don't even have everything.
Right now he's just going to come out with this and that. I got lists. I got photos, people, how much have
been investigated, how high up, everybody A to Z. See, these are things I can't talk until this case is done,
the trial's finished. Because then I'm not constrained anymore, everything is over. We waited this long.
That's why at the end I started talking to you, because I felt I trusted you, because otherwise it's got to
take two years for me to start once this is over. So a head start by talking to you and then moving on
slowly, that's how things are. That's how I work. I've been working this way for so many years. You got to
think about it. Do you understand, Tom?
Tom Wright (35:44):
No. It's a total mystery to me while you're talking like this, based on how we started this whole process
six months ago.
Leonard Francis (35:50):
What are you trying to get out of this? Are you trying to get rid of me? Are you being the judge on me
now?
Tom Wright (35:55):
No. No.
Leonard Francis (35:57):
Then what?
Tom Wright (36:00):
Just to be clear, I'm not your judge at all. I'm the guy that you came to to tell your story and I've done it.
Leonard Francis (36:05):
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 13 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Yes. But right now-
Tom Wright (36:07):
And you were not clear at all for how the fact that you thought... In fact, you said the exact opposite. You
said that you were being made to sit around, to wait around and that it was so important to you to get
the truth out. You came into it with your eyes wide open, right? You know I'm a journalist. You know I'm
not a stenographer, right?
Leonard Francis (36:26):
Honestly, when I talked to you, I talked to you in good faith that this was my memoir. I just think of it like
a book. That's how I look at it. I don't look at it... You want to do a podcast. You want to do a movie later,
whatever you want to do, that's fine. But I just got to make sure that everything falls in place because
this can just blow up in my face and that'll be the end of me.
Tom Wright (36:57):
Leonard always saw me as a useful tool, like most of the people in his life. Over our many conversations,
Leonard said he didn't expect to get sentenced for years. This podcast was his way to get his side of the
story out to cement his legacy. I think Leonard did achieve one of his goals through our interactions, to
let the world know that rather than the corrupt contractor portrayed in newspaper articles, he was a
trusted partner of the Navy for decades. But I don't believe Leonard thought through the consequences
of talking to a journalist. He couldn't conceive that I'd dig into his past and uncover his hurtful,
misogynistic treatment of Marcy, Morena, and other women.
The Navy needs to let in more light, not less, and be transparent about how it's handling this
awful mess. I hope this podcast deepens the debate in the Navy started all those years ago by Paula
Kauflin, about how to end endemic misogyny. Even now, Paula is an advocate of a bill in Congress that
would take the decision to prosecute sexual assault cases away from the military commanders. It's stuck
in the Senate as old men pontificate about the need to keep the chain of command intact.
As for Leonard, he may never get to sentencing. I'm not even sure how long he has to live given
his late stage kidney cancer. He never gave me a straight answer. I didn't want to ask you this before
because it seems private, but I hope you don't mind me asking, so are you dying?
Leonard Francis (38:28):
No. If I'm dying, I wouldn't be talking to you this way, right? But as long as I'm on my medication, I'll be
alive. Because the medication is what keeps your cancer and everything in check, immunology
medication, here in the United States, it's very advanced.
Tom Wright (38:48):
Is your cancer in remission?
Leonard Francis (38:51):
No. I have to maintain my medical condition because that's what keeps me out. That's why I have my
Liberty. If I am well, I'm definitely not going to be here.
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 14 of 15
This transcript was exported on Nov 22, 2021 - view latest version here.
Tom Wright (39:10):
We stopped talking close to the debut of this podcast in early October. I'm not sure whether he's been
taken back to jail for breaking his plea agreement. In one of our last conversations, Leonard told me how
he had taken to getting up at 4:00 AM to pray.
Leonard Francis (39:25):
It is God's will, God's way. That's why I said I have so many lives. It's amazing, my lives, I would've been
dead, you wouldn't be here talking to me.
Tom Wright (39:38):
Morena has filed a lawsuit in the US seeking the return of her children. When we last talked, Leonard
was still spending his days preparing his three kids for school.
Leonard Francis (39:50):
I've had multiple partners, wives, and now I'm just trying to bring up my kids on my own. And sometimes
it just suffocates me. My kids are becoming teenagers. I do a lot of things on my own. And that's why
when I talk to you at night, I get tired. I get frustrated, it's a good day, it's a bad day. I'm on a whole
bunch of medication.
Tom Wright (40:17):
Since his abusive childhood on the docs in Pang Yang over a half a century ago, Leonard hasn't lost his
out-sized ambition. After all that's happened, he isn't willing to admit that his story is nearing an end.
Leonard Francis (40:30):
I always talk to my doctors, my oncologist. I talk to my nurses and they tell me that, they go, "Mr. Francis,
I see everybody. I see patients die all the time, all the time because they give up." And I got such a strong
spirit to live. That's what keeps me going too, I'm just such a strong person and I'm not bragging about it,
but it's just that the will to live. I feel I have so much more to do. I feel like can build up another business
empire again one day. It's not that I don't have the talent, I know I can, it's all here and I've done it and it
all came crumbling down, but it's not over for me.
Tom Wright (41:14):
Fat Leonard is a production of Project Brazen in partnership with PRX. For audiation, the executive
producer is Sandy Smallens. Mark Lotto is the co-producer and story editor. The producer is Ilam Mecum.
Mixing and sound design is by Matt Noble.
PART 4 OF 4 ENDS [00:41:37]
FL_Ep 9_Different Spanks_11.16.21 (Completed 11/22/21)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 15 of 15
