U.S. Pacific Fleet

Former 7th Fleet Logistics Chief Sentenced to 30-Months in ‘Fat Leonard’ Bribery Case 

Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse in San Diego, Calif.

Six years after pleading guilty and admitting he took “lavish” bribes from a foreign defense contractor, a retired Navy captain was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in federal prison, U.S. prosecutors in San Diego, Calif., announced this week.

Capt. Jesus Vasquez Cantu, 64, is the latest former U.S. 7th Fleet official to be sentenced for conspiracy to commit bribery as part of the long-running corruption and bribery investigation...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/25/former-7th-fleet-logistics-chief-sentenced-to-30-months-in-fat-leonard-bribery-case

Former Navy Captain Sentenced to 30-Months Following Guilty Plea in ‘Fat Leonard’ Case

Then Cmdr. David Haas. US Navy Photo

A former U.S. 7th Fleet operations officer was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in federal prison – two years after pleading guilty – for taking bribes in exchange for steering lucrative contracts to a foreign defense contractor.

Retired Navy Capt. David W. Haas, 54, of Kailua, Hawaii, originally faced a longer prison time if convicted of eight counts in an August 2018 federal indictment into the wide corruption and bribery scandal surrounding Leonard Glenn...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/03/former-navy-captain-sentenced-to-30-months-in-fat-leonard-following-guilty-plea

Fleet Forces Studying ‘Plug and Play’ Destroyers in New Carrier Strike Group Concept

USS Milius (DDG-69) sails alongside U.S., Japanese Maritime Self-defense Force and Royal Australian Navy ships as seen from USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) in the Philippine Sea on Nov. 20, 2022. US Navy Photo

ARLINGTON, Va. – U.S. Fleet Forces is rethinking how to deploy carrier strike groups by changing how it would train and maintain its guided-missile destroyers, commander Adm. Daryl Caudle said on Wednesday.

The study is looking at the efficiencies Fleet Forces could find by deploying...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/11/fleet-forces-studying-plug-and-play-destroyers-in-new-carrier-strike-group-concept

INTERPOL: Fat Leonard Arrested in Venezuela Trying to Flee to Russia

Interpol Venezuela Image

After two weeks on the run, authorities in Venezuela arrested former defense contractor Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis as he attempted to board a plane to Russia, officials said late Wednesday.

Francis was detained by Venezuelan authorities at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetía on Tuesday morning, Interpol Venezuela Director General Carlos Garate Rondon said in a post on Instagram.

Francis “had entered the country from Mexico with a stopover in Cuba to...

https://news.usni.org/2022/09/22/interpol-fat-leonard-arrested-in-venezuela-trying-to-flee-to-russia

New Details Revealed in ‘Fat Leonard’ Escape, Detention as Manhunt Continues

U.S. Marshals wanted poster for Leonard Francis

An international manhunt continued Tuesday for Leonard Glenn Francis, a former defense contractor and convicted mastermind of a multimillion-dollar U.S. Navy corruption case who fled custody from home detention Sunday morning, just weeks before he was to be sentenced to federal prison.

Francis, a Malaysian national and the former president of Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia, was convicted in 2015 after taking a plea deal in exchange for...

https://news.usni.org/2022/09/06/new-details-revealed-in-fat-leonard-escape-detention-as-manhunt-continues

Navy Plans To Defuel Red Hill By End of 2024, Leak Result of Human Error

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro is shown some of the items highlighted in the third-party assessment of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaii on June 13, 2022. U.S. Navy Photo

The Navy will not finish defueling Red Hill until Dec. 31, 2024, at the earliest, according to the Navy’s defueling plan for the Hawaii fuel storage facility.
The defueling plan, as well as the Navy’s investigation into leaks at Red Hill – which led to decontamination of the drinking water used by Hawaii...

https://news.usni.org/2022/07/01/navy-plans-to-defuel-red-hill-by-end-of-2024-leak-result-of-human-error

PACFLEET CO Paparo: U.S., Japan Joint Naval Operations Key to Pacific Security

Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, on Feb. 17, 2022. USNI News Photo

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The military alliance with Japan is key to the U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific and is growing deeper as China expands regional influence, the head of U.S. Pacific Fleet said today.

Adm. Samuel Paparo said U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. 7th Fleet and III Marine Expeditionary Force are operating as a de facto joint task force with Japan.

“We’re seeing a more and more assertive Japan, who is rightly...

https://news.usni.org/2022/02/17/pacfleet-co-paparo-u-s-japan-joint-naval-operations-key-to-pacific-security

Former Navy Captain Pleads Guilty to Bribery in ‘Fat Leonard’ Investigation

Capt. Donald Gayle Hornbeck

A former U.S. 7th Fleet operations officer pleaded guilty to bribery, admitting in a federal court Wednesday that he took nearly $68,000 in gifts that included extravagant meals, prostitutes and luxury hotel stays from defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia, U.S. prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Former Capt. Donald Gayle Hornbeck handed over sensitive, classified ship-movement information and helped Leonard Glenn Francis recruit and manage a network of naval...

https://news.usni.org/2022/02/03/former-navy-captain-pleads-guilty-to-bribery-in-fat-leonard-investigation

Navy Officer Pleads Guilty in ‘Fat Leonard’ Bribery Investigation as 6 Others Face Federal Trial

Undated photo of Leonard Francis

A former U.S. 7th Fleet staff officer and ship commander pleaded guilty Wednesday to two conspiracy charges in the major fraud and bribery case surrounding Glenn Defense Marine Asia and scores of Navy officials, U.S. prosecutors announced.

Cmdr. Stephen Shedd, 48, who was facing numerous charges of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud, appeared in federal court in San Diego, Calif., and admitted his role in an alleged conspiracy with eight other officials indicted...

https://news.usni.org/2022/01/27/navy-officer-pleads-guilty-in-fat-leonard-bribery-investigation-as-6-others-face-federal-trial

LCS USS Montgomery CO, XO Relieved from Command

Cmdr. Richard Zamberlan, Lt. Cmdr Phillip Lundberg were relieved of their leadership roles aboard USS Montgomery (LCS-12). US Navy Photos

The commander and executive officer of the Littoral Combat Ship USS Montgomery (LCS-8) were relieved on Thursday “due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command,” the Navy announced.

Montgomery commander Cmdr. Richard Zamberlan and executive officer Cmdr. Phillip Lundberg were removed from their commands by Capt. Marc Crawford, the commander of Surface...

https://news.usni.org/2021/12/30/lcs-uss-montgomery-co-xo-relieved-from-command

+ More