He has been in jail in San Diego since his arrest in 2013 and is cooperating with authorities as he awaits sentencing. Wielding remarkable influence for a foreigner, he then prodded his moles on the Blue Ridge to reroute aircraft carriers and other vessels to ports controlled by his firm so he could more easily overcharge the Navy for fuel, other supplies and services.įrancis, 53, has pleaded guilty to bribery and defrauding the military of $35 million, although some officials think the monetary losses sustained by the Navy are far greater. ships and submarines transiting the region.Ī master recruiter, Francis methodically assembled a network of informants to feed him the secret itineraries, court documents show. Of paramount importance to Francis was the officers’ access to the classified itineraries of all U.S. Staff officers on the Blue Ridge had the clout to intervene on behalf of Francis’s company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, because they managed operations, logistics and intelligence for the entire 7th Fleet. warships, bases and embassies in Asia starting in the early 1990s, the Blue Ridge was his primary target. Officers from the Blue Ridge consumed or pocketed about $1 million in gourmet meals, liquor, cash, vacations, airline tickets, tailored suits, Cuban cigars, luxury watches, cases of beef, designer handbags, antique furniture and concert tickets - and reveled in the attention of an armada of prostitutes, records show.Īlthough Francis offered bribes and freebies to hundreds of Navy personnel assigned to other U.S. The Navy is investigating dozens of others who served on the ship, which is based in Japan, for possible violations of military law or ethics rules, according to documents and interviews.īetween 20, Francis doled out illicit gifts, hosted epicurean feasts and sponsored sex parties for Blue Ridge personnel on at least 45 occasions, according to federal court records and Navy documents obtained by The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act. Prosecutors say nine sailors from the 7th Fleet flagship leaked classified information about ship movements and other secrets to Francis, a Malaysian citizen, making the Blue Ridge perhaps the most widely compromised U.S. Sign up for our new Morning Report weekday newsletter. Start your day with the news you need from the Bay Area and beyond. For the better part of a decade, as part of a massive scam to defraud the Navy, Francis systematically infiltrated the Blue Ridge to a degree that is only now coming into focus, more than four years after the defense contractor’s arrest, according to the documents from federal court and the Navy, as well as interviews with Navy officials and associates of Francis.
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