Officials: Navy bribery case fugitive tried to get to Russia

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By JULIE WATSON and REGINA GARCIA CANO

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Since escaping two weeks ago, officials say the fugitive Malaysian defense contractor nicknamed “Fat Leonard” — who orchestrated one of the U.S. Navy’s largest bribery scandals — zipped between countries to find a place where he could become virtually untouchable for American authorities.

It almost worked.

After cutting off an ankle monitor and slipping away from house arrest in San Diego on Sept. 4, U.S. and Venezuelan officials say Leonard Glenn Francis went across the border into Mexico, then traveled to Cuba and Venezuela, where he was arrested Tuesday at Simón Bolívar International Airport outside Caracas.

Francis was planning to travel to Russia, according to Interpol Venezuela Director General Carlos Garate Rondon, who disclosed the arrest in a statement posted Wednesday on Instagram. He said Francis would be handed over to the country’s judicial authorities to begin extradition proceedings.



FILE - This undated photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows Leonard Francis. The Malaysian defense contractor nicknamed “Fat Leonard," who orchestrated one of the largest bribery scandals in U.S. military history, has been arrested in Venezuela after fleeing before his sentencing, authorities said Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. (Courtesy of U.S. Marshals Service via AP, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-arrests-california-united-states-577813b7045b7f220c71e460b34af4de

[SheltieLover]

1. Why was this threat to national security released with ankle monitor?

Glad they caught the traitor!!

[grumpyduck]

2. Oh, darn, if he had made it to Russia,

he might have been conscripted and sent to the charge of the Light Brigade.

[relayerbob]

5. Or just escorted to his penthouse suite with open balcony

[grumpyduck]

7. Yeah, that too. nt

[COL Mustard]

14. He doesn't look so fat anymore

But I'm not sure he would EVER be in the "Light Brigade"!!!!

(Not fat-shaming, but his nickname is/was Fat Leonard.)

[Traildogbob]

3. Gotta be a trumper

I would guarantee Fat Leonard and Fat Donald have shared chocolate cake and 2 scoops at Mari-Lardo, where secret docs were declassified.

[dalton99a]

4. Putin gave him a visa

He was ready to board his flight

[IronLionZion]

6. Everyone else is trying to leave Russia

but criminals want to get in

[keopeli]

8. What a great nickname for TFG - Fat Donald!

He does that to everyone: Crooked Hillary, Sleepy Joe...Fat Donald!

[onetexan]

9. second that!!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

10. Obesity is only partly a choice; fat-shaming not good. Orange Man Bad. Spray tanning is a choice

Obesity can be treated in many ways for those who seek treatment.

Some people back into obesity and have difficulty getting out, which is a real thing and deserves sympathy.

Fat-shaming only works if fat is shameful.
Fatness is not shameful.

Fat people don't need shaming, they need treatment if they want it (and almost all of them should want it, if they have family they care about).

Whether or not tRump chose to be obese, fat-shaming throws shade on obese people in general, most of whom have no need to be ashamed.

Spray tanning bright orange is a symptom of tRump's EGO. His ego resists treatment, but that is completely 100% his choice. You could say orange-shaming throws shade on orange people in general, rare though they may be, but they all have made the choice. Nobody spray tans orange because of an eating disorder or a genetic deficiency.

[patphil]

11. Hey Leonard, look at the bright side of it.

You won't have to wear that irritating ankle bracelet inside a jail cell.

[Mysterian]

13. That's the kind of positive thinking I like!

There's always a silver lining to those dark clouds!

[Stuart G]

12. K and R. Thanks for posting

[ck4829]

15. K&R

Last edited Mon Oct 3, 2022, 09:33 AM - Edit history (1)

Russia is a state sponsor of terror

[prodigitalson]

16. If the US and Venezuela both think this guy belongs behind bars

He must be a pretty bad guy.