The navy contractor often called “Fats Leonard,” the mastermind behind the worst public corruption scandal in U.S. Navy historical past who was three weeks away from being sentenced within the case, is on the run.
Leonard Glenn Francis, who has been beneath home arrest, reduce off his GPS monitoring ankle bracelet and absconded from his San Diego residence someday Sunday morning, mentioned Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Omar Castillo.
Pretrial Companies, the federal company monitoring Francis, was alerted to an anomaly with Francis’ bracelet, and Francis’ protection group went to examine on him, realizing he has a historical past of well being points. An lawyer referred to as San Diego police about 1:45 p.m., saying Francis was not answering their knocks or messages, and requested for a welfare examine on the residence within the Torrey Highlands neighborhood, in line with police officers.
Officers arrived and entered the house by an unsecured door in a central courtyard and located the house empty — save for the sheared GPS bracelet left behind, in line with police and marshals.
The U.S. Marshals Service was referred to as to help, and the San Diego Regional Fugitive Job Power was activated to start the high-profile manhunt. The Naval Prison Investigative Service, which spearheaded the huge case towards Francis greater than a decade in the past, can also be serving to.
Neighbors within the gated neighborhood instructed authorities that that they had seen U-Haul shifting vans going out and in of Francis’ residence within the days main as much as his escape, Castillo mentioned. It was not recognized if neighbors knew Francis was the tenant of the sprawling multimillion-dollar residence, which, in line with actual property web sites, has 5 bedrooms and 7 baths. Nobody reported the shifting vans as suspicious, he mentioned.
“He was planning this out, that’s for positive,” Castillo mentioned.
Regulation enforcement companies might be notified to be looking out for Francis — nicknamed for his girth — and alerts might be positioned at worldwide borders and airports, Castillo mentioned. Investigators may even see if the U-Haul vans present up on license plate readers all through the state or at U.S.-Mexico border crossings. However he could have already crossed south, Castillo acknowledged.
The precise necessities of Francis’ home arrest, past the GPS monitoring, weren’t clear Monday. Earlier courtroom orders that have been unsealed earlier this yr present that U.S. District Decide Janis Sammartino had referred to as for fixed safety 24 hours a day at Francis’ residence. The safety was supplied by an unnamed personal firm, with Francis footing the invoice. The situation has been a long-kept secret — even from protection legal professionals defending others implicated within the scandal, who had repeatedly requested for extra info on his dwelling preparations.
Three of Francis’ kids had been dwelling with him, though it was unclear in the event that they have been as of Sunday.
Francis’ protection lawyer, Devin Burstein, declined to remark Monday when reached by telephone. A spokesperson for the U.S. lawyer’s workplace didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The escape provides to the wild trajectory — and unprecedented nature — of the case.
Francis, a Malaysian nationwide who ran his navy contracting agency Glenn Protection Marine Asia from Singapore, was arrested in a San Diego lodge room in 2013 as a part of a federal sting.
His firm serviced visiting Navy ships in ports that he managed throughout Southeast Asia, and for years he bribed U.S. Navy officers — a lot of them within the seventh Fleet — for his or her affect and entry to navy intelligence, permitting him to earn tens of millions of {dollars} from Navy contracts.
He pleaded responsible in 2015, admitting to the huge bribery conspiracy and in addition to swindling the Navy out of no less than $35 million in overcharges.
After a number of bouts with well being points, together with kidney most cancers, Francis was launched on medical furlough with Sammartino’s permission and has been on home arrest since no less than 2018. He has been beneath the supervision of Pretrial Companies, a federal company that screens defendants who’re out of custody till sentencing.
Each behind bars and later whereas on residence confinement, Francis labored as a cooperating witness for federal prosecutors who continued to construct instances towards a number of others concerned within the scheme, together with high-ranking naval officers. His sentencing date had been delay for years as he assisted prosecutors and ready for what was anticipated to be his star activate the witness stand within the trial earlier this yr towards 5 former naval officers.
However for causes unknown, Francis was by no means referred to as to testify. 4 of the officers have been convicted, and the jury deadlocked on prices towards the fifth. Twenty-nine others — Navy officers, protection contractors, Francis and his company — have pleaded responsible.
With Francis’ usefulness to prosecutors seemingly at its finish, a sentencing date was set for Sept. 22.
“Clearly it’s very disappointing,” San Diego lawyer Michael Crowley, who defended one of many former Navy officers within the current trial, mentioned upon listening to of Francis’ escape. “He began all this and we wished him to testify since this was the crux of the federal government’s case. Right here, they’ve let him slip proper by their fingers.”
Francis’ distinctive dwelling preparations have come beneath scrutiny beforehand.
On Dec. 17, 2020, Sammartino referred to as a listening to after receiving a report that there was no safety guard on web site for almost three hours.
A Pretrial Companies officer making a routine examine had confirmed up on the location at 11 a.m. — solely to seek out no guard current. She didn’t obtain phrase a guard was on web site till 1:45 p.m., in line with a courtroom transcript of the listening to that was sealed for years earlier than changing into public in January.
The guard mentioned he had gone on a lunch break throughout that point.
Francis participated within the listening to by telephone and was apologetic.
“I’m so sorry for what has occurred, and I simply need you to know that it will by no means occur once more,” he instructed the decide, in line with the transcript. “I’ve all the time been clear with my pretrial association, and I’ve all the time been right here, and I simply need to apologize. I’m so sorry, ma’am.”
“OK,” Sammartino replied. “No, I respect that, Mr. Leonard Francis. I don’t assume there may be something, you recognize, untoward that was being plotted right here, or something.”
Within the listening to, the decide ordered {that a} third guard be employed. Beforehand, two guards labored 12-hour shifts, in line with the transcript.
“This can be a very vital concern,” she mentioned, “and there’s lots of curiosity on this matter, and I’ve assured folks within the different case that’s pending that this can be a official medical furlough that’s been granted right here, and that every one acceptable steps have been taken, and once I noticed this I spotted that they weren’t being taken off in the event that they have been in some unspecified time in the future in time, that they had turn out to be lax, for no matter purpose.”
The transcript is considered one of 14 hearings held from February 2018 by December 2021 on Francis’ well being and dwelling preparations. All of the hearings have been held behind closed courtroom doorways, and transcripts have been sealed till Jan. 20.
The courtroom file offers no particular purpose why the 375 pages of the listening to transcript have been launched. But it surely got here a few months after the discharge of a podcast Francis recorded on the location concerning the scandal — apparently with out Sammartino’s, or the federal government’s, information.
In one other listening to that was beforehand beneath seal, Sammartino appeared shocked to seek out out that Francis’ mom and his kids — who had lived abroad — have been with him within the U.S. Within the podcast that aired final fall, Francis confirmed that three of his kids have been dwelling with him and attending faculty.
On the Oct. 14, 2018, listening to, his protection lawyer requested for the situations of Francis’ residence launch to permit “different actions pre-approved by probation.” Commonplace situations permit folks on a house launch to go away the residence for work, training, non secular providers or medical wants. A probation officer defined that the brand new language proposed by the protection lawyer would permit Francis to attend church extra typically, and maybe even go to a grocery retailer now and again.
Additionally, the probation officer mentioned, “his children are in the US, and he desires to take them to high school,” in line with the transcript.
“I didn’t know his household was right here,” Sammartino responded. “His household is right here now?”
Sure, Burstein replied.
“And so they’ll get to see him?” Sammartino requested.
“They get to see him,” Burstein replied. He defined that Francis’ mom “introduced the youngsters to go to” in some unspecified time in the future, and apparently stayed.
Apparently, the mom and kids dwell on the identical property. Burstein defined that “the youngsters are right here with Mother, not in the identical residence. They’re in the principle residence.”
Ultimately the decide declined to change the order. “I’m a bit of involved about making it residence detention form of in identify solely,” she mentioned. “We’re taking the youngsters to high school. Going to children’ visits. I must assume this by, Mr. Burstein.”
Her closing choice on the matter is unknown.
San Diego Union-Tribune employees author David Hernandez contributed to this report.
