Navy contractor at center of scandal is helping investigators, documents show

The Navy’s sex-for-secrets corruption scandal may be about to get worse: Investigators’ prize catch has started to squawk.

Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian defense contractor who made a fortune by supplying Navy ships throughout Asia, has begun cooperating with federal investigators and pointing the finger at new suspects, court records indicate.

...


Francis, known as “Fat Leonard” in Navy circles because of his girth, pleaded guilty Jan. 15 in San Diego. He admitted to bribing “scores” of Navy officials with cash, luxury travel and prostitutes for classified or inside information that benefited his firm, Glenn Defense Marine Asia. He also has a record of gun crimes in his native Malaysia dating to 1986. His attorneys did not respond Wednesday to e-mails seeking comment.

Based on fresh information from the witness, federal authorities in Virginia on Tuesday arrested Paul Simpkins, 60, a former contracting official with the Defense and Justice departments. He has been charged with conspiracy to commit bribery.

According to the affidavit, Francis began funneling bribes to Simpkins in 2006, when he was based in Singapore as a contracting officer for the Navy. The relationship continued until 2012, when Francis paid for Simpkins to travel from Washington to Singapore, put him up in a Hilton hotel and provided him with prostitutes, the affidavit alleges.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/navy-contractor-at-center-of-scandal-cooperating-with-investigators-documents-show/2015/02/04/15a370b6-aca1-11e4-ad71-7b9eba0f87d6_story.html