Where is Fat Leonard?  Fat Leonard, as Leonard Glenn Francis is known, was supposed to testify in Norfolk next week about his crooked dealings with dozens of Navy officers.  Except that apparently, he won’t. Fat Leonard was arrested in 2013 in the worst corruption scandal in Navy history.  He entered into a plea deal in 2015 and has been awaiting sentencing while in the custody of U.S. Marshals Service.

Except that he is no longer in their custody.  No one is saying where he is, although, it is rumored that last March, the 53-year-old 350-pound defense contractor’s health was failing and that he was released from federal detention to seek urgent medical care at a San Diego hospital.

The Washington Post reports that Leonard Francis “was discharged from the hospital in March and since then has been allowed to live in a private apartment in San Diego while he continues to receive medical care. He is confined there and under round-the-clock surveillance; in an unusual arrangement, he is footing the bill for his own security expenses.

“Francis’s release and care plan were approved under seal by a federal judge, according to two people close to the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter has not been made public. They said Justice Department officials kept the Navy in the dark about Francis’s status and medical condition until last week. …

“Early this month, Navy officials assured a military judge Francis was healthy enough to travel to Norfolk. A subpoena was issued to compel him to testify.

“Last week, however, in a closed hearing in San Diego to review the subpoena, U.S. District Court Judge Janis Sammartino would not give Francis permission to leave California, according to the people familiar with the case. They said the judge ordered prosecutors to inform the Navy and other defense attorneys about Francis’s status and medical condition.”

The Navy is now trying to decide what to do — either moving the upcoming trial to San Diego or allowing Fat Leonard to testify by video link.

The scandal centers on Fat Leonard Francis paying bribes, providing prostitutes and handing out Lady Gaga tickets to naval officers in exchange for classified information to be used to help direct business to his firm, Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA). GMDA then overcharged the Navy for port services by millions of dollars. 

So far, 28 individuals have been charged and 18 have pleaded guilty, including two admirals, in the decade-long multi-million dollar bribery scam. The Navy is also investigating more than 60 admirals and hundreds of other US navy officers who may have been caught up in the scandal.