“Fat Leonard” Francis

We recently posted about how the “Fat Leonard” Navy corruption scandal is being dramatized in a new television series, based on an award-winning podcast.

In the real world, the decade-long investigation and years-long trials are wrapping up. 

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that a federal jury in San Diego convicted four of five former U.S. naval officers on conspiracy, bribery and fraud charges on Wednesday, capping a four-month-long trial and a decade-long investigation of the worst corruption scandal in the history of the Navy.

After deliberating over parts of three weeks, jurors convicted former Capts. David Newland, James Dolan, and David Lausman, and former Cmdr. Mario Herrera of conspiracy to commit bribery, receiving bribes, and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud due to their entanglements with Singapore-based military contractor Leonard Glenn Francis. Lausman was also convicted of obstruction of justice for destroying a computer hard drive with documents and emails from his time as the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier George Washington.

The jury deadlocked and reached no verdict on charges against a fifth defendant, former Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless.

The five were the last of 34 defendants to stand trial on charges they were bought off by the Malaysian defense contractor Leonard Francis, nicknamed Fat Leonard, who prosecutors said plied them with prostitutes, Cuban cigars and free hotel stays, among other things.

Prosecutors say Francis and his company overcharged the U.S. military by more than $35 million for its services.

Francis, who is scheduled to be sentenced in July, has been cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice since his arrest in 2013.