While he was stationed in Singapore, a U.S. Navy commander ate suckling pigs worth $400 apiece, attended a Gucci fashion show with his wife and enjoyed the services of prostitutes — all courtesy of a Malaysian defence contractor, Navy prosecutors alleged Monday.
Cmdr. David Alexander Morales is the latest Navy official to be charged in a wide-ranging bribery scandal in which officers allegedly provided ship schedules and important access to Singapore-based businessman Leonard Francis.
Nicknamed "Fat Leonard" for his large size, Francis was determined to maintain his firm's market share in servicing American warships in Asian ports, a lucrative operation that spanned 25 years and allowed him to overbill the Navy by nearly $35 million.
The Department of Justice has already filed charges against 25 people, including Francis as well as 20 former and current officers in the Navy. Several, including a retired admiral, have pleaded guilty.
But Morales, 49, is the first to be charged in the Navy's military court system. His journey effectively began Monday at a preliminary hearing in Norfolk, Virginia, as prosecutors flipped through pages of text messages between him and Francis while itemizing the various gifts Morales allegedly received.
His attorney said after the hearing that the Navy has a weak case, which federal officials had declined to prosecute.
"The leftovers are for the Navy," said Frank Spinner, a Colorado-based military defence lawyer. "The sharks have been prosecuted. Now they're going after the minnows."