BREAKING: Fat Leonard, who escaped from U.S. custody two weeks ago, is in Venezuela with his eldest son, likely on way to Brazil, according to a report in @WhaleHunting_. Sign up for free to read: https://t.co/BX2up2pvuU
I had to look up who Fat Leonard was. Now that I know he’s involved in one of the biggest security breaches in US Navy history… I’m not worried because, well, we’ve got Tom Cruise fighting on our side!
I highly recommend listening to the Fat Leonard Podcast because it is amazing the amount of naval officers involved with helping him getting contracts in return for favors. He was not even really trying to hide it. In the podcast he is upset he is the one going to jail when most of the naval officers he colluded with are not. I guess he doesn’t have to worry about going to jail now if he did in fact flee to a country without an extradition treaty.
liz
1 year ago
GI is there a podcast that is particularly informative?
There are a lot of them and they’re each about a half hour in length.
Stephen
1 year ago
Fat Leonard: the Fred Astaire of Malaysia.
Flying down to Rio. Follow the Fleet, It Takes a Thief.
setnaffa
1 year ago
For such a big man, he sure seems light on his feet…
The journalist was able to convince Leonard to do these interviews with him and then at the end he has second thoughts and tries to get the journalist to not publish the podcast. Some think the podcast may have fed into fleeing if it broke any agreements he had with the government.
liz
1 year ago
I’m about halfway through the podcasts now. Maybe something illuminating will show up but I have to say in my opinion a lot of this is bullshit, GI.
Fatso supposedly keeps lots of incriminating evidence in boxes somewhere he has yet to reveal? Right. Then there’s the “you go girl” bullcrap (examples available upon request).
Let’s just start with this bit on the 6th episode: “the party Leonard said, cost $50,000, a clear breach of Navy rules, which limits sailors to accepting gifts of no more than $20.”
Also mentioned were dinners and whatnot.
There are some obvious practical limitations to demanding an officer pay for every party they attend. Lockheed holds a ceremony and party afterwards, do we have to track down a Jag and accountant? There is also an expectation to go. If fatso was an important contractor, that relationship is obligatory. No, accepting actual gifts is not obligatory (we’ve turned many down) but showing up to an event is not always elective. I wish it were, because attending those things often sucks. I could go on a while.
Edited to add:
There are rules with protocol and legal and all of that. For example, a business leader whom you have a personal relationship (obligatory) with asks you on a boat to fish. Legal would require you to pay that person the amount you would for the same experience charter fishing. Everything must go through legal, but there are any number of events one must attend and that doesn’t ipso facto require shelling out thousands out of pocket just to show up. Because, again, there are obvious practical limitations to that and they don’t make anywhere near enough money to make that feasible. I’ll say this though, there are a lot of obligatory expenses to being a commander.
Last edited 1 year ago by Liz
setnaffa
1 year ago
On the other hand, @Liz, Fat Leonard should have been obvious to someone we’ve trusted with ships and commands and stuff…
liz
1 year ago
“Fat Leonard should have been obvious to someone we’ve trusted with ships and commands and stuff…”
Sure, but what are the options? The USAF (for the most part) isn’t forced to deal with third world entities, by the sound of things the Navy must. The “ring of iron” in the podcasts reminded me of the armor on those fobit mobiles. Was it necessary? Probably not, but the people were screaming for force protection at the time.
DIdn’t the army pay off some horrible entities to get the job done with village leaders? It’s not even a secret. Anyway, I know nothing about the army or navy, but I do know how those business and contractor relationships with commanders go.
Last edited 1 year ago by Liz
setnaffa
1 year ago
@Liz, absolutely no argument with your insight. I’m just upset that (a) that fat toad wasn’t already cooling his heels in a prison, and (b) we don’t really know how high up the corruption went (so that if we ever get an honest DOJ/FBI they can remove the greedy traitors)…
I’ll get over it faster than the Navy’s reputation.
liz
1 year ago
I think if the military wants to really get on top of excessive costs for contractors they need to keep experienced people in the field. Lockheed has the same people writing those contracts for years and years. They are contract experts. The military, by contrast, rotates their experienced people out and sends them on their way to do something different. The result is people who are completely green when the contracts are renewed. In that respect I’m sure contractors here, there, everywhere have a lot in common.
I liked your post because it is funny Mcgeehee.
But it’s really more like…
Myth:
Photos of admirals engaged with prostitutes are used for extortion purposes and hidden in fatso’s basement for some undetermined reason he won’t provide.
Closer to Reality:
Admiral is at the commissary and reaches for a pickle jar on the top shelf. Someone takes a photo and the next day the nation is shocked to see a leader giving a nazi salute to the pickle jar. He is forced to retire.
Edited to add:
I’m not saying the military industrial complex doesn’t exist, it just is nowhere near as direct as this.
This is why every commander has a protocol staff and a Jag (in the podcast the jag adviser was called an “ethical consultant” they are legal experts on what exactly a commander can accept/where he can go). This is how the military industrial complex works, how those connections are made. They aren’t organic they are mandated. There are exceptions but that’s a rough overview. [/nuff said]
Last edited 1 year ago by Liz
liz
1 year ago
On more thing (sorry, then I will stop):
Note the portion in my link above that states: “Distinguished and prominent citizens who have made substantial contribution to the Nation or DoD, or who are recognized leaders in their fields”
That is a description of fat bastard, if he was in charge of all described in the podcast. When he claims his parties “were the bribe”…a contractor holds a social event and invites leadership. That goes through the Jag/protocol team. I understand most people don’t know this, perhaps fatso himself does not. But it is expected that military leadership will attend (unless there is a scheduling conflict).
Last edited 1 year ago by Liz
setnaffa
1 year ago
@Liz, you don’t need to stop. Your insight is very valuable to us.
@Liz, having been a COR before and been responsible for putting contracts out for bid, I never once attended any party organized by the contractor. Even if invited I would not ever attend due to perception that would cause. The fact that so many 7th Fleet officers were attending these parties is troubling. The fact that so many of them were then going off with Fat Leonard’s prostitutes is even worse.
By the way even everyone hasn’t heard yet Fat Leonard was captured in Venezuela trying to flee to Russia. The fact that Venezuela nabbed him and handed him over is interesting.
Flyingsword
1 year ago
Not strange that Venezuela sent Fat Leonard to the US. For several months now Venezuela has been cleaning out its prisons and sending their convicts to the US.
liz
1 year ago
I don’t know how the navy or army works, GI. I am skeptical the admirals went with prostitutes. I just find it very hard to believe. If Fatso has the photos that would implicate them (as it did others). I think if they exist he would produce them.
liz
1 year ago
Here is an example….
There was a fraud case years ago involving a business owner name Shipley, and (now disgraced) General Mosely. Moseley in this case engaged in fraud. He did so by backing a contract Shipley was selling to the military at twice the cost of the next highest bidder (he also covered up some fraud by Shipley in another business venture).
Shipley was a DV.
The act of having him over to dinner, going to a party he sponsored was not ipso facto a crime. Far from (again) it was required. The act of fraud was the fraud. Taking a bribe/high end gift would also be illegal (Shipley gave many gifts to the squadrons, like heirloom things for the bar, that was permissible…no private person could accept a gift like that however).
When my spouse was an installation commander, I had lists of guests who would come to our home that I was required to host. These were not people I knew for the most part, they were important people in the community…business leaders, politicians, high ranking officials. I did not make my guest list, it was the job of the protocol staff.
How many people? For Christmas as many as 200 were on that list, half military half civilian. Just want to offer some perspective on this.
He just thinks he escaped. They probably planted trackers in his anatomy and they’re collecting data on who helps him.
Wouldn’t like to be him when his contacts find out he’s “wearing a wire”…
—-
Of course, that’s just science fiction. Governments don’t really track people like that. Right?
I had to look up who Fat Leonard was. Now that I know he’s involved in one of the biggest security breaches in US Navy history… I’m not worried because, well, we’ve got Tom Cruise fighting on our side!
I highly recommend listening to the Fat Leonard Podcast because it is amazing the amount of naval officers involved with helping him getting contracts in return for favors. He was not even really trying to hide it. In the podcast he is upset he is the one going to jail when most of the naval officers he colluded with are not. I guess he doesn’t have to worry about going to jail now if he did in fact flee to a country without an extradition treaty.
GI is there a podcast that is particularly informative?
There are a lot of them and they’re each about a half hour in length.
Fat Leonard: the Fred Astaire of Malaysia.
Flying down to Rio. Follow the Fleet, It Takes a Thief.
For such a big man, he sure seems light on his feet…
@Liz, this is the series of podcasts I was referring to:
https://fatleonardpodcast.com
The journalist was able to convince Leonard to do these interviews with him and then at the end he has second thoughts and tries to get the journalist to not publish the podcast. Some think the podcast may have fed into fleeing if it broke any agreements he had with the government.
I’m about halfway through the podcasts now. Maybe something illuminating will show up but I have to say in my opinion a lot of this is bullshit, GI.
Fatso supposedly keeps lots of incriminating evidence in boxes somewhere he has yet to reveal? Right. Then there’s the “you go girl” bullcrap (examples available upon request).
Let’s just start with this bit on the 6th episode:
“the party Leonard said, cost $50,000, a clear breach of Navy rules, which limits sailors to accepting gifts of no more than $20.”
Also mentioned were dinners and whatnot.
There are some obvious practical limitations to demanding an officer pay for every party they attend. Lockheed holds a ceremony and party afterwards, do we have to track down a Jag and accountant? There is also an expectation to go. If fatso was an important contractor, that relationship is obligatory. No, accepting actual gifts is not obligatory (we’ve turned many down) but showing up to an event is not always elective. I wish it were, because attending those things often sucks. I could go on a while.
Edited to add:
There are rules with protocol and legal and all of that. For example, a business leader whom you have a personal relationship (obligatory) with asks you on a boat to fish. Legal would require you to pay that person the amount you would for the same experience charter fishing. Everything must go through legal, but there are any number of events one must attend and that doesn’t ipso facto require shelling out thousands out of pocket just to show up. Because, again, there are obvious practical limitations to that and they don’t make anywhere near enough money to make that feasible. I’ll say this though, there are a lot of obligatory expenses to being a commander.
On the other hand, @Liz, Fat Leonard should have been obvious to someone we’ve trusted with ships and commands and stuff…
“Fat Leonard should have been obvious to someone we’ve trusted with ships and commands and stuff…”
Sure, but what are the options? The USAF (for the most part) isn’t forced to deal with third world entities, by the sound of things the Navy must. The “ring of iron” in the podcasts reminded me of the armor on those fobit mobiles. Was it necessary? Probably not, but the people were screaming for force protection at the time.
DIdn’t the army pay off some horrible entities to get the job done with village leaders? It’s not even a secret. Anyway, I know nothing about the army or navy, but I do know how those business and contractor relationships with commanders go.
@Liz, absolutely no argument with your insight. I’m just upset that (a) that fat toad wasn’t already cooling his heels in a prison, and (b) we don’t really know how high up the corruption went (so that if we ever get an honest DOJ/FBI they can remove the greedy traitors)…
I’ll get over it faster than the Navy’s reputation.
I think if the military wants to really get on top of excessive costs for contractors they need to keep experienced people in the field. Lockheed has the same people writing those contracts for years and years. They are contract experts. The military, by contrast, rotates their experienced people out and sends them on their way to do something different. The result is people who are completely green when the contracts are renewed. In that respect I’m sure contractors here, there, everywhere have a lot in common.
Wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up suicided.
Or Epsteined, however you want to call it.
I liked your post because it is funny Mcgeehee.
But it’s really more like…
Myth:
Photos of admirals engaged with prostitutes are used for extortion purposes and hidden in fatso’s basement for some undetermined reason he won’t provide.
Closer to Reality:
Admiral is at the commissary and reaches for a pickle jar on the top shelf. Someone takes a photo and the next day the nation is shocked to see a leader giving a nazi salute to the pickle jar. He is forced to retire.
Edited to add:
I’m not saying the military industrial complex doesn’t exist, it just is nowhere near as direct as this.
Edited again to add:
Consider the existence of ORF (official recognition fund) money.
I’m sure every branch of service has this.
The USAF does, and here is the navy’s ORF policy:
https://www.nsw.navy.mil/Portals/27/OfficialRepresentationFunds_29Mar_1.pdf
This is why every commander has a protocol staff and a Jag (in the podcast the jag adviser was called an “ethical consultant” they are legal experts on what exactly a commander can accept/where he can go). This is how the military industrial complex works, how those connections are made. They aren’t organic they are mandated. There are exceptions but that’s a rough overview. [/nuff said]
On more thing (sorry, then I will stop):
Note the portion in my link above that states:
“Distinguished and prominent citizens who have made substantial contribution to the Nation or DoD, or who are recognized leaders in their fields”
That is a description of fat bastard, if he was in charge of all described in the podcast. When he claims his parties “were the bribe”…a contractor holds a social event and invites leadership. That goes through the Jag/protocol team. I understand most people don’t know this, perhaps fatso himself does not. But it is expected that military leadership will attend (unless there is a scheduling conflict).
@Liz, you don’t need to stop. Your insight is very valuable to us.
@Liz, having been a COR before and been responsible for putting contracts out for bid, I never once attended any party organized by the contractor. Even if invited I would not ever attend due to perception that would cause. The fact that so many 7th Fleet officers were attending these parties is troubling. The fact that so many of them were then going off with Fat Leonard’s prostitutes is even worse.
By the way even everyone hasn’t heard yet Fat Leonard was captured in Venezuela trying to flee to Russia. The fact that Venezuela nabbed him and handed him over is interesting.
Not strange that Venezuela sent Fat Leonard to the US. For several months now Venezuela has been cleaning out its prisons and sending their convicts to the US.
I don’t know how the navy or army works, GI. I am skeptical the admirals went with prostitutes. I just find it very hard to believe. If Fatso has the photos that would implicate them (as it did others). I think if they exist he would produce them.
Here is an example….
There was a fraud case years ago involving a business owner name Shipley, and (now disgraced) General Mosely. Moseley in this case engaged in fraud. He did so by backing a contract Shipley was selling to the military at twice the cost of the next highest bidder (he also covered up some fraud by Shipley in another business venture).
Shipley was a DV.
The act of having him over to dinner, going to a party he sponsored was not ipso facto a crime. Far from (again) it was required. The act of fraud was the fraud. Taking a bribe/high end gift would also be illegal (Shipley gave many gifts to the squadrons, like heirloom things for the bar, that was permissible…no private person could accept a gift like that however).
When my spouse was an installation commander, I had lists of guests who would come to our home that I was required to host. These were not people I knew for the most part, they were important people in the community…business leaders, politicians, high ranking officials. I did not make my guest list, it was the job of the protocol staff.
How many people? For Christmas as many as 200 were on that list, half military half civilian. Just want to offer some perspective on this.
@Liz, Skeptical about admirals and prostitutes?
This proves, more than 2-factor authentication and 256-bit encryption, you’re not a guy.
LOL Mcgeehee. 🙂