Cambodian-born US Naval Officer jailed for corruption
Cambodian-born US Naval Officer jailed for corruption
A bit of an exaggeration in this article. He didn't "escape the killing fields as a child". He was adopted by an American woman and brouht out of the country in 1973. He got caught up in a lifestyle and threw away his career, his reputation and his freedom when he crossed the line. I wonder if all the other Naval Officers being caught up in this same corruption scandal will have articles written about them too. I doubt it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/che ... s-a-child/After escaping Cambodia’s killing fields as a child, Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz lived an improbably charmed life. He was adopted by an American mother, graduated from the Naval Academy and became a decorated officer who triumphantly returned to his native country as the skipper of a U.S. warship.
On Friday, however, his fairy-tale career came to a shattering and disgraceful end. A federal judge in San Diego sentenced him to six-and-a-half years in prison for his role in an epic bribery scandal that has rocked the Navy.
Misiewicz has pleaded guilty to leaking a long list of military secrets in 2011 and 2012 to Glenn Defense Marine Asia, a Singapore-based company that held more than $200 million worth of contracts to resupply Navy ships. During that period, Misiewicz served as deputy director of operations for the Navy’s 7th Fleet, an influential job overseeing ship movements throughout Asia.
In exchange the owner of the firm, Leonard Glenn Francis, a legendary figure in Navy circles known as “Fat Leonard,” seduced Misiewicz with one illicit temptation after another.
Both men have admitted that Francis supplied the Navy commander with prostitutes, cash, luxury hotel stays, international airfare for him and his family, even tickets to a Lady Gaga concert in Thailand and a musical performance of “The Lion King” in Japan.
Francis has pleaded guilty to bribing “scores” of other Navy officials with cash and sex so he could defraud the Navy of more than $35 million. Five have been convicted, and charges have been filed against two others. Many more remain under investigation. The prison sentence for Misiewicz is the longest imposed so far.
According to court records, Francis’s relationship with Misiewicz was especially close, even if they made for an odd pair.
They called each other Big Bro and Little Bro, which summed things up in more ways than one. Francis, the elder by a few years, is a giant of a man, standing over 6 feet tall and weighing 350 pounds. Misiewicz looks about half his size.
Both were married, middle-aged men with young children at home. But they loved to go clubbing together at port cities throughout Asia, staying out until dawn as they conspired how to avoid detection for their carousing and their crimes.
One night, Misiewicz failed to return to his ship, the USS Blue Ridge, before curfew. Francis saved him from getting in trouble by giving him athletic gear so that the Navy officer could pretend he had left the ship for an early-morning workout, according to a sentencing document filed by prosecutors.
On another port visit to Manila in February 2011, Francis and his company treated Misiewicz to a night on the town, paying for him to stay at a luxury hotel and providing him with prostitutes. A photograph that prosecutors introduced as a court exhibit shows the Navy officer shirtless and flat on his back in a boxing ring, surrounded by scantily clad women.
![]()
Navy Cmdr. Michael Misiewicz lies on his back in a boxing ring at a Manila nightclub. (U.S. District Court)
“By all accounts, this was quite a party in Manila,” prosecutors dryly noted in a court filing.
The Manila episode came just two months after Misiewicz made a celebratory return to Cambodia as the commander of a Navy destroyer, the USS Mustin.
It was the first time that Misiewicz had been to Cambodia since he was rescued as a 6-year-old in 1973, just before Cambodia plunged into a bloody communist revolution that resulted in the deaths of his father and 18 other relatives at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. As the Mustin docked at Sihanoukville for a port visit, long-lost relatives boarded the ship for a tearful reunion.
Within the Navy, Misiewicz was seen as an officer of exceptional promise with a limitless future. He received glowing evaluations from his commanders, several of whom recommended that he be placed on the fast track to become an admiral.
more
-
- Expatriate
- Posts: 2567
- Joined: Sun May 18, 2014 7:32 pm
- Reputation: 125
Re: Cambodian-born US Naval Officer jailed for corruption
I guess this proves that nature wins over nurture when it comes to corruption...
Ex Bitteeinbit/LexusSchmexus
- bolueeleh
- Expatriate
- Posts: 4440
- Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 12:39 am
- Reputation: 795
- Location: anywhere with cheap bonks
Re: Cambodian-born US Naval Officer jailed for corruption
nightclub looks good
Money is not the problem, the problem is no money
-
- Expatriate
- Posts: 8473
- Joined: Wed May 28, 2014 11:37 pm
- Reputation: 838
Re: Cambodian-born US Naval Officer jailed for corruption
Made me laugh. Just say no !In exchange the owner of the firm, Leonard Glenn Francis, a legendary figure in Navy circles known as “Fat Leonard,” seduced Misiewicz with one illicit temptation after another.
Both men have admitted that Francis supplied the Navy commander with prostitutes, cash, luxury hotel stays, international airfare for him and his family, even tickets to a Lady Gaga concert in Thailand and a musical performance of “The Lion King” in Japan.

- CEOCambodiaNews
- Expatriate
- Posts: 19574
- Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:13 am
- Reputation: 635
- Location: CEO Newsroom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Contact:
Re: Cambodian-born US Naval Officer jailed for corruption
'Fat Leonard': US admiral arrested in sex for secrets scandal
A retired US navy admiral and eight other current and former military officers were bribed with sex, trips and other lavish perks, according to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday in a burgeoning scandal involving a Malaysian defence contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard.
Retired admiral Bruce Loveless, 53, and the others have been accused of accepting the services of sex workers and other bribes from Leonard Francis in exchange for classified information that helped his company, Glenn Defence Marine Asia.
The indictment says Francis once rented the MacArthur Suite at the Manila Hotel, where memorabilia of General Douglas MacArthur was used for sex acts with prostitutes...
It was the latest indictment in the three-year-old case that produced charges against more than 20 former or current navy officials and marks one of the worst navy corruption scandals in history. Loveless is the second admiral charged in the case. It is extremely rare for an admiral to face criminal proceedings.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ts-scandal
A retired US navy admiral and eight other current and former military officers were bribed with sex, trips and other lavish perks, according to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday in a burgeoning scandal involving a Malaysian defence contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard.
Retired admiral Bruce Loveless, 53, and the others have been accused of accepting the services of sex workers and other bribes from Leonard Francis in exchange for classified information that helped his company, Glenn Defence Marine Asia.
The indictment says Francis once rented the MacArthur Suite at the Manila Hotel, where memorabilia of General Douglas MacArthur was used for sex acts with prostitutes...
It was the latest indictment in the three-year-old case that produced charges against more than 20 former or current navy officials and marks one of the worst navy corruption scandals in history. Loveless is the second admiral charged in the case. It is extremely rare for an admiral to face criminal proceedings.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ts-scandal
Cambodia Expats Online: Bringing you breaking news from Cambodia before you read it anywhere else!
Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US
Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY
Follow CEO on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Google+
Instagram
Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US
Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY
Follow CEO on social media:
YouTube
Google+
- CEOCambodiaNews
- Expatriate
- Posts: 19574
- Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:13 am
- Reputation: 635
- Location: CEO Newsroom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Contact:
Re: Cambodian-born US Naval Officer jailed for corruption
'Fat Leonard', the biggest US Navy scandal ever, continues to unfold one year after a Cambodian-American officer was sentenced to six and a half years in jail for his role in the affair.
'Fat Leonard' scandal expands to ensnare more than 60 admirals
5 November 2017
The "Fat Leonard" corruption investigation has expanded to include more than 60 admirals and hundreds of other U.S. Navy officers under scrutiny for their contacts with a defense contractor in Asia who systematically bribed sailors with sex, liquor and other temptations, according to the Navy.
Most of the admirals are suspected of attending extravagant feasts at Asia's best restaurants paid for by Leonard Glenn Francis, a Singapore-based maritime tycoon who made an illicit fortune supplying Navy vessels in ports from Vladivostok, Russia, to Brisbane, Australia. Francis also was renowned for hosting alcohol-soaked, after-dinner parties, which often featured imported prostitutes and sometimes lasted for days, according to federal court records.

The 350-pound Francis, also known in Navy circles as "Leonard the Legend" for his wild-side lifestyle, spent decades cultivating relationships with officers, many of whom developed a blind spot to his fraudulent ways. Even while he and his firm were being targeted by Navy criminal investigators, he received VIP invitations to ceremonies in Annapolis and Pearl Harbor, where he hobnobbed with four-star admirals, according to photographs.
The Justice Department has filed criminal charges against 28 people, including two admirals, since Francis was arrested in an international sting operation four years ago. Those cases comprise the worst corruption scandal in Navy history, but they represent a fraction of a much larger list of Navy officials under investigation but whose names have been mostly kept secret...
The Washington Post/ https://www.stripes.com/news/us/fat-leo ... s-1.496464
'Fat Leonard' scandal expands to ensnare more than 60 admirals
5 November 2017
The "Fat Leonard" corruption investigation has expanded to include more than 60 admirals and hundreds of other U.S. Navy officers under scrutiny for their contacts with a defense contractor in Asia who systematically bribed sailors with sex, liquor and other temptations, according to the Navy.
Most of the admirals are suspected of attending extravagant feasts at Asia's best restaurants paid for by Leonard Glenn Francis, a Singapore-based maritime tycoon who made an illicit fortune supplying Navy vessels in ports from Vladivostok, Russia, to Brisbane, Australia. Francis also was renowned for hosting alcohol-soaked, after-dinner parties, which often featured imported prostitutes and sometimes lasted for days, according to federal court records.

The 350-pound Francis, also known in Navy circles as "Leonard the Legend" for his wild-side lifestyle, spent decades cultivating relationships with officers, many of whom developed a blind spot to his fraudulent ways. Even while he and his firm were being targeted by Navy criminal investigators, he received VIP invitations to ceremonies in Annapolis and Pearl Harbor, where he hobnobbed with four-star admirals, according to photographs.
The Justice Department has filed criminal charges against 28 people, including two admirals, since Francis was arrested in an international sting operation four years ago. Those cases comprise the worst corruption scandal in Navy history, but they represent a fraction of a much larger list of Navy officials under investigation but whose names have been mostly kept secret...
The Washington Post/ https://www.stripes.com/news/us/fat-leo ... s-1.496464
Cambodia Expats Online: Bringing you breaking news from Cambodia before you read it anywhere else!
Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US
Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY
Follow CEO on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Google+
Instagram
Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US
Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY
Follow CEO on social media:
YouTube
Google+
- CEOCambodiaNews
- Expatriate
- Posts: 19574
- Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:13 am
- Reputation: 635
- Location: CEO Newsroom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Contact:
Re: Cambodian-born US Naval Officer jailed for corruption
‘Fat Leonard’ scandal widens, with indictment of three more retired US Navy officials
Former sailors charged with accepting cash bribes, gifts, prostitutes and more from Malaysian defence contractor
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 18 August, 2018
The worst corruption scandal in navy history escalated on Friday as federal prosecutors announced bribery and fraud charges against three retired sailors, including an officer who allegedly took part in a wild two-day party with prostitutes in Tokyo that cost US$75,000.
A grand jury in San Diego indicted retired Captain David Haas, 50, of Kailua, Hawaii, on charges that he took US$145,000 in bribes from Leonard Glenn Francis, a Singapore-based defence contractor known as “Fat Leonard” in navy circles.
Indicted separately on fraud charges were Ricarte Icmat David, 61, a retired master chief petty officer who now lives in the Philippines, and Brooks Alonzo Parks, 46, a retired chief petty officer who lives in Naples, Italy, according to the Justice Department.
As of Friday, none of the defendants had made a court appearance and it was unclear whether they had hired any lawyers. It was also unclear whether David or Parks would voluntarily return to the United States to face charges or whether federal officials would have to seek their extradition.
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asi ... ed-us-navy
Former sailors charged with accepting cash bribes, gifts, prostitutes and more from Malaysian defence contractor
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 18 August, 2018
The worst corruption scandal in navy history escalated on Friday as federal prosecutors announced bribery and fraud charges against three retired sailors, including an officer who allegedly took part in a wild two-day party with prostitutes in Tokyo that cost US$75,000.
A grand jury in San Diego indicted retired Captain David Haas, 50, of Kailua, Hawaii, on charges that he took US$145,000 in bribes from Leonard Glenn Francis, a Singapore-based defence contractor known as “Fat Leonard” in navy circles.
Indicted separately on fraud charges were Ricarte Icmat David, 61, a retired master chief petty officer who now lives in the Philippines, and Brooks Alonzo Parks, 46, a retired chief petty officer who lives in Naples, Italy, according to the Justice Department.
As of Friday, none of the defendants had made a court appearance and it was unclear whether they had hired any lawyers. It was also unclear whether David or Parks would voluntarily return to the United States to face charges or whether federal officials would have to seek their extradition.
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asi ... ed-us-navy
Cambodia Expats Online: Bringing you breaking news from Cambodia before you read it anywhere else!
Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US
Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY
Follow CEO on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Google+
Instagram
Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US
Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY
Follow CEO on social media:
YouTube
Google+
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
-
Cambodian Ambassador to South Korean Arrested This Morning by ACU for Corruption
by CEOCambodiaNews » Mon Apr 04, 2016 1:08 pm » in Newsworthy - 18 Replies
- 3256 Views
-
Last post by CEOCambodiaNews
Thu Mar 08, 2018 11:07 am
-
-
-
Cambodian Officer Jumps From National Defense University Building
by CEOCambodiaNews » Tue Oct 30, 2018 9:47 am » in Newsworthy - 6 Replies
- 443 Views
-
Last post by Toxic Turtle
Tue Oct 30, 2018 6:57 pm
-
-
-
Chinese naval fleet on visit to Sihanoukville port
by CEOCambodiaNews » Sun Oct 01, 2017 8:06 pm » in Newsworthy - 5 Replies
- 955 Views
-
Last post by Fourkinnel
Mon Oct 02, 2017 12:13 pm
-
-
-
US-Cambodia: Joint naval exercises to begin off Sihanoukville.
by CEOCambodiaNews » Sun Oct 30, 2016 7:24 am » in Newsworthy - 10 Replies
- 1721 Views
-
Last post by willyhilly
Thu Jan 19, 2017 6:07 am
-
-
-
Russian naval ships arriving for 6 day visit; Sihanoukville
by CEOCambodiaNews » Sat Oct 28, 2017 1:01 pm » in Newsworthy - 37 Replies
- 3823 Views
-
Last post by CEOCambodiaNews
Tue May 22, 2018 8:21 pm
-
-
-
Chinese Navy Ships to Celebrate New Koh Rong Naval Outpost
by CEOCambodiaNews » Mon Jan 07, 2019 1:13 pm » in Newsworthy - 57 Replies
- 2931 Views
-
Last post by davegorman
Tue Jan 22, 2019 9:10 pm
-
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], DrRawBlueGreen, Element6, frank lee bent, GMJS-CEO, John Bingham, Kevin168, Majestic-12 [Bot] and 397 guests