Naval officer charged in bribery scandal
Print Edition
A third US Navy commander and a prominent Malaysian business leader have been charged in a widening bribery scandal involving prostitutes, luxury travel and multimillion-dollar government contracts.
Commander Jose Luis Sanchez, 41, was arrested on Tuesday in Tampa, Florida, and made a first appearance in federal court in Florida on Wednesday.
He was charged with taking payoffs from a foreign defense contractor in exchange for classified and internal US Navy information, the US Justice Department said in a statement.
Also named in a complaint unsealed on Wednesday was Leonard Francis, 49, of Malaysia, the CEO of Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), the department said. He was arrested on September 16 in San Diego.
“According to court records, Sanchez allegedly provided Francis with internal Navy information, such as US Navy ship schedules — some of which were classified — and information about husbanding issues that could affect GDMA, in order to help GDMA win and maintain Navy business,” the statement added.
Two other top Navy officials — Commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz, 46, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service Supervisory Special Agent John Bertrand Beliveau II, 44 — have been charged separately in connection with bribery allegations.
Meanwhile GDMA executive Alex Wisidagama, 40, of Singapore, has also been charged with participating in a related scheme to overbill the Navy for services provided in ports across Southeast Asia, the department said.
“According to the allegations in this case, a number of officials were willing to sacrifice their integrity and millions of taxpayer dollars for personal gratification,” said US Attorney Laura Duffy.
“While the overwhelming majority of the 400,000 active duty Navy personnel conduct themselves in a manner that is beyond reproach, we and our law enforcement partners at Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Defense Criminal Investigative Service continue to investigate the allegations of fraud and corruption that tarnish the stellar reputation of the US Navy,” she said.
Misiewicz, who commanded a destroyer and served as deputy operations officer for the head of the Seventh Fleet in the Pacific, allegedly directed ships to certain ports where GDMA overcharged for fuel, food, water and other services.
Misiewicz in return was allegedly given access to prostitutes, free travel and even tickets to a Lady Gaga concert.
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