Brian McDonald
A federal judge on Tuesday threw out the criminal convictions of five retired military officers who admitted to accepting bribes from a Malaysian contractor nicknamed “Leonardo Gordo” in one of the Navy’s biggest corruption cases.
The dismissals occurred at the request of the government – and not the defense – citing errors by the Public Ministry.
Retired U.S. Navy officers Donald Hornbeck, Robert Gorsuch, and Jose Luis Sanchez and U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Enrico DeGuzman admitted to accepting bribes from defense contractor Leonard Francis, nicknamed “Fat Leonard.”
The enigmatic figure — who stood 6 feet tall and weighed 350 pounds — is at the center of the most extensive Navy corruption cases in recent history.
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The three pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disclosing information on Tuesday. The judge also dismissed the entire case against U.S. Navy officer Stephen Shedd. His defense attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.
It marked the latest setback for the government years-long efforts to persecute dozens of military officers linked to Francisco, who pleaded guilty to offering more than $500,000 in cash bribes, along with other gifts and wild sex parties in Southeast Asia, to Navy officials, defense contractors and others. The scheme allowed him to steal at least $35 million from the maritime service, causing commanders to reroute ships to ports he controlled and overcharging for services, according to the indictment.
Francis owned and operated Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd., which provided food, water and fuel to U.S. Navy ships. He was arrested in 2013 in a police raid in San Diego.
Prosecutors said in court documents outlining their Tuesday dismissal request that the action does not mean the defendants did not commit the crimes charged, but because information was withheld from the defense and other errors were made, they wanted to ensure that justice was done fairly.
In 2022, Judge Janis Sammartino ruled that the former federal prosecutor committed “egregious misconduct” by withholding information from defense lawyers. In September, ofelonium convictions of four former Navy officers were also overturned. The four men pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and agreed to pay a $100 fine each.
The dismissals come weeks before Francisco returns to court to set a date for his sentencing.
Francisco returned to the US late last year after a daring escape from his house arrest in San Diego in 2022. He fled to South America weeks before his sentencing was scheduled last year, and was later captured in Venezuelawho extradited him to the US as part of a prisoner exchange.
The escape was also seen by some as a mistake by the prosecutor for allowing him to not be kept behind bars.
