A former US Navy captain caught up in a massive recruitment scandal was sentenced Thursday to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for accepting nearly $91,000 in bribes.
Retired Captain David Haas was also ordered to make restitution and pay a $30,000 fine.
Prosecutors said Haas, 54, of Kailua, Hawaii, was among dozens of Navy officers bribed to help obtain defense contracts for a man known as “Fat Leonard” Francis.
THE $60 MILLION BRIBERY TRIAL OF FORMER OHIO HOUSEHOLDER LARRY HOUSEHOLDER WILL BEGIN NEXT WEEK
Francis owned Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd., or GDMA, which supplied ships with food, water and fuel for decades. He has acknowledged overbilling the Navy by $35 million with the help of officers he harassed with prostitutes, Kobe beef, cigars and other bribes to direct their ships to Pacific ports Francisco controlled in the Southeast Asian.
More than 30 people have been convicted or found guilty in the sweeping corruption case. Francis, who also pleaded guilty to criminal charges in 2015, was awaiting sentencing when he escaped confinement in San Diego last year and is now in custody in Venezuela, where he has sought asylum.
Francis Leonard Glenn, who pleaded guilty to the worst corruption scandal in US Navy history, after his capture in Maiquetía, Venezuela. Retired US Navy Captain David Haas, who took bribes from “Fat Leonard”, received more than two years in federal prison.
(Interpol Venezuela Instagram acc/AFP via Getty Images)
From 2011 to 2013, Haas, who was captain of the 7th Fleet command ship Blue Ridge, accepted tens of thousands of dollars worth of entertainment, including hotel rooms, prostitutes, alcohol and dinner, during multi-day parties hosted by Francis abroad. prosecutors said.
Haas pleaded guilty in 2020 to conspiracy to commit bribery, a charge that could carry up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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In federal court in San Diego on Thursday, he told the judge that he had embarrassed his family and the Navy and tarnished his two-decade career, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
“I never should have been in a relationship with that guy,” Haas said. “I should never have let Leonard Francis in anywhere.”
