Mastermind of Navy bribery scheme escapes house arrest just weeks ahead of sentencing
According to the US Marshals Service, Leonard Francis, a former military contractor known as “Fat Leonard,” who masterminded the biggest corruption scandal in US Navy history, is on the run after breaking out of house imprisonment in San Diego by severing his GPS monitoring ankle bracelet.
The escape, originally reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune, came just three weeks before his sentencing.
Supervisory Deputy US Marshal Omar Castillo told CNN that Pretrial Services, the federal organization in charge of overseeing Francis’ house detention, called the San Diego Police Department on Sunday to inquire about him. Castillo added that when police found Francis’ house unoccupied, they notified the US Marshals.
“It appears he has been planning this for a while,” he told CNN.
The Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, San Diego division — which is run by the US Marshals — is searching for Francis
Castillo said the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is also involved because they worked on the original case.
“We have a few leads we’re following,” Castillo said.
The US Marshals Service has issued a nationwide “be on the lookout” alert for Francis, Castillo told CNN Tuesday afternoon.
According to Castillo, the former military contractor has been marked as a fugitive in a national database utilized by law enforcement during police interactions. This will also notify US Marshals in the event Francis tries to book a trip under his name in any commercial airport throughout the nation.
