Corruption

'Fat Leonard' and his prostitutes affected Pentagon's pick to lead Joint Chiefs

When the Pentagon last chose a new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it was rattled by a last-minute surprise: A corrupt defense contractor known as "Fat Leonard" confided to federal agents that he had an unsavory past with one of the finalists to become the nation's top military officer.

Leonard Glenn Francis, a maritime tycoon who had recently pleaded guilty to bribing Navy officers, told authorities in early 2015 that he had paid for opulent dinners and other favors for Adm. Samuel Locklear, then-commander of U.S. military forces in the Pacific, according to previously undisclosed documents and six people familiar with the case.

Francis also shared with investigators several photographs of him drinking and socializing with Locklear, who was one of four contenders to head the Joint Chiefs. Some photos were from a banquet in Singapore that Francis had hosted for the admiral and other Navy officers that featured prostitutes as entertainment, according to the documents and people familiar with the case.

Locklear told The Washington Post that he was at the party but was unaware of any prostitutes, and he said he had limited contact with Francis over the years. After separate investigations, the Justice Department declined to press charges, and the Navy cleared the four-star admiral of wrongdoing. But his association with the 350-pound contractor helped sink his chances to lead the Joint Chiefs, other documents show.