{"id":41448,"date":"2021-07-23T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smg.go-vip.net\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/07\/23\/why-did-fat-leonard-show-up-this-former-cnos-change-of-command-he-was-on-the-vip-list\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:05:09","slug":"why-did-fat-leonard-show-up-this-former-cnos-change-of-command-he-was-on-the-vip-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2021\/07\/23\/why-did-fat-leonard-show-up-this-former-cnos-change-of-command-he-was-on-the-vip-list\/","title":{"rendered":"How did Fat Leonard attend this former CNO\u2019s change of command? He was on the VIP list"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nearly a decade ago, Adm. Gary Roughead<\/a> handed over the chief of naval operations crown to his successor at an exclusive gala aboard the U.S. Naval Academy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a question has emerged in recent years regarding that Sept. 23, 2011 event: What was Leonard Glenn \u201cFat Leonard\u201d<\/a> Francis doing there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Washington Post<\/a> reported in 2017 that Francis \u2014 the Malaysian magnate at the heart of a massive West Pacific graft and bribery web that has ensnared hundreds of Navy officers \u2014 was in attendance and posing for photos with Roughead and his successor, Adm. Jonathan Greenert<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While that report illuminated how Francis had installed himself among the highest echelons of the uniformed ranks \u2014 even as the Naval Criminal Investigative Service increased its scrutiny of the businessman \u2014 it didn\u2019t reveal how he came to score an invite to Annapolis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now, records obtained by Navy Times for the first time show that Leonard G. Francis was on Roughead\u2019s \u201cPersonal A-list\u201d of guests for the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A copy of former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead’s “Personal A-list” of guests for a 2011 ceremony when he handed over the CNO reins to his successor shows Leonard G. Francis among the VIP guests. (Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Francis\u2019 company on that elite list included former President George W. Bush, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, retired admirals and sister service brass, according to the records, obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How he ended up on Roughead\u2019s top-tier guest list remains unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roughead did not return Navy Times emails and calls seeking comment about Francis\u2019 name appearing on the guest list. He also did not reply to requests for comment submitted through the Navy and Stanford University, where he serves as a distinguished military fellow at the school\u2019s Hoover Institution<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a 2017 article in The Post<\/a>, Roughead said in an email that he couldn\u2019t \u201crecall particulars\u201d about those invited to the event, and declined further comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A list of Greenert\u2019s guests for the event included in the records obtained by Navy Times does not list Francis, but it does note when guests overlap with those on Roughead\u2019s A-list. Reached by phone this week, Greenert said he didn\u2019t know how Francis ended up at the event, a point he made to The Post<\/a> in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Outgoing Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, right, congratulates his successor, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, at the CNO change of command ceremony in 2011. (Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how he got invited, but you have the guest list, so you know that he did,\u201d Greenert told Navy Times Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that such change-of-commands are \u201chosted by the incumbent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo the fact that I don\u2019t know that is not unusual,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navy Times has sought other records that could further illuminate how Francis came to attend the ceremony, including a FOIA request for any emails pertaining to Francis\u2019 invitation and RSVP. The Navy forwarded that request to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service<\/a>, which has led Fat Leonard-related investigations. NCIS denied that request earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLaw enforcement records are exempt if the production of the records at the time requested reasonably can be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked if Roughead was the subject of any NCIS Fat Leonard investigations, agency spokesman Jeff Houston declined comment, citing the ongoing nature of the investigations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Leonard Glenn Francis, also known as “Fat Leonard.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Houston did not respond to repeated emails seeking to confirm when the agency started investigating Fat Leonard-related infractions, but The Washington Post<\/a> has reported that the NCIS effort escalated back in 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to The Post<\/a> in 2013, Roughead said he met Francis roughly a decade earlier while commanding U.S. Pacific Fleet. The Post<\/a> quoted Roughead calling the Fat Leonard scandal allegations \u201cextremely serious, disconcerting and surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Adm. Gary Roughead salutes the sideboys at the conclusion of the chief of naval operations change of command ceremony where he was relieved by Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert at the U.S. Naval Academy in 2011. (Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Francis pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribery and fraud charges, admitting that he presided over a massive conspiracy involving his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, Navy officials, tens of millions of dollars in fraud and millions of dollars in bribes and gifts \u2014 from cash to booze-soaked parties, luxury travel, prostitutes and Spanish suckling pigs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His attorney, Katie Jenkins, declined comment last week when asked about how Francis came to attend the CNO ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In exchange for millions of dollars in perks, Navy officers gave Francis and his company the heads up on lucrative port service contracts and ship schedules, and Francis routinely overbilled the Navy for port services in the process, according to the Justice Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is astounding that Leonard Francis was able to purchase the integrity of Navy officials by offering them meaningless material possessions and the satisfaction of selfish indulgences,\u201d the Justice Department said in a release at the time of Francis\u2019 guilty plea. \u201cIn sacrificing their honor, these officers helped Francis defraud their country out of tens of millions of dollars. Now they will be held to account.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legacy of Fat Leonard<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the Navy has declined to say how it has handled hundreds of lower-level Fat Leonard cases referred their way by the U.S. Justice Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navy officials said in late 2017 that the service was reviewing Fat Leonard allegations<\/a> against 440 sailors, including 60 current and retired admirals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But earlier this month, officials declined to say how any of those cases were ultimately adjudicated, nor would they offer a breakdown of how many allegations were substantiated against the flag officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\t