A federal judge last week dismissed all charges against retired Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless for his alleged role in the West Pacific web of bribery and graft that has come to be known as the \u201cFat Leonard\u201d scandal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California Judge Janis Sammartino\u2019s dismissal of all charges against Loveless on Thursday caps a legal saga that has spanned more than five years since the retired flag officer and several other Navy officers were indicted in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move came after Loveless\u2019 four-month trial ended in a hung jury this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are thrilled that, after years of fighting these charges, Rear Admiral Loveless has been completely vindicated,\u201d Tom O\u2019Brien, one of Loveless\u2019 attorneys, said in a statement Tuesday. \u201cBruce is very grateful for the unwavering support he has always received from his shipmates, classmates from the U.S. Naval Academy, and those who served with him in the intelligence community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Loveless and several co-defendants were charged with bribery, making false statements and obstruction of justice charges, among others, in connection to their alleged interactions with \u201cFat Leonard\u201d Glenn Francis, the Malaysian shipping magnate who himself has pleaded guilty to bilking the Navy out of $35 million in lucrative West Pacific port servicing contracts earlier this century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this month, Francis escaped his house detention in San Diego and remains on the lam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to O\u2019Brien\u2019s law firm \u2014 Ellis George Cipollone O\u2019Brien Annaguey LLP, which represented Loveless along with the firm Paul Hastings LLP \u2014 Loveless is the sole \u201cFat Leonard\u201d defendant to not be convicted out of the 34 defendants charged by the U.S. Justice Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remaining four military members who went to trial with Loveless were convicted in June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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