FAT LEONARD: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy, by Craig WhitlockIn ports throughout the Western Pacific, the brave officers of the United States Navy gulped down lobster thermidor, truffle royale, Osetra caviar, white asparagus custard and kombou seaweed jelly; they guzzled gallons of Cristal and Dom Pérignon; they puffed boxes of Cohiba cigars. Near the end of a meal, they sometimes received what Leonard Glenn Francis, the venal military contractor who was picking up the tabs, called “oriental dessert”: an “armada” of sex workers hired to flash their breasts and perform intimate acts. An attendee described one of Francis’ dinners as a “Roman orgy.” At one of Francis’ most sordid parties, in Manila in 2007, a replica of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s corncob pipe was used as a sex toy. At least one of Francis’ dinners cost more than $3,000 a head. In return, Navy officials looked the other way as his companies charged far above the regional rate to service American vessels.

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Persons: LEONARD, Craig Whitlock, Dom Pérignon, Leonard Glenn Francis, Francis ’, Douglas MacArthur’s, Leonard, ”, Francis, Leonard the Organizations: U.S . Navy, United States Navy, Cristal, Washington Post Locations: Pacific, Manila, Gen