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☆ 'Fat Leonard,' Navy contractor behind bribery scheme, sentenced to 15 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SAN DIEGO — Former military defense contractor Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison for masterminding a decade-long bribery scheme that swept up dozens of U.S. Navy officers, federal prosecutors said. The Malaysian defense contractor was a key contact for U.S. Navy ships at ports across Asia for more than two decades. He pleaded guilty in 2015, admitting that he had offered more than $500,000 in cash bribes to Navy officials, defense contractors and others. While awaiting sentencing, Francis was hospitalized and treated for renal cancer and other medical issues. The felony convictions of four former Navy officers were vacated following allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.

Persons: Leonard “, Leonard ” Francis, Janis L, Sammartino, Francis, Prosecutors, Leonard’s, Leonard, “ Leonard Francis, Tara McGrath, ” Prosecutors, Francis ’, overcharge, snipped, — Organizations: DIEGO, U.S . Navy, U.S, Navy, Attorney’s, . Naval, ”, Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd, Prosecutors, Simon Bolivar International Locations: masterminding, Venezuela, ” U.S, Singapore, Malaysian, Asia, Kobe, Thailand, Philippines, Southeast Asia, San Diego, Mexico, Cuba, Caracas, Russia

☆ ‘Fat Leonard,’ Navy contractor behind one of the military’s biggest scandals, sentenced to 15 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

San Diego AP —Former military defense contractor Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison for masterminding a decade-long bribery scheme that swept up dozens of U.S. Navy officers, federal prosecutors said. The Malaysian defense contractor was a key contact for U.S. Navy ships at ports across Asia for more than two decades. He pleaded guilty in 2015, admitting that he had offered more than $500,000 in cash bribes to Navy officials, defense contractors and others. While awaiting sentencing, Francis was hospitalized and treated for renal cancer and other medical issues. The felony convictions of four former Navy officers were vacated following allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.

Persons: Leonard “, Leonard ” Francis, Janis L, Sammartino, Francis, Prosecutors, Leonard’s, Leonard, “ Leonard Francis, Tara McGrath, ” Prosecutors, Francis ’, overcharge, snipped, — Organizations: Diego AP, Former, U.S . Navy, U.S, Navy, Attorney’s, . Naval, ”, Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd, Prosecutors, Simon Bolivar International Locations: masterminding, Venezuela, ” U.S, Singapore, Malaysian, Asia, Kobe, Thailand, Philippines, Southeast Asia, San Diego, Mexico, Cuba, Caracas, Russia

☆ La travesía de una familia para llegar a EE. UU. por 8000 kilómetros y 8 países
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Por Luis Ferré-Sadurní | Juan Arredondo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

Millones de venezolanos como la familia Aguilar Ortega han huido de la miseria económica y la represión política en su país natal mientras la nación se sumía en el caos. La decisión indignó a los críticos que alegan que contradice la imagen de Estados Unidos como un refugio seguro para los vulnerables. Inicialmente, los periodistas conocieron a la familia en Ciudad de México, y luego los alcanzaron en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México. La dura experiencia sería una prueba para su fortaleza mental y física, tensaría la relación de la pareja, y retaría su compromiso y capacidad para forjarse una nueva vida en Estados Unidos. Aguilar afirma que los fiscales venezolanos distorsionaron los cargos y que él y su amigo no usaron violencia.

☆ 5,000 Miles, 8 Countries: The Path to the U.S. Through One Family’s Eyes
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Luis Ferré-Sadurní | Juan Arredondo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +21 min

With three children and a dog, the Aguilar Ortega family trekked through the jungle, hopped freight trains and toured Times Square. Millions of Venezuelans like the Aguilar Ortega family have fled economic misery and political repression in their homeland as it descended into turmoil. “The kids want to go to New York,” Mr. Aguilar said in Spanish as he stood by his tent in Mexico City. Mr. Aguilar created hiding places for their cash, using toenail clippers to cut small openings into Hayli’s jacket and Josué’s pants. She called Ms. Ortega to check in, and learned of the family’s setup.

Persons: Aguilar Ortega, trekked, Miles, — Hayli, Samuel, Henry Aguilar, Leivy Ortega, Eric Adams, Biden, Aguilar, Ms, Ortega, Donna, ” Mr, ”, COLOMBIA Samuel, Hayli, Nicolás Maduro, It’s, Mr, selfies, “, Josué, Donna meandered, patted, Aguilar Ortegas, Aguilar’s, weren’t, “ It’s, Rafael García, “ Papi, Ortega’s, Floyd Bennett, Simón, Floyd Bennett Field, “ I’ve, I’m, Maria Cardona, ” Ms, Cardona, Amy Swan, Ray Swan, Swan Organizations: New York Times, U.S ., The Times, GAP, MEXICO CITY, Mexico City, Central America, CIUDAD, Times, United, Venezuela’s, Roman Catholic Church, New York, La Guardia Airport, Delta, Roosevelt, Queens, Honda, Facebook Locations: Mexico City, Latin America, Venezuelan, New York City, New York, U.S, United States, Venezuela, “, COLOMBIA, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, la, ”, ” PANAMA, MEXICO, Guatemala, Mexico, earshot, Central, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Ciudad Juárez, Texas, Juárez, Mexican, Rio Grande . Texas, Rio Grande, Cuba, Haiti, El Paso , Texas, El Paso, PASO , TEXAS, York, La, Michigan, Santa Claus, Manhattan, Spanish, MANHATTAN, BROOKLYN, Brooklyn, Simón Bolivar, Spain, Jamaica, MIDDLETOWN, CONN, Middletown, Conn, Connecticut

☆ After Outlawing Public Zoos, Costa Rica Relocates Hundreds of Animals
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Costa Rica announced last week that it would close its two remaining state zoos, more than a decade after it passed a law to ban keeping wild animals in government-sponsored captivity but was met with legal blowback. Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment and Energy said in a statement on Saturday that it would not renew its contract with Fundazoo, a foundation that had run the zoos. The move will close the country’s last two state zoos: the Simón Bolívar Zoo and the Santa Ana Conservation Center. Some of the animals have been in captivity for more than 30 years, the ministry said. Franz Tattenbach, the minister of environment and energy, said on Saturday that Costa Rica would move toward running sanctuaries for animals that cannot return to to the wild.

Persons: Costa Rica, Franz Tattenbach Organizations: Rica’s Ministry of Environment, Energy, Fundazoo, Santa Ana Conservation Center Locations: Costa, Rica’s, Costa Rica

☆ Decades After Dictatorship, Chile Mounts Search for Hundreds Who Vanished
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Pascale Bonnefoy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Thirty-six years after Fernando Ortíz’s abduction and disappearance, his family finally received his remains: five bone fragments in a box. No one came out alive from the black site named for the street it was on: Simón Bolívar. It was little more than a house in a rural area east of the capital run by the regime’s intelligence agency, DINA. There were no witnesses or survivors to shed light on the detainees’ fates. Mr. Ortíz was one of 1,469 people who disappeared under Chile’s military rule from 1973 to 1990.

Persons: Fernando Ortíz’s, Ortíz, Augusto Pinochet, DINA Locations: Chile

☆ Venezuelan opposition strips Juan Guaidó of ‘presidential’ role
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

CARACAS, Venezuela — For three years, Juan Guaidó led the Venezuelan opposition’s efforts to bring about new elections and remove socialist President Nicolás Maduro. The vote reflects a changing balance of power within the opposition, which is trying to find new ways to connect with voters ahead of the nation’s 2024 presidential election. Three of Venezuela’s four main opposition parties backed the proposal to remove Guaidó, who was supported only by his own Popular Will party. After the vote, Guaidó said the move would create a “power vacuum” that could encourage more foreign nations to recognize the Maduro administration. So the opposition legislators created an “interim government,” headed by Guaidó, that was meant to last until Maduro stepped down and free elections could be held.

☆ Cuban singer-songwriter Pablo Milanés dies at 79
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

“The culture in Cuba is in mourning for the death of Pablo Milanes,” Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz tweeted Monday night. Milanés and Rodríguez in particular became close, touring the world’s stages as cultural ambassadors for the Cuban Revolution, and bonding during boozy sessions. “If Silvio Rodríguez and I got together, the rum was always there,” Milanés told El Pais in 2003. Cuba’s aging leaders “are stuck in time,” Milanés told Spanish newspaper El Mundo. “These freedoms have been seen in small doses, and we hope that with time they will grow,” Milanés told The Associated Press.

☆ U.S. fugitive ‘Fat Leonard’ seeks Venezuelan asylum
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Leonard Glenn Francis slipped away from house arrest in San Diego on Sept. 4, only weeks before he was to be sentenced. By law the Venezuelan government must consider the asylum request. Venezuelan officials have said he intended to reach Russia. Leonard Glenn Francis, the CEO of Glenn Defense Marine Asia of Singapore. The U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment when asked about Francis’ request for asylum in Venezuela.

☆ Colombia Reopens Border With Venezuela in Bid to Mend Ties With U.S. Adversary
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Kejal Vyas | Jenny Carolina González | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Colombian and Venezuelan officials watched the first truck cross a bridge connecting the two countries during a Monday ceremony to open their land border. CÚCUTA, Colombia—Colombia and Venezuela on Monday reopened their 1,400-mile border after it was closed for seven years as the new leftist government in Bogotá took a major step toward normalizing relations with a regime that the U.S. has accused of narco-trafficking and rights abuses. Surrounded by crowds of cheering onlookers, Colombian President Gustavo Petro met on the Simón Bolívar International Bridge with Venezuelan officials, as they held up the peace sign and sang their national anthems before the first Venezuelan cargo truck carrying steel crossed over the bridge into Colombia.

☆ Fugitive who bribed Navy officials with cigars, suckling pigs, Lady Gaga tickets, and a 'rotating carousel of prostitutes' may be used as leverage for Venezuela's new government to win recognition fro
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Venezuelan President Maduro may use Leonard as a bargaining chip for US recognition, AP reported. With his capture, experts are speculating whether disputed Venezuelan President Maduro will use the prisoner as a bargaining chip to win recognition from US President Joe Biden's administration, AP reported. He also overcharged the Navy by over $35 million for services, NBC reported,With his arrest, experts told AP Francis' conditional return may be used as leverage to prompt official recognition from the Biden administration. A law enforcement official in Venezuela told AP the extradition is seen as unlikely because the Biden administration recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaidó — not Maduro — as the country's legitimate ruler. Guaidó declared himself interim president of Venezuela in January 2019 amid nationwide protests against authoritarian president Nicolas Maduro.

☆ Navy bribery case fugitive 'Fat Leonard' tried to get to Russia, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In a photo released Sept. 21, 2022, Interpol Venezuela said it captured Malaysian fugitive Francis Leonard Glenn, known as Fat Leonard. Interpol Venezuela | AFP | Getty ImagesSince escaping two weeks ago, officials say the fugitive Malaysian defense contractor nicknamed "Fat Leonard" — who orchestrated one of the U.S. Navy's largest bribery scandals — zipped between countries to find a place where he could become virtually untouchable for American authorities. Francis was planning to travel to Russia, according to Interpol Venezuela Director General Carlos Garate Rondon, who disclosed the arrest in a statement posted Wednesday on Instagram. Among those he befriended was a Russian diplomat, Francis told podcaster Tom Wright, who created a nine-part series on the case. The official said Francis later told authorities his final destination was Russia.

☆ Fugitive 'Fat Leonard' was captured at a Venezuela airport trying to flee to Russia after escaping house arrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Jake Epstein | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Fugitive 'Fat Leonard,' who pleaded guilty to involvement in a US Navy bribery scandal, was caught in Venezuela. Interpol Venezuela said it captured Leonard Glenn Francis trying to flee the country for Russia. Leonard recently cut his GPS ankle bracelet and fled house arrest in San Diego, where he was awaiting sentencing. Francis, a former military contractor who is also known as "Fat Leonard," was captured at an airport while trying to flee the country, Interpol Venezuela said in a Wednesday statement shared to Instagram. —USMS San Diego (@USMSSanDiego) September 6, 2022The US Marshals Service confirmed Francis' capture in Venezuela to the Associated Press.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond CFO falls to death days after company announces massive closures and layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-05 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A Bed Bath & Beyond executive died from an apparent suicide after falling from the downtown Manhattan luxury skyscraper where he lived, according to New York's medical examiner’s office. A Sunday statement from the retailer said that "the entire Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. organization is profoundly saddened by this shocking loss." Last year, Arnal took home $2.9 million as CFO of Bed Bath & Beyond, including $775,000 in salary and the rest in stock awards, according to InsiderTrades.com. Last month, he sold more than 42,500 shares of company stock worth more than a million dollars, according to the website MarketBeat. Bed Bath & Beyond's stock took a major hit last month after an influential investor sold all of his nearly 7.8 million shares.

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