Pentagon official accused of ethics violation
Pentagon investigators have confirmed four instances of ethics and other rule violations by the chief of Pentagon security.
The accused official is Steven E. Calvery, director of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. The Pentagon said that Calvery has disputed the conclusions reached by the Pentagon inspector general.
The IG completed its report in February but did not make it public until Monday. Calvery is accused of misusing his position by arranging for a non-employee to use his agency’s firing range and misusing his subordinates by having them order and pick up his lunch and retrieve coffee for him.
The inspector general also substantiated allegations that Calvery improperly authorized time off for employees to attend a golf tournament and selected a subordinate for promotion based on their relationship rather than the subordinate’s experience.
The IG began its investigation in response to two anonymous complaints about Calvery received in March 2011.
Associated Press
It started with an invitation to the Broadway production of “The Lion King” in Tokyo for the Navy commander, his wife and their children.
In the end, the Malaysian defense contractor known in military circles as “Fat Leonard” would use prostitutes, plane tickets and other bribes to hook the U.S. Naval officer into a scheme that overbilled the Pentagon by millions, investigators say in court papers.
The accusations unfolding in a federal court case in San Diego signal serious national security breaches and corruption, setting off high-level meetings at the Pentagon with the threat that more people, including those of higher ranks, could be swept up as the investigation continues. A hearing Nov. 8 could set a trial date.
According to the court documents, Navy commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz passed confidential information on ship routes to Leonard Francis’ Singapore-based company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd., or GDMA.
Misiewicz and Francis moved Navy vessels like chess pieces, diverting aircraft carriers, destroyers and other ships to Asian ports with lax oversight where Francis could inflate costs, the criminal complaint alleges. The firm overcharged the Navy millions for fuel, food and other services it provided, and invented tariffs by using phony port authorities, prosecutors say.
“It’s pretty big when you have one person who can dictate where ships are going to go and being influenced by a contractor,” said retired Rear Adm. Terry McKnight, who has no direct knowledge of the investigation. “A lot of people are saying, ‘How could this happen?’”
So far, authorities have arrested Misiewicz; Francis; the general manager of global government contracts for Francis’ company, Alex Wisidagama; and a senior Navy investigator, John Beliveau II.
Beliveau is accused of keeping Francis abreast of the probe and advising him on how to respond in exchange for such things as luxury trips and prostitution services. All have pleaded not guilty. Defense attorneys declined to comment.
Senior Navy officials said they believe more people likely will be implicated in the scheme, but it’s too early to tell how many or how high this will go in the naval ranks. Other unidentified Navy personnel are mentioned in court documents as getting gifts from Francis.
Francis is legendary in military circles in that part of the world, said McKnight, who does not know him personally. He is known for extravagance. His 70,000-square-foot bungalow in an upscale Singapore neighborhood has drawn spectators yearly since 2007 to its lavish, outdoor Christmas decorations, which The Straits Times described as rivaling the island city-state’s main shopping street with replicas of snowmen, lighted towering trees, and Chinese and Japanese ornaments.
“He’s a larger-than-life figure,” McKnight said. “You talk to any captain on any ship that has sailed in the Pacific and they will know exactly who he is.”
The company bilked the Navy out of $10 million in just one year in Thailand alone, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said.
The federal government has suspended its contracts with Francis.
The defendants face up to five years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery.
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