The man who seduced the 7th Fleet [View all]
Story by Craig Whitlock
Published on May 27, 2016
For months, a small team of U.S. Navy investigators and federal prosecutors secretly devised options for a high-stakes international manhunt. Could the target be snatched from his home base in Asia and rendered to the United States? Or held captive aboard an American warship?
Making the challenge even tougher was the fact that the man was a master of espionage. His moles had burrowed deep into the Navy hierarchy to leak him a stream of military secrets, thwarting previous efforts to bring him to justice.
The target was not a terrorist, nor a spy for a foreign power, nor the kingpin of a drug cartel. But rather a 350-pound defense contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard, who had befriended a generation of Navy leaders with cigars and liquor whenever they made port calls in Asia.
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The Soviets couldnt have penetrated us better than Leonard Francis, said a retired Navy officer who worked closely with Francis and spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid reprisal. Hes got people skills that are off the scale. He can hook you so fast that you dont see it coming. .?.?. At one time he had infiltrated the entire leadership line. The KGB could not have done what he did.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/wp/2016/05/27/fat-leonard/