With Leonard Francis in foreign custody on the day of his sentencing in San Diego, attorneys still gather in court in an anti-climactic hearing
It was meant to be the culmination of nearly a decade of revelations about corruption at the highest levels of the U.S. Navy, where Leonard Francis — the mastermind of the massive scandal that has tarnished the service — was supposed to be sentenced for his crimes.
Francis, known by the nickname “Fat Leonard” because of his once-ample size, was arrested by Interpol agents on Tuesday at the Simón Bolívar International airport. He had been on the run for more than two weeks, after cutting off his GPS monitor at his rented home in Torrey Highlands on Sept. 4, and hightailing it out of the jurisdiction.Francis was about to board a plane, trying to reach his final destination of Russia, when he was apprehended.
Francis will have to be extradited back to the U.S., which could be challenging. While the U.S. and Venezuela have an extradition agreement, diplomatic and other relations between the two nations are poor.Assistant U.S. Attorney Valerie Chu told Sammartino that Francis violated a federal law penalizing people for not showing up for court appearances. If he is ultimately charged with that, it could add another five years to his potential sentence.
Little was said otherwise about Francis or his embarrassing escape from custody at the hearing. He had been living outside the jail since 2018 under an extraordinary medical furlough and house arrest.
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