"Fat Leonard" is in custody after escaping from house arrest in San Diego early this month.
Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian defense contractor knows as “Fat Leonard,” was arrested in Venezuela Tuesday as he was about to board an airplane at the Caracas airport, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The arrest was made after a “red notice,” a request by law enforcement to locate and arrest someone, was issued via Interpol, the international policing agency, Deputy U.S. Marshal Omar Castillo said Wednesday.
Francis escaped from home arrest in San Diego on Sept. 4 by cutting off his GPS bracelet. He has been the object of an international manhunt since. He was the key figure in the U.S. Navy's largest ever corruption scandal.
He will have to be extradited back to the U.S., which could take some time. News of his apprehension came one day before Francis was supposed to be sentenced on bribery and conspiracy charges in San Diego federal court. For more than a decade he orchestrated a wide-ranging corruption scheme in which U.S. Navy officers were bribed with gifts, cash and sex, and in return aided Francis’ ship-servicing business.
(Photo reporting partner 10News)