A high-ranking US Navy commander has pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and prostitution in what has become known as the largest corruption scandal in the force’s history.
Former US Navy Commander Troy Amundson, 50, who once controlled the service’s joint military exercises, admitted on Tuesday that he had accepted bribes, including the services of several prostitutes in exchange for sending US Navy business to a Malaysian businessman named Leonard Francis.
Francis, commonly referred to by his friends as “Fat Leonard,” is the former CEO of Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), the company that has serviced US Navy ships in Asia for 25 years. Francis is accused of overcharging the Navy for goods and services by an amount that exceeded $30 million.
He has admitted to providing Navy officers with an exhaustive list of gifts, including paying for prostitutes, concert tickets and luxury hotel suites in exchange for classified information that…