Leonard Glenn Francis, better known as "Fat Leonard," was in a San Diego federal courtroom Thursday after fleeing custody more than 15 months ago.
The former Navy contractor wined and dined scores of military officers in the western Pacific from the early 1990s until his arrest for bribery at a downtown San Diego hotel in 2013.
He pleaded guilty in 2015 but was never sentenced. Instead, the former CEO of Glenn Defense Marine Asia helped federal prosecutors build cases and convict dozens of Navy officials — mostly officers.
In 2018, the court allowed Francis to go on house arrest in San Diego due to his poor health.
In September 2022 before Francis could be sentenced prosecutors say he cut off his ankle monitor and escaped his rented Carmel Valley home, fleeing first to Mexico, before ending up in Venezuela. He was taken into custody by Interpol after arriving.
In December, Francis was turned back over to U.S. authorities in a prisoner swap.
Francis' defense attorneys told the judge Thursday they're withdrawing form the case.
Prosecutors, who are seeking to have Francis sentenced nearly nine years after he pleaded guilty, said their withdrawal could further delay the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard argued in court that Francis' current attorneys have been handling the case for several years and are best suited to handle the sentencing.
"Allowing withdrawal at this particular point in time provides a delay that could go on for quite some time," he told U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino.
While the judge said Sheppard's concerns were valid, she set another hearing in February to revisit the issue of Francis' representation.
Francis pleaded guilty to bribing Navy officers with fancy hotel stays, meals and prostitutes. In exchange he received classified information, and persuaded them to direct aircraft carriers to ports he controlled. So they could be resupplied by his Singapore-based husbanding company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia. He also admitted overcharging the U.S. military for those services in an amount exceeding $35 million.
The prosecutions against Francis and numerous Navy officers he allegedly bribed, resulted in guilty pleas from dozens of defendants, and a 2022 jury trial resulted in convictions for four former 7th Fleet officers.
In September the government's case against those officers collapsed after Judge Sammartino found prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence from defense attorneys. The felony convictions against four former 7th Fleet officers were overturned and they instead pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.
Prosecutors said Thursday they expect to file additional charges related to Francis' escape after he's been sentenced.
Francis is due back in court Feb. 8.
