A retired Navy captain who also served as the U.S. naval attache in the Philippines pleaded guilty to corruption in federal court Tuesday, admitting that he secretly worked as an agent for an Asian defense contractor in exchange for gifts, travel and the services of prostitutes.
Michael George Brooks, 57, of Fairfax Station, Va., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in San Diego to a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery. He faces a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
In his plea agreement, Brooks acknowledged that he and his family members accepted fine wines, hotel rooms, electronics, luxury watches and prostitutes on dozens of occasions from Leonard Glenn Francis, a Singapore-based contractor known as “Fat Leonard” in Navy circles. Francis’s firm, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, held contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to resupply and refuel U.S. Navy ships at ports throughout Asia.
Francis pleaded guilty to bribery charges last year in the case, which has erupted into the worst corruption case in the history of the Navy. Seventeen people have been charged with crimes in federal court, including an admiral and eight other officers. Another defendant has been charged in Singapore. About two thirds of those facing charges have pleaded guilty.
Brooks served as the U.S. naval attache in Manila from 2006 to 2008. According to court documents, he acted secretly on behalf of Francis and Glenn Defense by feeding them confidential Navy correspondence and contracting documents. He illicitly secured diplomatic clearance for Glenn Defense so that the firm could bring cargo and personnel into Philippines without being subject to inspections and customs duties.
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In 2007, Brooks also allowed Glenn Defense to ghostwrite its own official Navy performance evaluation in a bid to win more business, according to his plea agreement.
Share this articleShareBrooks’s attorney, Nicole Sprinzen of Washington, did not immediately return a phone call or email seeking comment.
According to court papers, Francis exploited the Navy captain’s sexual appetites by supplying him with prostitutes on demand. Brooks used code words when sending emails to Francis or other Glenn Defense executives, referring to prostitutes as “shakes,” “chocolate shakes,” and “mocha shakes” or indicating his desire for “high tea.”
Brooks retired from the Navy in November 2011. Until recently, he had been employed as a contractor for the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
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