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SAN DIEGO – A retired US Navy captain pleaded guilty, while another former naval officer was sentenced to 17 months in prison in a Scandal of corruption in the navy involving a Malaysian defense contractor. Jeffrey Breslau, 52, of Georgia, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in San Diego on a charge of conflict of interest. Up to now, 33 people have been charged in this case.
Leonard Francis, nicknamed "Fat Leonard", paid Breslau the writing of his e-mails. Prosecutors say Francis overcharged the US Navy for more than $ 35 million in services to ships.
Francis, whose nickname comes from his large size, bribed naval officers to help him over-bill the Navy for providing fuel, food and other services that his company has provided to moored ships in Asian ports, according to prosecutors. The bribes ranged from money and prostitutes to Cuban cigars and Spanish suckling pigs.
Also on Thursday, retired Chief Ricarte Icmat David of the Philippines was sentenced to 17 months. Prosecutors said the 62-year-old had allowed Francis to inflate bills for services never rendered.
David's lawyer, Eliot Krieger, said the punishment was right.
"I think the court understood that Mr. David took responsibility for his actions and understood the seriousness of what he had done," he said, adding that his client "would have led an exemplary life ".
The lawyer from Breslau did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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