US Navy Cmdr. arrested in bribery case
Iran Press TV
Thu Nov 7, 2013 9:0AM GMT
A third senior US Navy official has been charged with receiving bribes from a contractor who provides port services for American ships in Southeast Asia.
US Navy Commander Jose Luis Sanchez, 41, was arrested in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday.
He is accused of accepting prostitutes, $100,000 cash and other bribes. In exchange, federal prosecutors say, he passed on classified US Navy information to the CEO of Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd or GDMA, who is accused of overbilling the Pentagon by millions, according to the Associated Press.
In September, Leonard Glenn Francis, the 49-year-old CEO of the Singapore-based contractor, was arrested in San Diego, where federal authorities plan to send Sanchez to face the charges.
Two other senior US Navy officials have been involved in the case. The two defendants - Navy Commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz who is accused of revealing confidential information about Navy ship routes and John Beliveau II who is a senior Navy investigator - have pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
The investigation is continuing, a US attorney's statement said.
Court records allege that Sanchez had regularly emailed Francis internal Navy discussions about GDMA since January 2009, when Sanchez was the deputy logistics officer for the commander of the Navy's 7th Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan.
According to the documents, Francis hired prostitutes for Sanchez and friends on multiple occasions.
The defendants could face up to five years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery.
The federal government has suspended its contracts with Francis.
ARA/ARA
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