Fat Leonard

In this riveting exposé, Whitlock unearths the shocking truth behind the actions of Leonard Glenn Francis, a charismatic Malaysian defence contractor who single-handedly manipulated and exploited the US Navy for over a decade. Francis, known for his larger-than-life persona and faultless American accent, was a familiar face to high-ranking officers. He welcomed them generously at ports across Asia, ready to lavish them with extravagant hospitality after their demanding time at sea.

Francis's allure lay in his insidious generosity: $1,000-per-person dinners at Asia’s most luxurious restaurants, bottomless Dom Pérignon, choice Cuban cigars, and an array of young women ensured that the Navy’s brass let their guard down. Ostensibly a true friend of the Navy, Leonard Glenn Francis’s seemingly benign camaraderie masked a calculated scheme of deception and corruption.

Unbeknownst to these military leaders, they were being lulled into complacency, their sense of entitlement and pride blinding them to the fact that Francis was systematically looting American taxpayers. The rewards were not just costly material indulgences; Francis went so far as to appropriate critical military secrets, thereby endangering national security.

Fat Leonard delves into the intricacies of Francis's sophisticated con, based on a wealth of confidential documents and blackmail files Francis meticulously maintained on his Navy contacts. Through this detailed narrative, Whitlock not only traces the rise and fall of a world-class swindler but also starkly exposes the corrosive influence of greed within the hallowed ranks of the American military.

With painstaking research and compelling storytelling, Craig Whitlock's Fat Leonard is an unflinching examination of corruption, hubris, and betrayal, offering readers a front-row seat to a scandal that shook the very foundation of military integrity.