Third Navy Officer Arrested In Bribery Scheme

louis vuitton outlet SAN DIEGO -- SAN DIEGO (AP) — Federal authorities arrested a third senior U.S. Navy official Wednesday in connection with a massive bribery scheme in Asia involving prostitutes and luxury travel.

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jose Luis Sanchez was arrested in Tampa, Fla. His lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment.

In a criminal complaint, Sanchez is accused of accepting prostitutes, $100,000 cash and other bribes from Leonard Glenn Francis, the CEO of Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd., or GDMA.

louis vuitton sale Prosecutors say in exchange, Sanchez passed on classified U.S. Navy information to the Malaysian contractor, whose company has serviced Navy ships in the Pacific for 25 years and is accused of overbilling the Pentagon by millions.

Wednesday's arrest marks the latest development in the case rocking the Navy. The accusations signal serious national security breaches and corruption and has set off high-level meetings at the Pentagon with the threat that more people, including those of higher ranks, could be swept up as the investigation continues. A hearing Nov. 8 could set a trial date.

louis vuitton sale online "According to the allegations in this case, a number of officials were willing to sacrifice their integrity and millions of taxpayer dollars for personal gratification," U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said after Wednesday's arrest.

The two other senior officials arrested in recent weeks in the case are Navy Cmdr. Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz — who like Sanchez, is accused of giving Francis' company confidential information about Navy ship routes — and a senior Navy investigator, John Beliveau II.

Prosecutors allege in a criminal complaint that Beliveau, 44, kept Francis abreast of the bribery probe and advised him on how to respond in exchange for such things as prostitution services.

Federal authorities said Wednesday they will seek to have Sanchez, 41, sent to San Diego to face the charges.

louis vuitton outlet store GDMA overcharged the Navy millions of dollars for fuel, food and other services it provided, and invented tariffs by using phony port authorities, prosecutors say.

Misiewicz and Francis moved Navy vessels like chess pieces, diverting aircraft carriers, destroyers and other ships to Asian ports with lax oversight where Francis could inflate costs, the criminal complaint alleges.

Francis, 49, was arrested in San Diego in September. A few weeks later, authorities arrested his company's general manager of global government contracts, Alex Wisidagama, 40.

cheap uggs Misiewicz, Beliveau, Francis and Wisidagama have pleaded not guilty. Their defense attorneys declined to comment.

Court records allege that Sanchez regularly emailed Francis internal Navy discussions about GDMA, including legal opinions, and made recommendations in GDMA's favor about port visits and Navy personnel assignments.

The conspiracy began in January 2009, when Sanchez was the deputy logistics officer for the commander of the Navy's 7th Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan, according to charging documents.

cheap ugg boots Francis, who is known in Navy circles as "Fat Leonard," hired prostitutes for Sanchez and friends on multiple occasions, according to the investigation.

In one 2009 email exchange, Sanchez and Francis discussed a trip Sanchez planned to take to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore with Navy friends he called his "Wolf Pack," according to the complaint. They discussed the number of rooms the "Wolf Pack" needed, and Sanchez asked Francis for pictures of prostitutes for "motivation." Francis replied that he would take care of it.

A few days later, Sanchez sent a Facebook message to Francis saying, "Yummy ... daddy like," according to charging documents.

uggs for cheap Shortly after that, Francis sent an email asking Sanchez to help "swing" business his way regarding a U.S. Navy ship's need to refuel in Thailand.

As a result, the USS Mustin paid more than $1 million for fuel from GDMA at the Thai port — more than twice what the fuel should have cost, prosecutors allege.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman said the GDMA executives "boasted" about their unlawful dealings.

"Day by day, this massive Navy fraud and bribery investigation continues to widen, and as the charges announced today show, we will follow the evidence wherever it takes us," he said.

uggs black Friday deals 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.

Steve King Hints Immigration Could Threaten John Boehner Speakership

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) hinted in an interview with Newsmax this week that he'd consider trying to oust Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), should he bring immigration reform to the House floor.

christian louboutin shoes King, perhaps the House's most vocal opponent of comprehensive immigration reform, praised Boehner's performance during fights over government funding and the debt ceiling, saying he "did serve to unify the conference better than I thought."

But he didn't firmly commit to support the speaker in the future if he was crossed on immigration.

"We'll have to see how the future issues play out," he told Newsmax on Monday. "For example, if immigration comes before the House, it would be the most divisive thing that could be brought up by Republicans in the House. Then I would have a different answer to that question."

christian louboutin outlet King and Boehner have clashed on immigration before. King opposes passing any legislation that could be combined with a Senate-passed comprehensive immigration reform bill -- regardless of whether he'd support the measure as a standalone bill. While Boehner has said he would not allow a vote on the Senate's bill, he has also said he hopes to pass other measures.

King caused a major headache for Boehner and other GOP leaders in July when he compared young undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to drug mules. Boehner quickly put out a statement calling King's comments "wrong" and "hateful."

He later told reporters that King's language had made the reform effort more difficult.

cheap christian louboutin "What he said does not represent the values of the American people or the Republican Party," Boehner said at the time.

Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski noted that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made similar comments in August on immigration reform and Boehner's speakership.

“I think … if [Boehner] allows something to pass out of conference that looks anything like the Senate bill and is passed with a majority of Democrats, I think that will be the final thing he does as speaker," Paul told conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham at the time. "So, I think he knows that, and I think he’s going to be very cautious, christian louboutin and I hope he will defend us on this and not pass something that looks like the Senate bill."