Navy commander latest to be charged in Fat Leonard scandal

[nitpicker]

http://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2017/08/31/navy-commander-latest-to-be-charged-in-fat-leonard-scandal/

Navy commander latest to be charged in ‘Fat Leonard’ scandal

By: Mark D. Faram    15 hours ago

The Navy began its second case Aug. 30 against an officer implicated in the ongoing corruption scandal surrounding defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia and its leader, Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis. Navy prosecutors outlined their case in an Article 32 hearing at Naval Station Norfolk against Navy Cmdr. Jason W. Starmer, a former enlisted sailor turned foreign area officer who, at the time of the allegations, was head of operations for the Joint United States Military Advisory Group, Thailand. Starmer, currently assigned to the Transient Personnel Unit at the Navy Yard in Washington, was charged with graft, patronizing a prostitute, adultery and conduct unbecoming, as well as three specifications of violating a lawful order.
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The Navy’s case against Starmer charges that the officer accepted gifts in the form of meals, liquor and prostitutes purchased by Francis on several occasions, both in Singapore and in Thailand. The Navy contends that Starmer then lied to investigators about the events. The Navy’s case contends that Starmer was fully aware of receiving the gifts that represented payment for past, current and future favors in steering Navy contracts for ship services to GDMA.
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(On) the night of Sept. 6, 2012, Starmer met Francis in a Singapore gentlemen’s club, where Francis picked up a tab somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,000 for a crowd that included not only Starmer, but other U.S. and GDMA officials. Navy prosecutors don’t know what part of that total was reserved for Starmer, but they say it’s logical to assume his portion was over $20, the gift limit any U.S. government official can accept. Kelly said that such events were part of Francis’s “grooming” of Navy officers, when he would give gifts and exchange contact information in an effort to help him overcharge for services provided when U.S. ships hit Asian ports.

Kelly said the evidence shows that Starmer, in his job at the U.S. Military Advisory Group-Thailand, advocated for Francis and his company after a visit by the aircraft carrier Nimitz to Phuket, Thailand, in 2013. During that visit, a taxi strike kept liberty buses taking sailors to and from town from operating on schedule, resulting in sailors failing to get to the ship on time. The incident angered the then-7th Fleet commander. As a result, contracting officials were threatening not to pay GDMA. In heated email exchanges, Starmer suggested that officials needed to “cool down,” which the prosecution claims amounted to advocacy for Francis’s company.
That “advocacy” came just a month after Starmer visited Singapore and again met with Francis. Once again, Francis picked up the tab, the prosecution contends, and also included a prostitute for Starmer.
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