Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless and Vice Adm. Ted Branch are top intelligence officers implicated in a major scandal., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
November 8, 2013
Contracting Case Implicates 2 Admirals
By STEVE KENNY and CHRISTOPHER DREW
NYT
WASHINGTON — Two United States admirals, including the Navy’s chief intelligence officer, were stripped of their access to classified information on Friday after being implicated in a contracting scandal that federal prosecutors are investigating in San Diego.
The accusations against the two officers — Vice Adm. Ted Branch, the director of naval intelligence, and Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless, the director of intelligence operations — signal a significant escalation in the investigation and show its widening impact on the Navy.
Admirals Branch and Loveless have been accused of “inappropriate conduct” in connection with the scandal, Rear Adm. John F. Kirby, the Navy’s chief of information, said in a statement Friday night. Investigators had so far named only midlevel Navy officers accused of accepting visits from prostitutes and lavish trips — and in one instance $100,000 in cash — from Leonard Francis, a Malaysian contractor.
Navy officials said the allegations against Admirals Branch and Loveless involved personal misconduct in accepting gifts or services from Mr. Francis, the nature of which could have exposed them to blackmail. But, the officials said, there was no sign at this point that the admirals had done anything for Mr. Francis that might lead to bribery charges against them.
Mr. Francis, chief executive of Glenn Defense Marine Asia, has been charged with bribing Navy officials to shift port calls for warships to ports where he could charge exorbitant fees.
Neither Admiral Branch, whose appointment required Senate approval, nor Admiral Loveless has been charged with a crime, and there is no indication that classified information was leaked, Admiral Kirby said. Both men have been put on leave, he said, but will keep their security clearances.
Two commanders and a supervisor in the Navy’s investigative service have been charged in the investigation, which began in 2010. Mr. Francis, who was known among Navy officers as Fat Leonard, and one of his employees have been arrested. He and two of the Navy officials charged in the case have pleaded not guilty. The third officer charged will not have to respond to the charges formally until later this month, his lawyer said.
All of the allegations so far involve Navy officials who were serving in the Pacific, where Mr. Francis’ company had service contracts in nearly every port. Admiral Branch was a naval aviator who later commanded the Nimitz, an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Fleet. He was appointed a vice admiral in July 2013 as he became the director of naval intelligence. He also serves as deputy chief of naval operations for information dominance.
Admiral Loveless was once based in Japan as assistant chief of staff for intelligence for the Seventh Fleet.
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