Veterans Day 2024: Honoring And Remembering All Who Served

On this Veterans Day, 2024, I'm thinking about my late older brother Ed Davis (seen in the below photo), who served as a soldier in Chu Lai, South Vietnam in 1968-1969.

I'm also thinking of my late father, Edward Miller Davis (seen in the center of the below photo), who was a chief petty officer and a UDT frogman in WWII.

I'm proud to say that I'm also a veteran, having served on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, CVA 63, during the Vietnam War in 1970-1971.  

I also served on a U.S. Navy harbor tugboat, the USS Saugus, YTB 780, at the U.S. nuclear submarine base at Holy Loch, Scotland in 1974-1975. 

I salute and honor all of my fellow veterans.

Hemingway Wisdom

Note: Sadly, after 72 years, I've yet to learn to keep quiet.  

Plot To Assassinate Trump: U.S. Attorney Announces Murder-For-Hire And Related Charges Against IRGC Asset And Two Local Operatives

The New York Post reports that the Justice Department says it has thwarted an Iranian plot to kill President-elect Donald Trump in the leadup to the election. 

A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan alleges that an unnamed official in Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard instructed a contact to put together a plan to surveil and ultimately kill Trump. 

You can read the Justice Department press release below:

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Merrick B. Garland, the Attorney General of the United States, Christopher A. Wray, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI New York Field Office, and David Sundberg, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, announced today the filing of murder-for-hire and related charges against FARHAD SHAKERI, CARLISLE RIVERA, a/k/a “Pop,” and JONATHAN LOADHOLT in connection with their involvement in a plot to murder a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin in New York.  RIVERA was arrested in Brooklyn, New York yesterday.  SHAKERI remains at large and is believed to reside in Iran.  RIVERA and LOADHOLT were presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer Willis in the Southern District of New York yesterday and ordered detained pending trial.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said: “There are few actors in the world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran.  The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald J. Trump.  We have also charged and arrested two individuals who we allege were recruited as part of that network to silence and kill, on U.S. soil, an American journalist who has been a prominent critic of the regime.  We will not stand for the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger the American people and America’s national security.”

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said: “The charges announced today expose Iran’s continued brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens, including President-elect Donald J. Trump, other government leaders, and dissidents who criticize the regime in Tehran.  The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – a designated foreign terrorist organization – has been conspiring with criminals and hitmen to target and gun down Americans on U.S. soil and that simply won’t be tolerated. Thanks to the hard work of the FBI, their deadly schemes were disrupted.  We’re committed to using the full resources of the FBI to protect our citizens from Iran or any other adversary who targets Americans.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: “These individuals allegedly plotted to murder an American citizen – on our soil – at the direction of a foreign terrorist organization, the IRGC.  This case is an example of yet another flagrant attempt by the Government of Iran, not merely to silence those who speak out against them, but to take the lives of American citizens exercising their constitutionally protected rights here in this country.  As we remain unwavering in our mission to protect the American people, the FBI will continue to aggressively pursue justice against anyone attempting to use violence to violate our freedoms and way of life.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg said: “The charges announced today further demonstrate the IRGC's continued campaign to silence and kill Americans who criticize the Iranian regime.  Through collaboration with FBI New York's Joint Terrorism Task Force and federal prosecutors at the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we have successfully disrupted the defendants’ alleged plots to fulfill Iran’s goals of permanently eliminating voices of opposition. We vow to continue to work with our partners to stop IRGC operatives and associates who seek to harm our citizens on our soil.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint charging the defendants and other public statements and filings:^[1] 

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (the “Government of Iran”) is actively targeting nationals of the United States and its allies living in countries around the world for attacks, including assault, kidnapping, and murder, both to repress and silence dissidents critical of the Iranian regime and to take vengeance for the January 2020 death of then-Commander of the Islamic  Revolutionary Guard Corps (“IRGC”) Qods Force (“IRGC-QF”), Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.  The IRGC is an Iranian military and counterintelligence agency under the authority of Iran’s Supreme Leader, comprised of components including an external operations force, the IRGC-QF, and has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Secretary of State since April 15, 2019. The IRGC has publicly stated its desire to avenge the death of Soleimani, and, among its activities, the IRGC plots and conducts attack operations outside Iran targeting U.S. citizens residing in the United States and abroad.

SHAKERI is an IRGC asset residing in Tehran, Iran. SHAKERI immigrated to the United States as a child and was deported in or about 2008 after serving 14 years in prison for a robbery conviction.  In recent months, SHAKERI has used a network of criminal associates he met in prison in the United States to supply the IRGC with operatives to conduct surveillance and assassinations of IRGC targets.  Two members of SHAKERI’s network are his co-defendants, LOADHOLT and RIVERA.  At SHAKERI’s instruction, LOADHOLT and RIVERA have spent months surveilling a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin residing in the United States (“Victim-1”).  Victim-1 is an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime and has been the target of multiple prior plots for kidnapping and/or murder directed by the Government of Iran.  In exchange for SHAKERI’s promise of $100,000, RIVERA and LOADHOLT repeatedly sought to locate Victim-1 for murder.

During their efforts to locate and kill Victim-1, SHAKERI, LOADHOLT, and RIVERA shared messages about their progress and photographs relating to their scheme.  For example, in or about February 2024, RIVERA and LOADHOLT messaged about an incoming payment from SHAKERI, and then traveled to Fairfield University, where Victim-1 was scheduled to appear, and took photographs on campus.  In or about April 2024, SHAKERI sent RIVERA a series of voice notes discussing their efforts to locate and kill Victim-1.  In one voice note, SHAKERI told RIVERA that Victim-1 spent most of her time in particular locations of her home, and told RIVERA that “you just gotta have patience . . . You gotta wait and have patience to catch her either going in the house or coming out, or following her out somewhere and taking care of it.  Don’t think about going in.  In is a suicide move.”  On several occasions over the last several months, consistent with this instruction from SHAKERI, RIVERA and/or LOADHOLT have surveilled a location in Brooklyn that they had identified as associated with Victim-1.     

In addition, according to statements made by Shakeri in recorded interviews with law enforcement agents, the IRGC has also tasked Shakeri with carrying out other assassinations against U.S. and Israeli citizens located in the United States.  In particular, Shakeri has informed law enforcement that he was tasked on October 7, 2024, with providing a plan to kill President-elect Donald J. Trump.  During the interview, Shakeri claimed he did not intend to propose a plan to kill Trump within the timeframe set by the IRGC.  He also stated he was tasked with surveilling two Jewish American citizens residing in New York City and offered $500,000 by an IRGC official for the murder of either victim.  He was also tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka.

*                *                *

SHAKERI, 51, of Iran, RIVERA, 49, of Brooklyn, New York, and LOADHOLT, 36, of Staten Island, New York, have all been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; and money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

SHAKERI has also been charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison;  providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and sanctions against the Government of Iran, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be imposed by a judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents and analysts from the FBI and detectives from the New York City Police Department, and the FBI Washington Field Office.  Mr. Williams also thanked the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, U.S. Customs and Border Protection New York Field Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration New York Division, and the New York State Police.

This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob Gutwillig and Michael Lockard, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Isaacson are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from National Security Division Trial Attorneys Dmitry Slavin of the Counterterrorism Section, and Christopher Rigali and Leslie Esbrook of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

The charges in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Fat Leonard Case: Leonard Glenn Francis Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison For Massive Bribery, Fraud And Disappearance

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information today:

SAN DIEGO – Leonard Glenn Francis (seen in the above photo), mastermind of an unprecedented bribery and fraud scheme targeting the U.S. Navy, was sentenced in federal court today to 180 months in prison and ordered to pay $20 million in restitution to the Navy and a $150,000 fine. Francis was also ordered to forfeit $35 million in ill-gotten proceeds from his crimes.

Francis’ sentence reflects admissions in his first guilty plea in 2015 concerning bribery and fraud, his extensive cooperation with the government, and his guilty plea today for failing to appear for his original sentencing hearing in 2022. U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino handed down a 164-month sentence for bribery and fraud and 16 months for failing to appear, to be served consecutively.

Francis admitted today in his second plea agreement that he fled the country to avoid his sentencing hearing in September 2022. Around September 4, 2022, while he was on house arrest, Francis cut off a GPS monitor he was required to wear and disappeared, first fleeing to Mexico, then Cuba, and ultimately, Venezuela. He was later arrested in Venezuela and brought back to the U.S. on December 20, 2023.

Francis, 60, a Malaysian citizen most recently living in Singapore, was initially arrested in San Diego on September 16, 2013, and remained in pretrial custody until December 18, 2017, when the court granted his request for release pending sentencing due to a medical condition. Francis served four years and three months in custody before he was released on bond and ordered into house arrest. He remained on bond under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services for almost five years, from December 17, 2017, until he fled the U.S. on September 4, 2022. He has remained in custody in the U.S. since his return on December 20, 2023. Based on today’s sentence and the court’s finding that Francis has so far served 2,333 days of his sentence - including time spent in custody in Venezuela at the request of the U.S. government - Francis has an estimated 8.5 years remaining.

According to admissions in his initial 2015 plea agreement, and other court documents, Francis and his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, or GDMA, which provided services to U.S. Navy ships in Asia Pacific ports, gave co-conspirators millions of dollars in things of value, including over $500,000 in cash; hundreds of thousands of dollars in the services of prostitutes and associated expenses; hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses, including airfare, often first or business class, luxurious hotel stays, incidentals, and spa treatments; hundreds of thousands of dollars in lavish meals, top-shelf alcohol and wine, and entertainment; and hundreds of thousands of dollars in luxury gifts, including designer handbags and leather goods, watches, fountain pens, Kobe beef, Spanish suckling pigs, designer furniture, Cuban cigars, consumer electronics, ornamental swords, and hand-made ship models.

Francis admitted that in return, U.S. Navy personnel and command staff advocated on behalf of Francis and his company during the procurement process and provided classified information about various U.S. Navy ships’ port visits, proprietary U.S. Navy information such as details about competitors’ bids for U.S. Navy contracts, and information about Naval Criminal Investigative Service and U.S. Navy investigations into GDMA’s practices, among other things.

In his 2015 plea agreement, Francis also admitted to defrauding the U.S. Navy of tens of millions of dollars by routinely overbilling for goods and services provided, including fuel, tugboats, and sewage disposal.

GDMA the corporation was also sentenced today to five years of probation and ordered to pay a $36 million fine.

According to the government’s sentencing memo, Francis’ scheme to defraud the United States over many years and the entrenched bribery and corruption he fostered within the U.S. Navy were aggravated and egregious. By contrast, once caught, he pleaded guilty, and cooperated extensively with authorities.

Over the course of several years, Francis met with government investigators dozens of times to discuss unprecedented levels of corruption within the U.S. Navy. Francis provided detailed information about hundreds of Sailors, from petty officers to admirals, and turned over financial records, photographs, receipts and Navy contracting documents. Corroborated information from Francis substantially assisted the United States in its investigation.

“Mr. Francis’ sentencing brings closure to an expansive fraud scheme that he perpetrated against the U.S. Navy with assistance from various Navy officials. This fraud conspiracy ultimately cost the American taxpayer millions of dollars and weakened the public’s trust in some of our Navy’s senior leaders. Mr. Francis’ actions not only degraded the 7th Fleet’s readiness but shook the Fleet’s trust in its leadership who furthered his corrupt practices,” said Kelly P. Mayo, the Director of the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). “The exhaustive joint investigation exemplifies the lengths DCIS and its investigative partners will go to in order to pursue justice for the American taxpayer and our warfighters.  DCIS will continue to protect our nation’s precious resources so they are not lost to illicit schemes that only serve one’s greed and self-aggrandizement to the detriment of our national security.”

“Leonard Francis put the safety of our warfighters and Department of Navy assets at risk,” said NCIS Director Omar Lopez. “He disregarded the law and lined his pockets by bribing U.S. Navy officials and others to exploit sensitive national security information. NCIS remains committed to protecting Department of the Navy personnel and resources. As we reach the final sentencing in this complex and intensive procurement fraud investigation that spanned over a decade, I want to thank the countless NCIS professionals and partner agencies involved.”

Note: You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine Q&A with Craig Whitlock, the author of Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy, via the below link:

Paul Davis On Crime: My Counterterrorism Magazine Q&A With Craig Whitlock, The Author Of “Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked and Seduced the U.S. Navy” 

My Counterterrorism Magazine Q&A With Craig Whitlock, The Author Of “Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked and Seduced the U.S. Navy”

Counterterrorism magazine published my Q&A with Craig Whitlock (seen in the below photo). 

The Washington Post investigative reporter has covered the “Fat Leonard” U.S. Navy bribery scandal since the beginning and he has published a fine book about the sensational crime story.  

You can read the Q&A via the below pages or the below text:

Craig Whitlock is an investigative reporter for the Washington Post who specializes in national security issues. He has covered the Pentagon, served as the Berlin bureau chief and reported from more than 60 countries. He joined The Washington Post in 1998. 

Craig Whitlock is the author of “The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War.” He has also written “Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy,” which covers the massive bribery and contractor fraud case that involved many senior Navy officers across the world. 

Offering fine cigars, extravagant dinners, expensive gifts and even prostitutes, Leonard Francis, the owner and operator of the Glenn Marine Group in Southeast Asia, bribed Navy officers and other officials into providing him classified information that helped him enrich his contracting business. Suspicion of Leonard’s padded invoices led to an investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS), which in turn led to the arrest of numerous Navy officers for bribery.    

Craig Whitlock was interviewed by Paul Davis. 

IACSP: Your book on the Fat Leonard bribery and procurement fraud case interested me as I’m a Navy veteran having served as a teenage sailor on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War. And prior to becoming a full-time writer, I did security work as a Defense Department civilian employee. I worked on a good number of contractor fraud cases, but nothing as big as the Fat Leonard case. 

How did you begin reporting on the Fat Leonard story? 

Whitlock: I was a Pentagon beat reporter for the Washington Post in 2013 and one day I saw there was an Associated Press report from San Deigo about the arrest of a Navy contractor from Malaysia on bribery charges. At the same time, the U.S. Justice Department in San Deigo announced that they had also arrested a U.S. Navy officer for taking bribes, and the one that really caught my eye was the arrest of an NCIS civilian special agent. It was unusual for a Navy officer - this was a commander, an 0-5 - and an NCIS special agent taking bribes from a foreign national contractor to the Navy. I was wandering the corridors of the Pentagon and I bumped into a Navy officer I knew and I mentioned this case and asked him if he had heard of this guy Leonard Francis who was the contractor, and this Navy officer just laughed and said, “Oh, you mean Fat Leonard.” I said is that what they call him because I didn’t know he was so big at that point. The guy said everybody in the Navy knows Fat Leonard. And so, I’m a reporter and I like to tell stories, and certainly this caught my eye for a potentially really good story. I wrote a page one story for the Washington Post in the fall of 2013 about this unusual bribery case and how the guy at the center of it was a Malaysian defense contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard. At that point not much had been made public but every month there was some new bombshell that came out of my reporting or there were additional people who came under investigation, including the Director of Naval Intelligence, so it became clear that the more you kept pulling the string, the bigger and bigger it got. I kept going for the next ten years.               

IACSP: Did your Washington Post editors encourage you to pursue the story?

Whitlock: They did. The Washington Post is really good about that. One of our core missions is doing accountability reporting of public officials and so if there are allegations of corruption, particularly involving senior naval officers and the NCIS, that is not a hard story to sell to your editors. I was able to keep delivering a lot of stories about it. I wrote probably about 60 or 70 articles for the Washington Post over several years and to this day my editors are still very hungry for Fat Leonard stories. It is such an unusual case, and the scope is so big, and the fact that the Navy by and large has tried to cover it up, it makes all the more important to get to the bottom of it.       

IACSP: What sources did you have for the story?

Whitlock: I had a lot of sources. I had documented sources, meaning court records, and I filed a lot of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests with the Navy, dozens and dozens of them. I’m a big document hound when it comes to reporting, because there is no greater source than getting documents. I also developed human sources both inside and outside of the Navy, many of whom were on the record, because as the Navy officer at the Pentagon told me, everyone in the Navy heard of Fat Leonard, so people had stories to tell about him. People in the Navy were less willing to comment on the ongoing investigation, because there were so many high-ranking officials involved, but over time, I was able to piece things together with a combination of human sources, court records and documents I obtained under FOIA.  

    

IACSP: How would you describe Leonard Francis?

Whitlock: Fat Leonard is one of the world’s most accomplished con men. He is really a criminal mastermind. He is charismatic. He loves to tell stories. He loves to charm people. Part of the secret to his success as a criminal is people underestimate him. One reason they underestimate him is because he was such a big guy. They didn’t take him as a threat. He weighed anywhere from 350 to 500 pounds, and he was this enormous guy. He doesn’t look like somebody who is trying to penetrate Naval Intelligence. He loved to party and throw dinners and give people gifts, and he was kind of a “Good Time Charlie,” so a lot of people in the Navy really underestimated the threat that he posed to the Defense Department. He knew how to take advantage of that, and he was a very quick study of human behavior and psychology. He was a really smart guy even though he was a high school drop out in Malaysia. He’s a brilliant guy and he really knows how to study people and search out their weaknesses and their vices. Over time, he was gradually able to reel in hundreds of people in the Navy who took his gifts and bribes. There is no other case like it that I’ve been able to uncover.                

IACSP: What specific crimes did he commit and how did those crimes affect national security?

Whitlock: He pleaded guilty to bribery and fraud charges in federal court. The crux of the case is that he was bribing navy officers and other personnel, such as the NCIS special agent, to give him information that would enable him to gouge the Navy for his company’s services. You’re a Navy veteran, so you’re familiar with husbanding contractors who resupply ships whenever they appeared in port. Over time, he got contracts worth more than 250 million dollars. He built himself up to become the dominant Navy contractor in Southeast Asia. He was essentially buying people off to look the other way so he could overcharge the Navy systematically for hundreds of port visits a year. How he damaged national security, besides defrauding the government, is that he also persuaded 12 Navy officers to leak him classified material over the period of seven years. This was not top-secret material. Most of the time it had to do with the planned schedules of Navy ships and what ports they were going to up to a year in advance.

IACSP: The Navy calls it “Ship’s Movement” information, and it is classified.

Whitlock: He also got one officer to leak him ballistic missile information that was highly classified. So that was the real damage that he did to the Navy. He penetrated the counterintelligence defenses for years on end. To this day, the Navy has never really done a public assessment of the damage he caused in that regard.    

IACSP: Why do you think so many high-ranking Navy officers, admirals, captains and commanders, fell for his bribery?

Whitlock: That’s a great question and it is really at the heart of my book. There were 90 admirals, active duty and retired, who came under investigation or were questioned about their dealings with Leonard Francis. It is a pretty striking number. Leonard was omnipresent out in Asia, so they would all run into him. Leonard was clever. He understood the importance of rank in the military. So if he could get one admiral to take his gifts, the rest of the officer’s wardroom would take their cues from that. If they saw the admiral at one of Leonard’s extravagant dinners that cost a thousand dollars a plate, everybody else would see that it was OK to deal with Leonard and it was OK to take his gifts. Over the years he had lured so many admirals to his dinners or even his sex parties, that it became accepted behavior, even though senior officers knew that this violated every ethics law in the book. It was sort of a “wink-wink, nod-nod” kind of behavior. Leonard had gotten so many to be his friends and take his gifts, people were afraid to blow the whistle. Who is going to blow the whistle on an aircraft carrier strike force commander or the commanding officer of a ship? People knew their careers were at stake. Even other admirals were reluctant to blow the whistle on their peers. No one wanted to bring the house down.                 

IACSP: How would you describe the typical officer that Leonard Francis was able to bribe with a cigar, a good meal and a bottle of champagne?

Whitlock: Leonard would start out slow and small. The gift limit for taking gifts from contractors was 20 bucks, but Leonard would note who would take a cigar from him or just a drink from the bar.

IACSP: Not just any cigar. He offered a Cohiba, a really fine cigar.

Whitlock: He would not start out flashing envelops of cash. He would see who would take a little gift. Then he would take them out for a nice meal, or a whole bunch of cigars, or put them up in a five-star hotel, or send a gift to their wife. A lot of officers would say no. Leonard had a reputation for doing this. He wanted to see who would be willing to take his gifts as this was in Asia, half-way around the world from Navy headquarters. He wanted to see who would look the other way and let their ethics slide. Slowly, he would reel them in. There were officers he knew who wanted nothing to do with him and he would keep his distance from those officers. He would gather background information on incoming commanding officers. He had all these moles on his payroll in the Navy who would feed him inside information, and he would study who would be a good person to recruit. By and large the people he was able to bribe were those who had a sense of entitlement. They had served in the Navy for many years and made sacrifices and felt what was the harm if Leonard wanted to take them to dinner. But what they didn’t foresee was that Leonard had them over a barrel. He knew that the officers had broken ethics rules and the law. Sometimes even when officers wanted to get out of their relationships with Leonard, he wouldn’t let them. He became very demanding because he could blackmail them if necessary and he knew he had that power. People fell into that trap.             

IACSP: How was Leanard Francis arrested in a sting operation and captured by U.S. agents in the U.S?

Whitlock: The Navy and the Justice Department were actually considering a sort of counterterrorism-type operation to apprehend him. They were concerned if they caught him in Maylasia, they would not be able to extradite him. Originally, they contemplated luring him on a U.S. Navy ship in Asia and sticking him in the brig and bringing him back to the U.S. but thought it would be too complicated. So they set up a sting where they invited him to a change of command ceremony for some admirals in San Deigo. Leonard loved to rub elbows with admirals above all else, so they thought they could get him to come to San Deigo and then they could arrest him. That’s what happened even though Leonard knew he was under criminal investigation by NCIS. He was thought his moles would protect him. It did not dawn on him that he would be arrested.        

IACSP: How was he able to later escape and end up in Venezuela? How did the U.S. get him back?

Whitlock: I said Leonard Francis was one of the greatest con men in history. Here is this guy that they had to set up this international sting operation to lure him to the United States, but in a nutshell, he conned the Justice Department and conned the federal judge into thinking he was dying of cancer. He did have kidney cancer, and he was pretty sick, but as he was cooperating as a state witness at that point, he persuaded the Justice Department to let him out of jail so he could get special treatment with his own doctors in San Deigo. They put one of those ankle bracelets on him, but he was dictating his own conditions. He was a risk to flee, and one day he did. He just snipped off his ankle bracelet, called an uber and went to the border and crossed over into Tijuana, Mexico. A couple of days later he flies to Cuba and then ends up in Venezuela for the better part of a year. The Venezuelans put him under arrest in their custody as they saw him as a bargaining chip with the Americans. In the end the Biden Administration negotiated a prisoner swap that brought him back to the United States in December of 2023. He is now back in jail in San Deigo.         

IACSP: What did the prosecution do wrong, which enabled many of the cases to be overturned?

Whitlock: There was an enormous prosecution. The Justice Department filed charges against 35 individuals, so this was a pretty big fraud and bribery case. Just about all of them pleaded guilty, but there were five holdouts who insisted on going to trial as they said they were not guilty. During the trials the juries found four of them guilty of taking bribes from Francis and one was found deadlocked on. Later, the Justice Department dropped charges against an admiral whom the jury was deadlocked on. But then it emerged that the prosecutors had effectively cheated by withholding some evidence from the defense. This led to a slow unraveling of the case and so these four who were found guilty at trial of several felonies were able to get much more palpable plea deals where they pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor and didn’t have to serve any jail time. Because they were off the hook, all of these defendants who had already pleaded guilty said they wanted the same kind of deal. Some cases are still under review, including Leanord’s. The Justice Department really made a hash of the whole thing. They could have had three dozen individuals convicted in this case. Instead, they ended up with egg on their face.          

IACSP: When will Leonard Francis’ case be finalized?

Whitlock: Leonard is in jail in San Deigo and his sentencing hearing is scheduled for Election Day, November 5^th. Because of this taint to the overall prosecution, I think Leonard is hoping they will have to let him out of jail. His argument is he was arrested in 2013, so he served a few years behind bars, he served several years in home detention, and he served time in Venezuela, so his argument is I served more time than anybody else so they should let me go. We will see what the judge says.   

IACSP: What a fascinating story. Any calls from Hollywood?

Whitlock: Yeah, lots. It is one of those stories where truth is stranger than fiction and the truth is pretty unbelievable, so I think it will make a great series. There is also a documentary I’m working on. It is an unbelievable story of greed and corruption. 

IACSP: Thanks for speaking to us. 

My Counterterrorism Magazine Piece On Cruise Ship Crime

Counterterrorism magazine published my piece on crime aboard cruise ships. 

You can read the piece via the below pages or the below text:

"You’re safer from crime on a cruise ship than you are on the streets of any city,” noted Mark Tartaglia, a retired Philadelphia police detective who travels on cruise ships often with his wife and friends. “But of course crimes do occur on cruise ships, like anywhere else. That’s why it is good to travel in a group.”

While cruises promise relaxation and escape, the unfortunate reality is that serious crimes can and do happen on the high seas, the FBI stated in a public release.

“The FBI, alongside its partners, works to ensure the safety of the millions of Americans traveling aboard cruise ships every year.”

According to the FBI, cruise ship criminal jurisdiction is complicated, and keeping U.S. passengers safe at sea presents unique challenges. Because cruise ships are registered in one country but travel through international waters, and also carry crew and passengers from many countries, when a crime occurs, more than one country may want to investigate– which raises critical questions, the FBI stated.

"It really depends," said FBI Tampa Special Agent Mat Pagliarini, who investigates cruise ship crime out of Florida’s Cape Canaveral. "Do we have jurisdiction based on where the ship was? What was the next port of call? Was a U.S. citizen involved?"

The FBI said passengers can help protect themselves by staying vigilant, being aware of their surroundings, securing their belongings, and promptly reporting any suspicious activity or incidents to ship security.

Pagliarini explained that typically cruise ships have their own security personnel on board. Cruise line security personal act as first responders, ensuring safety for passengers until they can hand the incident over to law enforcement.

When a crime is reported and meets one of the eight mandated reportable incidents, ship security officers connect with their U.S. shoreside-security counterparts who pass the report along to the FBI to determine jurisdiction and next steps.

In addition to reporting the incident to a cruise ship security officer as soon as possible, you can also report the incident to the FBI directly. Pagliarini stressed the importance of immediate reporting by victims and witnesses, especially considering the complexities of investigating crimes at sea.

"We get that a lot, or somebody has something stolen, and they don't know until they got home and then report it," said Pagliarini. "This delay complicates investigations, especially when victims are far from the location of the incident."

Pagliarini suggest passengers avoid taking valuable jewelry—as it's easy to lose or have stolen—be responsible when drinking and go directly through the cruise line company when booking excursions.

Below are some of the more notable cruise ship crimes:

In August. 28th, Arvin Joseph Mirasol, a citizen of the Philippines, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Melissa Damian in Miami to 30 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to producing child pornography.  

According to the Justice Department, on February 25th, a guest aboard the Symphony of the Seas cruise ship, which is owned by Royal Caribbean Group, discovered a hidden camera affixed to the counter under the sink in the guest’s bathroom. The guest reported the camera to ship security.

“Mirasol, a stateroom attendant who serviced passenger cabins, was detained until the cruise ship docked at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Once the ship docked, on March 3, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel boarded the ship and began their investigation. Mirasol’s electronics were seized and searched. Law enforcement discovered that Mirasol’s electronics contained numerous videos of children in various stages of undress.  The focus of the videos was on the children’s genital areas. One video showed Mirasol himself installing a camera in a guest’s bathroom. HSI agents were able to identify children depicted in the videos, ranging from 2 to 17 years of age.”

Mirasol said he had been placing cameras in passenger cabins since December of 2023. Mirasol would enter the guests’ rooms while they were showering and hide under their beds so he could secretly record them exiting the shower.

On May 23^rd in Juneau, Alaska, a federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment charging a South African man with assaulting three people with medical scissors while aboard a cruise ship.

According to court documents, on May 6, 2024, Ntando Sogoni, 35, was allegedly discovered trying to deploy a lifeboat and was taken to the ship’s medical area for an evaluation.

“During his evaluation, he began struggling with a nurse and security guard and fled to another examination room, where he assaulted a female victim, who is a U.S. citizen. He stabbed her with trauma scissors multiple times in the chest, arms and head, causing serious bodily harm. He proceeded to attack two security guards, stabbing one guard, a national of the Philippines, in the head, and stabbing the other guard, a national of Nepal, in the spine.”

He was detained and held in the ship’s jail until arriving in Juneau on May 7, where he was charged by complaint and arrested by the FBI.

At the time of the assault, the ship was on the high seas and within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the U.S., and on a voyage with a scheduled departure from or arrival in the U.S.

According to the Justice Department, Sogoni was charged with one count assault with intent to murder in violation of 18 U.S.C. §7(1), (7) and (8) and 113(a)(1), three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §7(1), (7) and (8) and 113(a)(3), and three counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury in violation of 18 U.S.C. §7(1), (7) and (8) and 113(a)(6),

Back in June of 2021 in Juneau, Alaska, a Utah man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for the beating death of his wife during a 2017 family cruise to Alaska.

According to the Justice Department, Kenneth Manzanares, 43, pleaded guilty in February 2020 to the second-degree murder of Kristy Manzanares while onboard the Emerald Princess cruise ship in the U.S. Territorial Waters outside southeast Alaska on July 25, 2017.

“In 2017 Kenneth Manzanares brutally murdered his wife Kristy Manzanares while on an Alaskan cruise with their three daughters and extended family members. This was not a random act of violence but a chilling neglect for human life for which he will serve 30 years in federal prison, where there is no parole ever,” said then-Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson of the District of Alaska.  

“While today’s sentence will not bring Kristy back to her family and friends, we hope it provides a sense of justice for this heinous crime and brings some closure to those who knew and cared about her.”

Robert Britt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Anchorage Field Office, added, “No excuse can justify the savagery committed by this man, who will now spend the next three decades behind bars. The FBI worked tirelessly, with the support of our partners, to seek justice for Kristy – a beloved mother, daughter, sister and friend.  While justice has now been served, the lasting impact and trauma this man inflicted on Kristy’s family can never be erased. Our thoughts are with Kristy’s family and her home community.”

According to court documents, on July 24, 2017, Kenneth Manzanares, Kristy Manzanares, their three daughters and Kristy’s extended family members boarded the Emerald Princess on an Alaskan cruise. On the evening of July 25, Kenneth and Kristy were inside their cabin along with two of their daughters.

According to admissions made in connection with the plea, Kenneth and Kristy became involved in an argument about Kenneth’s behavior that evening. During the argument, Kristy stated she wanted a divorce and told him to get off the ship in Juneau and travel back home to Utah. Kenneth told the two daughters to leave the room, and both went into an adjoining relatives’ cabin. A few minutes later, they both heard Kristy scream and attempted to reenter the cabin using the adjoining door when Kenneth told them not to come in. They both went to the connected balcony and saw Kenneth straddling Kristy on the bed striking her in the head with closed fists.

“Prior to security officers arriving in the cabin, Kristy Manzanares’ two brothers and father arrived on scene. One of the brothers saw Kenneth Manzanares drag Kristy’s body toward the balcony and he grabbed her ankles pulling her back into the cabin. Soon after, at approximately 9:00 p.m., ship security and medical personnel arrived and attempted to perform life saving measures on Kristy but were unsuccessful. It was determined that she was killed by blunt force trauma to her head and face. Manzanares was arrested, on July 26, 2017.”

“I’ve vacationed on many cruise ships with my wife and other couples, and we’ve never encountered any incidents of crime involving us or other passengers,” Tartaglia said. “But you should always be aware that crime can occur anywhere, including on cruise ships.”

Paul Davis, a longtime contributor to the Journal, also writes the online Threatcon column.

Note: The above photo is of my late friend and former Philadelphia Detective Mark Tartaglia.

My Threatcon Column: Fighting Terrorism Remains Justice Department’s Top Priority

Counterterrorism Magazine posted my latest online Threatcon column today. You can read the column via the below link or the below text:

IACSP - ThreatCon Articles

Fighting Terrorism Remains Justice Department’s Top Priority

By Paul Davis 

With attention on the Israeli and Ukrainian wars, and with no terrorist attacks directly targeting Americans on U.S. soil in some time, counterterrorism has taken a back seat. 

But two recent federal prosecutions last month indicate that we still need to be on guard against terrorism. 

On October 8, 2024, the Justice Department announced charges against an Afghanistan citizen living in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for conspiring to conduct an Election Day terrorist attack in the United States on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO).

According to the Justice Department’s criminal complaint, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, conspired and attempted to provide material support to ISIS and obtained firearms and ammunition to conduct a violent attack on U.S. soil in the name of ISIS.

As part of the plot, the Justice Department claims, the defendant allegedly took steps to liquidate his family’s assets, resettle members of his family overseas, acquire AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition, and commit a terrorist attack in the United States.

“As charged, the Justice Department foiled the defendant’s plot to acquire semi-automatic weapons and commit a violent attack in the name of ISIS on U.S. soil on Election Day,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We will continue to combat the ongoing threat that ISIS and its supporters pose to America’s national security, and we will identify, investigate, and prosecute the individuals who seek to terrorize the American people. I am deeply grateful to the public servants of the FBI, National Security Division, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma for their work to disrupt this attack and for the work they do every day to protect our country.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray added, “This defendant, motivated by ISIS, allegedly conspired to commit a violent attack, on Election Day, here on our homeland. I am proud of the men and women of the FBI who uncovered and stopped the plot before anyone was harmed. Terrorism is still the FBI's number one priority, and we will use every resource to protect the American people."

Robert Troester, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, also weighed in, “Thanks to the relentless efforts of the FBI, National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and federal prosecutors in my office, the alleged plan to commit an attack on Election Day was disrupted and Mr. Tawhedi was arrested. Fighting terrorism remains the top priority of the Justice Department. We will continue to pursue, disrupt, and hold accountable those who plot to commit acts of terrorism against our country and our people.”

According to the criminal complaint, as part of the investigation into Tawhedi, “The FBI searched Tawhedi’s phone and obtained communications between Tawhedi and a person who facilitated recruitment, training, and indoctrination of persons who expressed interest in terrorist activity and who Tawhedi understood to be affiliated with ISIS. Tawhedi was also seen in a video recorded on July 20 reading to two children’s text that describes the rewards a martyr receives in the afterlife. Tawhedi also allegedly accessed, viewed, and saved ISIS propaganda on his iCloud and Google account, participated in pro-ISIS Telegram groups, and contributed to a charity which fronts for and funnels money to ISIS.”

The criminal complaint also alleges that while liquidating their family’s assets prior to the attack, Tawhedi and his co-conspirator, who is a juvenile, advertised the sale of the family’s personal property on Facebook.

“At the FBI’s direction, a confidential human source responded to inquire if a computer was still for sale. The FBI source noted that he needed the computer for a new gun business he was starting, which ultimately led Tawhedi and the juvenile to meet with the source and other FBI assets at a rural location to test firearms. Tawhedi expressed interest in purchasing two AK-47 assault rifles, magazines, and ammunition from the source.”

According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 7, Tawhedi and the juvenile met with the FBI assets at a rural location in the Western District of Oklahoma and purchased, received, and took possession of two AK-47 assault rifles, ten magazines, and 500 rounds of ammunition. Upon receipt of the rifles and ammunition, Tawhedi and the juvenile were arrested.

In his seized communications, Tawhedi allegedly indicated that his attack was planned for Election Day, and in a post-arrest interview, Tawhedi allegedly confirmed the attack was planned for Election Day targeting large gatherings of people, during which he and the juvenile were expected to die as martyrs.

Tawhedi was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, and receiving a firearm to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, if convicted.

 

In another national security case, on October 11, 2024, Cole Bridges, also known as Cole Gonzales, 24, of Stow, Ohio, was sentenced to 168 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to murder U.S. military service members, based on his efforts to assist the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) to attack and kill U.S. soldiers in the Middle East.

Bridges pleaded guilty to terrorism charges on June 14, 2023. According to court documents, Bridges joined the U.S. Army in September of 2019 and was assigned as a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Georgia.

“Before he joined the Army, Bridges began researching and consuming online propaganda promoting jihadists and their violent ideology and began to express his support for ISIS and jihad on social media,” the Justice Department stated.

“In or about October 2020, approximately one year after joining the Army, Bridges began communicating with an FBI online covert employee (the OCE), who was posing as an ISIS supporter in contact with ISIS fighters in the Middle East. During these communications, Bridges expressed his frustration with the U.S. military and his desire to aid ISIS. Bridges then provided training and guidance to purported ISIS fighters who were planning attacks, including advice about potential targets in New York City. Bridges also provided the OCE with portions of a U.S. Army training manual and guidance about military combat tactics, with the understanding that the materials would be used by ISIS in future attack planning.”

The Justice Department added that in or about December 2020, Bridges began to supply the OCE with instructions for the purported ISIS fighters on how to attack U.S. forces in the Middle East.

“Among other things, Bridges diagrammed specific military maneuvers intended to help ISIS fighters maximize the lethality of future attacks on U.S. troops. Bridges also provided advice about the best way to fortify an ISIS encampment to ambush U.S. Special Forces, including by wiring certain buildings with explosives to kill the U.S. troops. Then, in January 2021, Bridges provided the OCE with a video of himself in his U.S. Army body armor standing in front of a flag often used by ISIS fighters and making a gesture symbolic of support for ISIS. Approximately one week later, Bridges sent a second video in which Bridges, using a voice manipulator, narrated a propaganda speech in support of the anticipated ambush by ISIS on U.S. troops.”

The FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the FBI field offices in Washington, Atlanta, and Cleveland; U.S. Army Counterintelligence, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and U.S. Army Third Infantry Division. 

Paul Davis’ Threatcon column covers crime, espionage and terrorism.