Investing.com -- A U.S. Naval captain was sentenced to more than six years in federal prison on Friday for accepting a series of bribes in exchange for providing classified intelligence, which included ship schedules that contained information related to the Navy's ballistic missile defense operations in the Pacific Ocean.
Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz, 49, of San Diego, was sentenced in U.S. Southern District of California on one count of bribery and one count of conspiracy. As part of the sentence, U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartinoa imposed a fine of $100,000 and ordered Misiewicz to foreit $95,000 for his role in the scheme.
In January, the Naval commander pleaded guilty to providing classified information to Leonard Glenn Francis, also known as "Fat Leonard," the head of Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), a firm that provided in-port services to ships in the area. As part of the charges, the Navy commander admitted to receiving cash, gifts, travel expenses, entertainment and the services of prostitutes for using his influence to help the firm receive contracts from the military for refueling, trash removal and other services. At the time, Misiewicz was the eighth of nine defendants to offer a guilty plea in the scandal.
As a result of the inside information, Francis reportedly overcharged the U.S. Navy by as much as $20 million, according to prosecutors. Todd David Malaki, another officer in the case, was sentenced to 40 months in prison in January for receiving bribes from Francis. Months earlier, Malaki admitted to accepting cash-stuffed envelopes, a dozen nights at luxury hotels in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tonga and other gifts from Francis totaling $15,000.
Misiewicz, meanwhile, said Francis provided him with cash and arranged luxury trips for his family on eight separate occasions. In addition, Francis bought a luxury handbag for Misiewicz's wife and arranged the services of a prostitute for the commander.
The sentence handed down to Misiewicz was one of the stiffest yet in the bribery case, which ranks among the largest corruption scandals in the history of the U.S. Navy.