Felony convictions vacated for 4 Navy officers in sprawling scandal

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The felony convictions of four Navy officers in a sprawling bribery case were vacated due to prosecutorial misconduct Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino called the misconduct “outrageous” and agreed to allow the four men to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a $100 fine each.

The officers — former Capts. David Newland, James Dolan and David Lausman and former Cmdr. Mario Herrera — were convicted in one of the worst bribery cases in recent history for the Navy that centered around a defense contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard.

Defense attorneys for the officers had spent more than a year challenging the convictions and accusing the prosecution of misconduct. It was the latest misstep in the case.

A year ago, Leonard Francis, the defense contractor, fled from house arrest in San Diego. He was later captured in Venezuela, where he remains.

More than two dozen Navy officials, defense contractors and others have been convicted on various fraud and corruption charges in the case, which ran over years.