San Diego Union Tribune News

Four former U.S. Navy officers charged in a massive bribery scandal linked to the man known as Fat Leonard were cleared of felony charges on Wednesday by a judge citing prosecutor misconduct.U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino said in a sentencing hearing that prosecutors' conduct "can only be described as outrageous," the San Diego Union-Tribune reported from the courthouse. After the felony charges were cleared, the four former officers each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor with only a $100 fine as punishment…

Venezuela's top court has ruled to give the U.S. government 60 days to request the extradition of fugitive Malaysian businessman Leonard Glenn Francis, also known by his alias "Fat Leonard," who is implicated in a U.S. Navy bribery case.The supreme court ruling was issued last week but only made public on Wednesday by a reporter with official media.Francis was arrested on Sept. 21 at Caracas' main airport as he prepared to leave for Russia. The U.S. government had previously issued…

Venezuelan police have arrested a fugitive Malaysian businessman nicknamed 'Fat Leonard' who is at the center of a major U.S. Navy bribery scandal, as he prepared to leave the country for Russia, Venezuelan Interpol said.Leonard Glenn Francis was detained at the country's main international airport on Wednesday under a red notification requested by the United States for crimes of corruption and bribery, the Interpol chief in Venezuela said in a statement posted on Instagram.The…

A Malaysian businessman at the center of a major U.S. Navy bribery scandal has escaped house arrest ahead of his impending sentencing by cutting off his monitoring anklet, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Monday.Leonard Glenn Francis, popularly known as "Fat Leonard," cut off his GPS anklet some time Sunday morning, and when police went to his home they found it empty, the newspaper reported, citing Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Omar Castillo.Prosecutors said that in exchange for contracts Francis plied Navy officers with cash…

According to a May 12 San Diego Union Tribune report, General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego plans to eliminate one-fourth of its work force to cope with a prolonged slump in the industry, cutting as many as 1,150 positions. The company said it has sent letters to 900 of its 4,100 workers, notifying them that they might be laid off starting in mid-July. About half of the 500 jobs held by subcontractors also might be cut. (Source: San Diego Union Tribune)

Employees at a San Diego shipyard are trying to figure out how to get an engine the size of a large bus out of the sinkhole created by its fall. The engine destined for the Navy's USNS Amelia Earhart slid from the trailer transporting it to the National Steel & Shipbuilding Co. last week, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The 200-ton piece of machinery crushed three cars and broke a water main before settling. The problem is that the engine is also precision machinery and costs millions of dollars. A woman sleeping in one of the parked cars somehow managed to get out without serious injury when the vehicle was hit, the newspaper said. Source: UPI

An ambitious new blueprint by the California Air Resources Board for reducing port pollution statewide would cut emissions from cruise and cargo ships visiting San Diego by 88 percent during the next 15 years, as part of an effort to address the health risks posed by rapidly expanding port activities. The plan, approved by the air board at a meeting in Long Beach last week, also estimated that premature deaths due to port-related pollution in San Diego County would increase from 150 in 2005 to 200 in 2020 if no action is taken. Even with the new strategies outlined by the agency's staff in place, the premature death toll in San Diego County would stand at 80 in 2020.

The APL Panama finally broke free from the sandy beach where it ran aground Christmas Day. It was 4:40 a.m. when the 874-foot container ship returned to the sea. Less than three hours later, the vessel was two miles offshore, undergoing inspection of its hull, while bulldozers worked to restore the beach where the ship spent the past 75 days. Under general average, the commonly used international legal procedure, the expenses will be shared by the vessel's German owners, Mare Britannicum Schiffahrtsgesellschaft MBH & Co.; APL, the global container transportation company that chartered it; and the numerous cargo interests. The amounts are subject to negotiation.

Now salvage crews for the containership APL Panama are preparing a new tactic: creating a channel alongside the stranded ship with a specialized dredger vessel, the Francesco di Giorgio. The channel would be as close as possible to the container ship in order to tow it via the canal to deeper waters, the San Diego Union Tribune reported. With the Francesco di Giorgio's arrival expected on February 27, salvage crews are hoping to write the final chapter of the long-running saga that began when the APL Panama ran aground in shallow waters 1½ miles from Ensenada's port. Repeated attempts to move the ship off the beach with tugboats and a barge equipped with powerful hydraulic pullers have failed. The bow has been moved 50 degrees toward open water, but not far enough to float the ship.