An IACSP Q&A With Craig Whitlock, the Author of “Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked and Seduced the U.S. Navy.”

An IACSP Q&A With Craig Whitlock, the Author of “Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked and Seduced the U.S. Navy.”

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...