SAN DIEGO โ A Hawaii man will spend 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to accepting bribes while he was an active U.S. Navy captain, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
David Williams Haas, now retired, was sentenced Thursday by a federal judge in San Diego on charges that he received more than $90,000 in kickbacks.
Sign up to get the latest Hawaii morning news delivered to your inbox news 2 u
prosecutors said they received that money foreign defense contractor leonard francis, Francis provided Haas with hotel accommodations, travel, and prostitutes.
Court documents show that Haas returned the favor to Francis by steering ships from the Navy’s Seventh Fleet to ports controlled by Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA).
Below are some of the kickbacks Haas took from Francis, according to court documents:
- May 11 to May 15, 2012: Hotel rooms at the Shangri-La in Jakarta, Indonesia, as well as dinner, night club entertainment, alcohol and prostitutes.
- June 29 to June 30 in 2012: a two-day party in Tokyo, Japan that cost $75,000 including dinner at Nobu restaurant and entertainment at several hostess clubs where prostitutes were present
“Mr. Haas’ conviction is exemplary of a former US Navy officer who abused his position to illegally enrich himself and others at the expense of the American taxpayer, as well as the safety and security of our naval forces.” Brings accountability and closure for knowingly illegal acts in the Pacific area of โโoperations,” Kelly P. said Mayo, director of the Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Office of the Inspector General of Defense. “This result, and others related to it, demonstrate the steadfast commitment of DCIS and our law enforcement partners to uncovering corruption within the department.”
Haas must pay a criminal fine of $30,000 and restitution in the amount of $90,968.82. He is 54 years old and is from Kailua, Hawaii.
“Mr. Haas solicited, received and accepted over $90,000 from the GDMA in the form of food, entertainment, hotel expenses and prostitutes’ services in exchange for committing and abandoning the infringing acts in return for his country’s betrayed his oath per. of his official Navy duties,” said NCIS Director Omar Lopez. “NCIS and our law enforcement partners are committed to thoroughly investigating all allegations of bribery and corruption that threaten the integrity of the Navy Department.”
