Fat Leonard Brazen

Leonard Francis became the most powerful military contractor in the Pacific, running a mafia organization at the heart of the U.S. Navy. He’s over 300 pounds, and charming. We meet him in jail, and explore why he’s talking exclusively to our host, author and journalist Tom Wright. We explore Leonard’s troubled childhood. It turns out this isn’t his first time in prison.

Fat Leonard is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get bonus episodes, ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts. 

For more fearless storytelling, visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

Out of jail, aged 21, Leonard begins his career as a defense contractor, just as the U.S. embarks on its Forever Wars. Through skill, bribes and luck, we chart the Wolf of Wall Street-like rise of Leonard, on the back of a product called the Ring of Steel.

To keep listening to this episode and the rest of the Fat Leonard series, subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts, or on other podcast apps by visiting www.brazen.fm/plus. Subscribing will not only unlock Fat Leonard, but it’ll also give you early access to new Brazen shows, as well as ad-free listening and exclusive subscriber-only content across all podcasts in our network.

For more fearless storytelling, visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

We look back at the Tailhook sexual assault scandal of 1991 through the voice of Navy whistleblower Paula Coughlin. The Navy’s problem with misogyny is deep seated and it set the stage for Leonard’s rise.

To listen to this episode and the rest of the Fat Leonard series, subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts, or on other podcast apps by visiting www.brazen.fm/plus. Subscribing will not only unlock Fat Leonard, but it’ll also give you early access to new Brazen shows, as well as ad-free listening and exclusive subscriber-only content across all podcasts in our network.

For more fearless storytelling, visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

How Leonard buys his own warship, the Braveheart, complete with a mercenary army, and deploys it to help fight Al Qaeda. He secretly records orgies with Navy officers, causing one of the U.S.’s worst ever national security breaches.

To listen to this episode and the rest of the Fat Leonard series, subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts, or on other podcast apps by visiting www.brazen.fm/plus. Subscribing will not only unlock Fat Leonard, but it’ll also give you early access to new Brazen shows, as well as ad-free listening and exclusive subscriber-only content across all podcasts in our network.

For more fearless storytelling, visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

Michael Misiewicz was a rising star in the Navy before Leonard corrupts him with prostitutes, cash and free travel. We see the descent of one officer into graft and violence through the voice of his wife, Marcy Misiewicz.

To listen to this episode and the rest of the Fat Leonard series, subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts, or on other podcast apps by visiting www.brazen.fm/plus. Subscribing will not only unlock Fat Leonard, but it’ll also give you early access to new Brazen shows, as well as ad-free listening and exclusive subscriber-only content across all podcasts in our network.

For more fearless storytelling, visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

Leonard’s cruel treatment of his Filipina girlfriend, Morena De Jesus, and their children together, exposes his dark side. A fraught relationship with his own father could hold the key to understanding Leonard.

To listen to this episode and the rest of the Fat Leonard series, subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts, or on other podcast apps by visiting www.brazen.fm/plus. Subscribing will not only unlock Fat Leonard, but it’ll also give you early access to new Brazen shows, as well as ad-free listening and exclusive subscriber-only content across all podcasts in our network.

For more fearless storytelling, visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.