Three U.S. admirals were censured for dining at “extravagant” banquets in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore and accepting other gifts from an Asian defense contractor at the center of a bribery scandal that continues to rattle the highest ranks of the Navy, according to documents released late Friday.
One dinner alone cost $23,061, or about $768.72 for each of the 30 people who attended. To get around ethics rules, the admirals reimbursed the contractor — a Malaysian national known in Navy circles as “Fat Leonard” — but only for a fraction of the expense, writing personal checks for between $50 and $70 each, the documents show.
The incidents occurred nearly a decade ago, while all three officers — Vice Adm. Michael H. Miller, Rear Adm. Terry B. Kraft and Rear Adm. David R. Pimpo — were assigned to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike group. Each was forced to retire this summer.
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