Stain from Navy scandal continues to spread

Tom Vanden Brook | USA TODAY

The bribery-and-prostitute scandal rocking the Navy has netted another sailor, the service announced Thursday.

Capt. David Haas has been suspended from his post as deputy commander of Coastal Riverine Group One because of allegations involving Glenn Defense Marine. The contractor and several high-ranking officers have been charged or are under investigation in a scheme that saw sailors steer business to the company in exchange for cash, gifts and prostitutes, according to federal prosecutors.

Haas has been temporarily reassigned, according to the Navy. He declined to comment on the allegations.

Officers provided the contractor with classified information about ship movements, according to the Justice Department, which is prosecuting the case. In one instance, a logistics officer arranged for the USS Mustin to bypass a cheaper option to refuel the ship, instead steering the business to the company and doubling the cost to $1 million.

The Navy has ended its relationship with Glenn Defense Marine and the $200 million in contracts it had with the company to fuel and provision ships.

The highest-ranking officers implicated in the scandal are Vice Adm. Ted Branch, director of naval intelligence, and Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless, director of intelligence operations. They, too, were on temporary leave. The Navy also cut their access to classified information.

The New York Times reported Thursday that complaints from sailors and officials about the contractor date to at least 2009, before more than $200 million in contracts were granted.

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