The Professor: Hunting for the Mafia's Missing Masterpiece

​​Leonard Francis, AKA Fat Leonard, is angry, and he’s talking for the first time. His explosive story will change the way you look at the U.S. Navy forever.

Project Brazen, a global journalism studio based in London and Singapore, is investigating some of the biggest scandals and stories of our time. This feed, called Project Brazen Originals, will feature those stories, told without fear or favor. Stay subscribed. Latest Series — “RESISTANCE: Stories from Ukraine” What happens when war lands on your doorstep? Ordinary Ukrainians are rising up and fighting back in every way they can. “RESISTANCE: Stories from Ukraine” is a harrowing and inspirational journey across Ukraine in the first weeks of Russia’s invasion. While the military wages war on the frontlines, everyday citizens are picking up whatever weapons they can, including their smartphones, computers, sewing needles, and guitars. Photojournalist Laurel Chor travels to cities across the country, finding extraordinary stories that go beyond the headlines. http://www.projectbrazen.com/resistance

How can journalists, activists, opposition figures, and even lawyers and business leaders protect themselves from the threat of private surveillance? In this Project Brazen Originals bonus episode, co-founder Bradley Hope sits down with Oscar Zero, the managing director of a private counter-surveillance company, to uncover the secrets of a shadowy industry frequently weaponised by intelligence agencies and the ultra-rich. To watch the full documentary, visit: www.projectbrazen.com/hiddenworlds

​​Leonard Francis, AKA Fat Leonard, is angry, and he’s talking for the first time. His explosive story will change the way you look at the U.S. Navy forever.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

A cocksure Navy officer called David Schaus takes on Leonard. He’s joined by a principled Navy supply official called Teresa Kelly. Finally, they force Navy admirals, who for years have given him cover, to take Leonard’s fraud seriously.

Beaten and angry, Marcy Misiewicz makes a decision that will bring down Leonard, and her husband along with him.

With Leonard in jail, the Navy investigates hundreds of officers. But they spare top admirals. Tom’s relationship with Leonard reaches breaking point. A major trial of U.S. Navy officers is set to start in February. Watch out for bonus episodes. 

A lot has happened since we wrapped up the first season of the "Fat Leonard" podcast, and host Tom Wright is back with all the updates - the good, the bad and the unexpected. Includes new interviews with whistleblower Marcy Misiewicz, David Loy (Legal Director of the First Amendment Coalition) and Don Christensen (President, Protect Our Defenders). Stay tuned for updates from the trial in the coming weeks. Thanks for listening. You can find Fat Leonard on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure to subscribe to Brazen Presents for more – and, as always, you can follow our latest reporting in our newsletter, Whale Hunting.

A jury in San Diego returned verdicts in the trials against several Navy officers implicated by Fat Leonard. Project Brazen founders Bradley Hope and Tom Wright discuss the latest developments in the case and news about a TV series based on the Fat Leonard podcast.

Right now, around the world, there are real life stories unfolding that you wouldn’t believe. Stories that are stranger than fiction. In Hidden Worlds, we’ll take you inside these stories and into places usually concealed from view. Every few weeks, we’ll use this feed to share a new podcast series with you — everything from organised crime to espionage, political corruption to international conspiracies. Subscribe to Hidden Worlds, the home of gripping investigations and unbelievable true stories, and get a brand new series delivered to your favourite podcast app every month. Up first is The Professor, a story of a stolen masterpiece, the Italian mafia, and one man’s search for redemption. Listen here, in Hidden Worlds, very soon. For more information, visit brazen.fm/hidden-worlds

Can an accused criminal solve the coldest cold case in the history of art crime? In this special pre-season bonus episode, Brazen co-founder Tom Wright speaks with Simon Willis about his upcoming podcast series, The Professor. Simon shares his experience following William Veres – an art merchant accused of stealing $40 million worth of antiquities – as he attempts to solve a legendary cold case and save himself from jail in the process. The Professor is a story of drug dealers, hitmen, smugglers, spies – even a corrupt prime minister. And in the middle of it all is William Veres’s quest to save himself. How? By solving the coldest cold case in the history of art crime – the theft of Caravaggio’s Nativity. Episode one of The Professor will be released on 27 November 2023, with new episodes out on Mondays. Don’t want to wait for the next episode? Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and binge all four episodes, uninterrupted, on release day.

William Veres is in trouble. In 2018 he was arrested following the largest ever investigation by the Italian police’s art squad. They accuse him of running an art-smuggling ring with ties to the Sicilian mafia. He is alleged to have stolen $40 million worth of art and antiquities from Italy – and faces a jail term of up to 20 years. But he has a plan to get out of trouble. In this four-part podcast, host Simon Willis follows him as he puts that plan into action. It’s a story that takes listeners deep into the underworld, and into the dark heart of the most famous criminal organization of them all – Cosa Nostra. It is a story of drug dealers, hitmen, smugglers, spies – even a corrupt prime minister. And in the middle of it all is William Veres’s quest to save himself. How? By solving the coldest cold case in the history of art crime – the theft of Caravaggio’s Nativity. Episode one of The Professor will be released on 27 November 2023, with new episodes out on Mondays. Don’t want to wait for the next episode? Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and binge all four episodes, uninterrupted, on release day.

William Veres is arrested in a dawn raid – one of 50 simultaneous raids across Europe to bust his criminal gang. To get out of trouble he agrees a deal with Italian anti-mafia police: if he can help them solve the coldest cold case in the history of art theft, they will help him in his own case. In this episode, we follow Veres as he begins his quest to find Caravaggio’s Nativity, believed to be in the hands of Cosa Nostra. Don’t want to wait for the next episode? Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus to listen to the full series today, and get ad-free listening. For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or 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.

Veres goes to Belgium to meet a contact who he believes can help him obtain vital information about the Caravaggio painting. The contact agrees to act as Veres’s go-between, connecting Veres with senior figures in the mafia hierarchy. Meanwhile, host Simon Willis delves into the past investigations of the case, and finds out why the official investigation went nowhere: it was closed down after it uncovered links between the Caravaggio theft and Mafiosi close to Italian politicians. Don’t want to wait for the next episode? Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus to listen to the full series today, and get ad-free listening. The Professor is a series for Hidden Worlds, the home of unbelievable true stories and gripping investigations into shadowy places. Subscribe to Hidden Worlds and get brand new series delivered to your favorite podcast app year-round. One podcast, endless stories. For more, visit brazen.fm/hidden-worlds. For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or 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.