A retired Navy admiral charged along with eight military officers with corruption in the “Fat Leonard” bribery case hosted and paid for a lavish sex party in the MacArthur Suite of the Manila Hotel in the Philippines – and used “historical memorabilia” in the room during sex acts, according to a 78-page federal indictment.
Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless, while on a port visit on USS Blue Ridge in Manila in February 2007, footed the bill for the “lavish party and the services of prostitutes” at the suite dedicated to Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who called the hotel his home during his tenure as military adviser to the Philippines from 1934 through 1941.
The suite, according to the hotel’s website, has a master bedroom with a dressing room, a guest room, two bathrooms, a powder room, a study, a formal dining room overlooking Manila Bay, a balcony and a well-equipped kitchen.
“To enhance the antique furniture, slip covered sofas and lounge chairs were thrown together casually, to create the genteel air of the suite that has known legendary company,” the website reads.
Architect Pedro Luna, son of painter Juan Luna, was commissioned to build the penthouse suite for MacArthur, his wife Jean and son Arthur atop the fifth-floor of the hotel, according to the website.
Photos of the suite obtained by The Post reveal several items related to MacArthur can be found in the room — including one of the general’s corncob pipes alongside an ashtray, a pen set and personal papers inside the suite, which is adorned with dozens of family photos and thousands of books. The tooth-marked pipe on the desk is emblazoned with the words “I shall return.”
The suite reportedly runs up to $3,300 per night and contains several of his personal affects, although neither his trademark corncob pipe nor the marble-topped desk are originals, according to travel blogger Tom Sykes. But the brass gilded chair is the real deal, dating back to 1939.
A tour of the Douglas MacArthur Suite in April 2015 revealed an “impeccably restored” suite with mahogany chaise lounge chairs and brass chandeliers, evoking a feel straight out of 1935.
The custom-designed drapes and bedding feature hand-embroidered jusi lined in “delicate peach” and guests – like President Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson, according to reports – can peruse roughly 10,000 volumes from MacArthur’s library, according to ClickTheCity.com.
The Navy personnel, according to the federal indictment unsealed Tuesday, allegedly worked together to help Singapore-based defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis, who has pleaded guilty to defrauding the Navy of tens of millions of dollars, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the indictment.
Francis, as part of his scheme to bribe the defendants, plied the officers with upscale gifts and food items like foie gras terrine, duck leg confit, oxtail soup, $2,000 boxes of cigars and rare $2,000 bottles of cognac, in addition to the sex parties at the Manila Hotel and the Shangri-La Hotel in Cebu.
Francis, according to the indictment, paid for prostitutes for several US Navy officers just days after the alleged Manila Hotel romp in early February 2007. One of the defendants, Capt. David Newland, 60, chief of staff to the commander of the Seventh Fleet, acknowledged the Francis’ hospitality in an email dated Feb. 14, 2007.
“Thank you for your hospitality in Cebu,” Newland wrote.
