Ret. Naval officer wants charges for using military memorabilia in sex acts with prostitutes thrown out

A retired Naval officer and former USAA official is requesting that charges against him be thrown out- in what might be one of the worst corruption scandals to ever rock the US Navy.

Retired Captain David Albert Newland, a San Antonio resident who formerly worked a six-figure job with military-centric financial institution USAA for over seven years, was arrested in 2017 on bribery-related charges.

Newland’s charges stem from a Navy contractor corruption case that involved expensive food, alcohol, cigars, prostitutes and using historical memorabilia related to General Douglas MacArthur during sex acts, which were furnished to top brass in the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet in exchange for business-critical information and influence. The events reportedly took place while Newland served as chief of staff to the Seventh Fleet commander from 2005 to 2007.

While Newland retired in 2010 and went to work for USAA until he was indicted on eight charges in 2017 (though it is unknown if he resigned or was let go), his history with the scandal (in which twenty Navy officers have pleaded guilty) and the subsequent criminal record that goes with it have followed him from 2017 onwards.

According to the San Antonio Express-News, Newland’s lawyers have since filed a series of motions seeking to sever his case, find “lost evidence” and even throw his case out, claiming it has taken too long.

Attorneys Joseph D. Mancano and James M.V. Fitzpatrick, argue that the Navy are reluctant to release Newland’s emails from his time with Seventh Fleet, and that Newland left the fleet in July of 2007 for a Florida NJROTC program, leaving the Navy in March of 2010.

While Newland was added to the conspiracy in 2006, and the scandal lasted until 2014, his lawyers argue that he withdrew from the conspiracy when he left the Seventh Fleet. Since then, he has pleaded not guilty.

“At the time he was indicted, Mr. Newland had not even served in the Navy for almost seven years,” the lawyers wrote in a motion. “The statute of limitations for the crimes of which he was accused is five years.”

Newland has the backing of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, one of the largest defense bars in the US.

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