Apple Security Chief Ensnared In SC Co. Gun Permit Probe

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Who’s next?

Three days after indicting one of Santa Clara County’s top law enforcement officials, another domino fell Monday in a widening concealed gun permit scandal that has roiled the Sheriff’s Office.

Apple Chief Security Officer Thomas Moyer was indicted by a Santa Clara County criminal grand jury, District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced in a news conference Monday.

Rosen also confirmed the indictments of undersheriff Rick Sung and Captain James Jensen on felony bribery charges – both of which were reported last week – on bribery charges Monday.

An alleged "pay-to-play" scheme involving the issuing of concealed weapons is at the center of a two-year DA probe that has already resulted in seven indictments, prosecutors said.

The case involves campaign contributions to Sheriff Laurie Smith’s 2018 reelection campaign that according to prosecutors depict a shadowy relationship between Big Tech and law enforcement.

Two defendants have already pleaded guilty in this case including the CEO of a security firm contracted by Facebook executives.

Prosecutors allege Moyer agreed to a deal to donate technology equipment to the Sheriff’s Office in exchange for the issuing of concealed carry weapons (CCW) permits for Apple’s security.

“Our investigation revealed that Undersheriff Sung – assisted by Sheriff’s Captain James Jensen - held back the issuing of CCW permits to Apple’s security team until the tech giant’s head of security agreed to donate close to $70,000 worth of iPads to the Sheriff’s Office,” Rosen said in a statement.

“The donation was pulled back at the 11th hour when our search warrants into this probe began.”

Sung is the county's second-in-command to Sheriff Laurie Smith. He is described as a Smith loyalist in a Mercury News report.

The discovery of a $90,000 campaign contribution check to Smith from Seattle-based AS Solution CEO Christian West precipitated the DA probe, The Mercury News reports.

Both Sung and Smith asserted their Fifth Amendment privileges against self-incrimination in an August appearance before a criminal grand jury.

Rosen said Sung is the highest-ranking law enforcement official his office has charged.

Smith has not been charged.

Prosecutors allege in another indictment that a CCW permit was withheld from insurance broker Harpreet Chadha until Sung extracted San Jose Sharks luxury box seats valued at $6,000 at SAP Center on Valentine’s Day 2019.

Smith’s family members and some of her biggest political supporters celebrated her re-election at Chadha’s luxury suite according to prosecutors.

“Call this quid pro quo. Call it pay-to-play. Call it give to get. It is illegal and deeply erodes public confidence in the criminal justice system. When high-ranking members of a law enforcement agency are at the heart of a bribery scheme, it tarnishes the badge, the honor, the reputations and – tragically – the effectiveness of all law enforcement agencies,” Rosen said.

Rosen described the scheme as an assault on Democracy and insisted that “no one is above the law.”

“This scheme to give weapons permits for money and expensive favors is not how a Democracy works. This investigation and the resulting charges are how Democracy works.

“My Office will hold the perpetrators of this illegal and reckless scheme – all of them – accountable.”

The Sheriff’s Office issued a statement Monday acknowledging the indictments of Jensen and Sung describing the situation as a “difficult time for our organization.”

“As law enforcement officers, we are held to the highest moral and ethical standards,” the statement said.

“This is a difficult time for our organization, however our goal remains to provide the highest level of public safety to the residents of Santa Clara County. The hundreds of men and women who represent the Sheriff’s Office will continue to serve our community with compassion, honesty and integrity.”