By GunMag Staff
Former Santa Clara County, Calif., Undersheriff Rick Sung pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of felony bribery in connection with a concealed carry permit scandal that rocked the agency and resulted in the resignation of former Sheriff Laurie Smith in 2022.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office announced the guilty plea. It capped an eight-year series of investigations into corruption which resulted in six convictions.
Sung had been tried earlier but that trial ended in a hung jury and mistrial.
KRON News is reporting that Sung was charged with “participating in a scheme to issue gun permits in exchange for San Jose Sharks hockey game tickets, access to a luxury suite at the SAP Center, and hundreds of Apple iPads.”
Other convictions in the case included that of former Sheriff’s Captain James Jensen, the DA’s office said.
In California, it has been tough for average citizens to secure concealed carry licenses, although in some counties it was easier than in other counties. That was supposed to have changed in the aftermath of the 2022 Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, which smacked down New York’s arbitrary and discretionary “may issue” licensing scheme dating back almost a century.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department over what appeared to be deliberate foot-dragging on concealed carry licenses by that agency.
“My Office enforces the law without fear or favor,” said Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen in a news release. “Law enforcement in Santa Clara County must be equally determined to be incorruptible as it is determined to protect our community.”
According to Rosen’s office, the lengthy investigation “led to the prosecution and conviction of several employees of AS Solution, Inc., an executive protection security company, among others, including a jury verdict against Jensen for conspiring with them to make donations in return for “CCW” licenses to carry concealed weapons.”
According to the District Attorney’s news release, “After the criminal grand jury’s indictments in these cases in 2020, the civil grand jury decided to pursue a removal action against Smith and issued an accusation against her based largely on the evidence gathered during the criminal investigation. The trial of former Sheriff Smith on the accusation, which was prosecuted by the San Francisco County District Attorney’s Office, resulted in a conviction and — although she resigned shortly before the verdict — her formal removal from office after 24 years.”
