Apple’s global security director has been charged with bribery for allegedly offering hundreds of iPads to California law enforcement officers in exchange for gun permits for company employees.
Security Director Thomas Moyer promised to give the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office 200 iPads, worth about $ 70,000, in exchange for concealed weapons (CCW) permits, the county district attorney alleged in a released Monday.
The proposed deal was abandoned at the last minute.
A sheriff and captain, Rick Sung and James Jensen, were also charged with having sought the gifts, according to the statement, with a two-year investigation revealing that the permits will be held until the iPads can be obtained.
“Sheriff Sung and Capt. Jensen treated the CCW licenses as commodities and found willing buyers,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in the statement.
“Applicants for bribes must be reported to the prosecution, not rewarded with compliance.”
An insurance broker was also implicated, offering $ 6,000 worth of luxury sports seats in exchange for gun permits, which the district attorney’s office said generally cost between $ 200 and $ 400.
Moyer’s $ 70,000 bribe for the iPad was aimed at four concealed weapons permits, the prosecutors’ statement said.
But the group backtracked on the arrangement “when Sung and Moyer learned of the search warrant that the District Attorney’s Office executed at the Sheriff’s Office seizing all of their CCW license records.”
“Tom Moyer is innocent of the charges brought against him,” Apple chief executive Ed Swanson’s attorney said in a written statement.
“He did nothing wrong and has acted with the utmost integrity throughout his career. We have no doubt that he will be acquitted at trial. “
The attorney did not deny the gift of the iPad, but instead sought to clarify the facts in question, saying they were not part of a bribe.
“Apple offered to donate iPads. And Apple applied for the permissions from the CCW. But those two things are one. There was no quid pro quo, ”insisted Swanson.
“Ultimately, this case is about a long, bitter, and very public dispute between the Santa Clara County Sheriff and the district attorney, and Tom is collateral damage to that dispute.”
Swanson called Moyer’s Navy service and his 14 years at Apple “a decent, hard-working man.”
“He doesn’t deserve to have his good name tarnished by these unfounded charges.”
The four men will face their first hearing during a January 11 arraignment in a San Jose court, according to the district attorney’s office. They could face jail time if convicted.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
[AFP]
