Calling the shots: Apple security chief charged with bribery over gun permits
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Apple’s head of security has been charged with bribery following accusations he offered to donate 200 iPads to police in exchange for four concealed weapons permits for the company’s staff.
Thomas Moyer was indicted by a grand jury in Santa Clara, California — where Apple is based — alongside two officers in the sheriff’s office.
The officers were charged with soliciting bribes for issuing concealed carry permits. Under California law, a licence is required to carry concealed firearms, and sheriffs largely have discretion over issuing them.
Moyer’s lawyer, Ed Swanson, said he was innocent of the charges. Apple said it had conducted its own investigation and found no wrongdoing.
Swanson said the Apple security chief had applied for weapons permits for some security personnel to protect executives and employees after shootings at other Silicon Valley tech firms.
In 2018 a woman opened fire at Youtube’s California headquarters, injuring three people before killing herself.
Swanson said the permit applications had been made in the proper way, insisting that the iPad donations were unconnected. “There was no bribe, no quid pro quo,” he said.
It comes amid an ongoing corruption probe into the Santa Clara sheriff’s office over allegations that concealed weapons permits were issued in exchange for donations towards sheriff Laurie Smith’s re-election campaign in 2018. That case did not involve Apple.