Apple security chief accused of corruption over gun licenses
A California District Attorney has accused Apple Inc.’s security chief Thomas Moyer of offering state officials a bribe for gun licenses, according to reports. indictments released Monday.
Moyer has been named along with Santa Clara County Deputy Sheriff Rick Sung and Captain James Jensen in a case involving the offer of bribes in exchange for concealed firearms licenses, according to a document. from the court and a statement from the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office.
Ed Swanson, Moyer s lawyer, said his client was innocent. Apple has been made aware of the allegations, conducted an internal investigation and found no wrongdoing, according to a company spokesperson.
The two-year investigation by the district attorney’s office found that Sung, aided by Jensen in one case, delayed issuing concealed firearms licenses until applicants donate something of value . In California, concealed weapons permits, known as CCW licenses, are issued by county sheriffs on a “good cause” basis to approve a resident’s application.
In the case of four CCW licenses denied to employees of Apple, Under Sheriff Sung and Cpt. Jensen succeeded in extracting from Thomas Moyer a promise that Apple would donate the iPad to the sheriff’s office, the prosecutor said in the statement. “The pledged donation of 200 iPads worth nearly $ 70,000 was scuttled at the eleventh hour just after August 2, 2019, when Sung and Moyer learned of the search warrant that the district attorney’s office executed. at the sheriff’s office by entering all of his CCW license records. “
Moyer, 50, was embroiled in a feud between officials in the jurisdiction that covers Apple’s home port, according to his lawyer Swanson.
“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 this dispute,” Swanson wrote in a statement. “We look forward to bringing Tom’s innocence to court and ending this malicious lawsuit.”
After enlisting in the U.S. Navy at 19, Moyer served four years as an operational intelligence specialist, including in Operation Desert Storm, before being honorably released as a non-commissioned officer, according to general information shared by Swanson.
His department helps employees navigate crises such as fires and hurricanes, and oversees physical security, retail loss prevention, management protection, security-related investigations and the secrecy of new products and prototypes. .
He became more widely known outside Apple for an official note sent to employees in 2018 in which he warned of the potential consequences of disclosing private company information to third parties.
The potential criminal consequences of a leak are real, Moyer wrote, and it can become a part of your personal and professional identity forever.
One of its predecessors, John Theriault, left Apple in 2011 after accusations that its staff were posing as police officers during an attempt to recover a lost prototype iPhone.
By Ian King
