Armed With iPads: Apple Security Chief Allegedly Offered Bold Bribe For Gun Permit

Thomas Moyer joined Apple in January of 2006 and worked up the ranks to Head of Global Security in November of 2018. On his LinkedIn, he describes his position as being “responsible for strategic management of Apple's corporate and retail security, crisis management, executive protection, investigations, and new product secrecy.” Guns are likely part of the job as part of the protection and security tasks, so one would think a concealed carry gun permit shouldn't be a problem for a high ranking exec. Alas that is actually not the case.

Over the previous two-years, the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office has been under investigation for bribery. Through the course of the investigation it was found that the indicted “Undersheriff Sung, aided by Captain Jensen in one instance, held up the issuance of CCW licenses, refusing to release them until the applicants gave something of value.” According to the district attorney for the Santa Clara area, Jeff Rosen, four concealed carry weapons (CCW) licenses were withheld from Apple employees. Sung and Jensen then “managed to extract from Thomas Moyer a promise that Apple would donate iPads to the Sheriff’s Office” The promised "donation" would have delivered 200 iPads, worth approximately $70,000, but the deal was scrapped following a search warrant issued on the sheriff’s office which seized all CCW license records.

According to the press release, “The various fees required to obtain a CCW license generally total between $200 and $400,” so $70,000 in iPads at first glance seems like small potatos overall. However, because of the way California's CCW licensing is carried out, it is considered a "may issue" state. That means that even if you meet all of the legal requirements to obtain a CCW license, it's up to the discretion of the sheriff or local police chief to actually grant the license. In most of other states, CCW licenses are handed out on a "shall issue" basis, meaning that as long as you meet the requirements, you shall get a license. As a result, obtaining a CCW license in California is incredibly difficult even if you cross every "t" and dot every "i" when filing for an application. This might explain why Moyer and his cohorts allegedly went through such efforts to obtain the CCW licenses.

Speaking to CBS, the DA also stated that while he could not say if the indicted were in custody, though he expected they would be turning themselves in soon. In any case, we will see how the case turns out come January, so keep an eye on HotHardware for updates on the case. Also, let us know in the comments what you think of this whole "truth is sometimes stranger than fiction" ordeal.