The long-running corruption case out of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department has reached its conclusion. Former Undersheriff Rick Sung pleaded guilty Monday to two felony bribery counts stemming from a pay-to-play scheme that traded concealed carry permits for political donations and corporate perks.
No Jail, But No More Badge
Under the plea agreement, Sung — the highest-ranking sheriff’s official ever convicted by the Santa Clara County DA’s Office — admitted guilt to two felony bribery solicitation counts. He’ll surrender his California peace officer certification, serve 400 hours of community service, and spend two years on probation. Like the other officials caught up in the scandal, he won’t spend a day behind bars.
Sung entered the plea on the eve of his retrial. His first trial ended in a hung jury on the counts against him while jurors acquitted his co-defendants — Apple Chief Security Officer Thomas Moyer and former Sheriff’s Capt. James Jensen. Prosecutors were preparing to take Sung back to trial when the plea deal came together.
Superior Court Judge Hanley Chew asked Sung whether he understood the pleas he was entering. Sung answered “I do.” Asked to confirm them, he said “Guilty.” Those were his only words in court. Deputy District Attorney John Chase also moved to dismiss a connected count against co-defendant Harpreet Chadha.
Here’s the part that ought to bother you: once Sung finishes his community service and probation, the deal lets him petition to knock the felonies down to misdemeanors, then seek expungement. In other words, a clean slate for a man who sold access to a fundamental right.
The Scheme
The two counts Sung pleaded to name specific transactions. One involved Apple’s executive security team — prosecutors alleged Sung and Jensen held up four CCW permits for Apple security executives until Apple agreed to donate 200 iPads worth nearly $70,000 (a donation that was ultimately canceled). The other involved businessman Harpreet Chadha, whose CCW renewal was held up until he offered the sheriff’s office free access to his luxury suite at the SAP Center for a February 2019 San Jose Sharks game.
The case predates the Bruen decision, back when California’s “may issue” regime gave sheriffs near-total discretion over who got a carry permit. That structure — one official’s yes-or-no over a fundamental right — is exactly the profiteering setup TTAG warned about for years before Bruen finally killed it in 2022.
Former Sheriff Laurie Smith was convicted of civil corruption and willful misconduct in a 2022 trial for her role at the top of the operation. She resigned in October 2022 before the civil grand jury could remove her. The DA’s eight-year investigation produced six convictions. Sung is the last major figure.
Sung’s attorneys, Naomi Chung and Tamara Crepet, called it a “politically motivated” case. “This case was never about Mr. Sung lining his own pockets,” their statement reads. “It concerned concealed-weapons permits, which under California law only the Sheriff, not the Undersheriff, has the authority to issue.”
Fair point about the signature. But Sung took the plea. If the case was really as weak as the statement suggests, a second jury was there for the asking.
Still Not Easy
Things have improved since Smith stepped down and Bruen forced California into “shall issue.” Still, the California Rifle & Pistol Association and Second Amendment Foundation note in an ongoing lawsuit against the county that applying for a permit runs nearly $2,000 — with close to $1,000 in application fees alone — plus mandatory training, a psychological evaluation, and fingerprinting. The pay-to-play era is over. The pay-to-carry era is very much alive.
That’s the residue Bruen didn’t clean up on its own. The pretense that a permit is a privilege the government sells rather than a right the government has to respect is the mindset that produced Rick Sung’s plea deal in the first place. Some counties learn faster than others.
