Businessman pleads guilty to role in sheriff's office weapon permit bribery scheme
For release on November 2, 2023
CONTACT:
John Chase
Deputy District Attorney
Public and Law Enforcement Integrity Unit
(408) 792-2595
Businessman pleads guilty to role in sheriff's office weapon permit bribery scheme
A Milpitas business owner has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to solicit a bribe, the latest development in the case that uncovered a scheme under former Sheriff Laurie Smith’s administration to trade concealed firearms permits for various donations, including in support of Smith’s re-election campaign.
After Michael Nichols, age 48 of Milpitas, the owner of a gun tooling and customization shop, pleaded guilty, the court reduced the charge to a misdemeanor pursuant to the negotiated disposition and imposed a one-year county jail sentence.
Smith, the sheriff for more than two decades, resigned last year - just days before she was found guilty in a civil trial that relied mainly on the evidence from the criminal probe. To date the DA’s investigation has resulted in four convictions and Smith’s forced resignation. The defendants remaining in the gun permit bribery cases are former Undersheriff Rick Sung, former Captain James Jensen, attorney Harpaul Nahal, Apple’s head of global security Thomas Moyer, and local insurance broker Harpreet Chadha.
“Today’s conviction marks another milestone in this Office’s steady commitment to holding accountable all of the participants in this pay-for-play government corruption scheme.” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “The community must be assured that government services — especially those involving public safety — are provided according to need, not bribes.”
Evidence shows Nichols was an important middleman in the scheme, introducing executives at AS Solution, Inc., the company seeking the gun permits, to local attorneys and ultimately to Jensen of the Sheriff’s Office.
Nichols helped arrange meetings that led to the company’s agreeing to pay $90,000 in exchange for a dozen or more permits. The first $45,000 went to a PAC, which spent it to support Smith’s ultimately successful re-election bid. The conspirators were working on the second $45,000 payment when the DA’s s investigation interrupted the scheme.
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