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by Jordan Michaels on September 2, 2020
In a surprise development, an ex-Chief Executive Officer for a California security firm pleaded guilty this week to his role in a pay-to-play scheme in which his employees received coveted concealed carry permits in exchange for a campaign contribution to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's reelection campaign, according to The Mercury News.
Christian West was the C.E.O. of AS Solutions, a high-profile security firm that handled protection for Facebook and Google executives. As GunsAmerica reported previously, employees at AS Solutions have been under investigation for donating $45,000 to long-time Santa Clara Sheriff Laurie Smith in exchange for concealed carry permits.
Though Smith has yet to face any charges, investigators have charged four people in connection with the scheme, including one of Smith's captains, James Jensen. West had been charged with two separate felony conspiracy counts, but his charges have been downgraded to misdemeanors in exchange for his cooperation, Mercury News reports.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen has not said whether his office is close to indicting Smith, but he did tell reporters that he expects to file more charges.
"As we gather more evidence, we expect to file more charges against more individuals in the coming weeks. We are not done," he said.
Read more at:
https://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/...firm-pleads-guilty-in-pay-to-play-ccw-scheme/
In a surprise development, an ex-Chief Executive Officer for a California security firm pleaded guilty this week to his role in a pay-to-play scheme in which his employees received coveted concealed carry permits in exchange for a campaign contribution to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's reelection campaign, according to The Mercury News.
Christian West was the C.E.O. of AS Solutions, a high-profile security firm that handled protection for Facebook and Google executives. As GunsAmerica reported previously, employees at AS Solutions have been under investigation for donating $45,000 to long-time Santa Clara Sheriff Laurie Smith in exchange for concealed carry permits.
Though Smith has yet to face any charges, investigators have charged four people in connection with the scheme, including one of Smith's captains, James Jensen. West had been charged with two separate felony conspiracy counts, but his charges have been downgraded to misdemeanors in exchange for his cooperation, Mercury News reports.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen has not said whether his office is close to indicting Smith, but he did tell reporters that he expects to file more charges.
"As we gather more evidence, we expect to file more charges against more individuals in the coming weeks. We are not done," he said.
Read more at:
https://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/...firm-pleads-guilty-in-pay-to-play-ccw-scheme/