Former Santa Clara County undersheriff pleads guilty in bribery scandal
By Tim Fang
Former Santa Clara County undersheriff Rick Sung was convicted in connection with a bribery scandal that led to the resignation of the former sheriff, according to prosecutors.
According to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, Sung pleaded guilty to two counts of felony bribery Monday as part of a plea deal ahead of a scheduled retrial. A previous trial against Sung resulted in a mistrial due to a hung jury.
“Law enforcement in Santa Clara County must be equally determined to be incorruptible as it is determined to protect our community,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement.
Sung was charged with a scheme to leverage rarely issued concealed weapon (CCW) permits to get Apple devices and access to a luxury suite at the SAP Center, home of the San Jose Sharks hockey team, prosecutors said. One of the counts was connected to Sung’s role in the promise of 200 iPads from Apple, while the other count was connected to the luxury suite and Sharks tickets.
Monday’s plea ends eight years of investigations involving the sheriff’s office, which led to six convictions and to the resignation of former Sheriff Laurie Smith in 2022. Sung was second in command to Smith.
Prosecutors began their investigation shortly after the 2018 election, after receiving a tip that someone made an unusually large contribution to an independent expenditure committee supporting Smith’s re-election.
The investigation led to the conviction of former Sheriff’s Captain James Jensen and employees at AS Solution, a private security company. Jensen was convicted in 2024 of conspiring with the company to donate to the committee in return for CCW permits.
Prosecutors said the investigation led to Sung being indicted for bribery in connection with CCW permits to several executive protection agents employed by Apple and to Harpreet Chadha, a businessman who held the license to the luxury suite.
At Monday’s hearing, a bribery charge against Chadha was dismissed.
As part of the negotiated disposition, prosecutors said Sung was ordered to permanently surrender his California peace officer certification and to complete 400 hours of community service.
