Main witness in Santa Clara County concealed-gun bribery case pleads guilty – By Robert Salonga (Bay Area News Group) / Oct 19 2020
Two figures in alleged pay-to-play corruption scheme agreed to cooperate with prosecutors for reduced charges
SAN JOSE — The primary witness who implicated a sheriff’s captain and three others in an alleged bribery scheme to trade political donations supporting Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith for concealed-carry weapons permits pleaded guilty Monday to misdemeanor charges for his role in the ploy.
The witness, one-time AS Solution security manager Martin Nielsen, was the first subject of the District Attorney’s probe to cooperate with prosecutors. Nielsen, 42, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts: conspiracy to solicit the acceptance of a bribe, conspiracy to file concealed-carry weapon license applications with false statements, and making a campaign contribution in a false name. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 18 months in jail.
Jack Stromgren, another AS manager, pleaded guilty to similar misdemeanor charges Monday. Both men had signaled in testimonies to a criminal grand jury this summer that they hoped to face reduced charges in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors in their investigation of the alleged pay-to-play scheme involving the gun permits.
Continue to article> https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/10/19/main-witness-in-santa-clara-county-concealed-gun-bribery-case-pleads-guilty/
