Concealed guns probe: Records confirm big donor to sheriff’s campaign was issued rare concealed weapons permit

$45K donation, from security contractor to backer of Sheriff Laurie Smith's re-election last fall, is a focal point of DA investigation.

SAN JOSE — A manager at an executive security firm received a concealed-weapon permit in Santa Clara County a few months after making by far the biggest single donation supporting Sheriff Laurie Smith’s 2018 re-election, newly released records show, a contribution that is a now a focal point of a corruption probe aimed at her office.

The $45,000 donation by Martin Nielsen, who is listed as the executive protection operations and executive projects manager for Seattle-based AS Solution, was made in October 2018 to the Santa Clara County Public Safety Alliance, an independent-expenditure committee that backed Smith’s bid for a sixth term. He was issued a concealed-weapon permit on March 26.

Nielsen’s donation dwarfs most of the contributions made either to the committee or directly to Smith’s re-election campaign. The DA investigation first surfaced publicly after San Jose Inside reported that a search warrant was served Aug. 2 at the Sheriff’s Office headquarters in North San Jose. This news organization has since confirmed with sources familiar with the investigation that at least one other warrant was served on a high-ranking supervisor in Smith’s office.

Also according to Santa Clara County concealed-carry weapons permit records, released to this news organization Thursday in response to a public-records request, a woman listed as an executive protection agent for AS Solution was issued a permit the same day as Nielsen. But there are no related donation records linked to the agent.

The CCW permit issue has long been a source of criticism for the Sheriff’s Office, and it has dogged Smith every time she has run for re-election in the last decade. Residents over the years have complained about the permitting process and said that the permits appeared to be reserved for high-profile people and VIP types.

The records released Thursday show that at least 100 active permits have been issued, many of which are renewals of permits held by judges, prosecutors and reserve police officers.

Of the civilian permits currently active — they have a two-year life span before requiring a renewal evaluation — seven recipients who had permits either issued or renewed in 2019 donated to Smith’s campaign or an independent committee supporting her. In 2018, eight recipients fit that description. The donations ranged from $100 to $1,000, and it should be noted that some of the civilian permits date back decades, some even before Smith was elected sheriff.

Two other individuals who have held concealed weapons permits in recent years also donated to support Smith both directly to her campaign and the independent committee: Santa Clara Valley Water board director and match.com founder Gary Kremen and Nvidia executive Chris Malachowsky.

Kremen and Malachowsky each gave the independent expenditure committee $5,000 in October 2018, according to campaign finance records. Malachowsky also gave $1,000 directly to Smith’s campaign in 2018.

Nielsen, who records show had made no known previous donations to Smith re-election efforts, could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday evening. AS Solution, which has been contracted to protect prominent executives in the Silicon Valley tech world, has pledged its full cooperation with the District Attorney’s Office, and said an internal investigation was launched as a result of the scrutiny on its employee.

“Any allegations of improper conduct by employees are treated very seriously,” reads a previous statement issued after the Aug. 2 search warrant first surfaced. “We will take appropriate action based on the outcome of our investigation.”

James Campagna, treasurer for the independent-expenditure committee, said the committee has been supporting “pro-public safety” candidates since 2005.

“Any contributor who believes their support would result in some quid pro quo would be extremely misguided. I’ve known Sheriff Smith for over 20 years, she would never condone anyone in her support to do anything unethical or contrary to the law,” Campagna said in a statement Thursday.

The District Attorney’s Office has refrained from commenting in detail on the investigation aside from acknowledging the August search warrant. The probe is being led by the DA’s Public Integrity Unit, which on its website states that it “supervises the investigation of cases involving corruption of public officials and employees in their official capacities or in the performance of their duties and initiates criminal charges when appropriate.”

But sources have confirmed investigators are exploring an alleged “quid pro quo” linking political support and the issuing of permits by Smith’s office, which has been relatively stingy about granting the privilege compared to neighboring counties. The sources also said that the probe had been in the works for some time and that some of Smith’s trusted advisers in the agency are being scrutinized.

The Sheriff’s Office responded to a request on the records release by referring to a brief statement it issued in August, which said officials are cooperating with investigators and asserted its “extensive efforts to increase transparency and trust with the communities we serve and will continue these efforts going forward.”

Check back later for updates to this story.