Bernard Kerik

Infobox Governor
name = Bernard B. Kerik


order1 =
office1 = Police Commissioner - City of New York
children = Angelina, Celine, Joseph and Lisa
term_start1 = August 21, 2000
term_end1 = December 31, 2001
predecessor1 = Howard Safir
successor1 = Raymond W. Kelly
order2 =
office2 = Correction Commissioner, New York City Department of Correction
term_start2 =1998
term_end2 =2000
predecessor2 = Michael P. Jacobsen
successor2 = Gary M. Lanigan
birth_date = birth date and age|1955|09|04
birth_place = Newark, New Jersey
death_date =
residence=Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
party = Republican
profession = Law Enforcement Officer
alma_mater= State University of New York
spouse = Hala Matli (since 1998)
religion = Roman Catholic

Bernard Bailey "Bernie" Kerik, CBE, (born September 4, 1955 in Newark, New Jersey) is a former American law-enforcement officer. Kerik was Police Commissioner of the City of New York from 2000 to 2001, under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. In December 2004, George W. Bush nominated Kerik as Secretary of Homeland Security. A week later, Kerik withdrew his nomination, explaining that he had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny; subsequently, numerous allegations surfaced which would likely have led to a confirmation battle. In 2006, Kerik pled guilty to two unrelated ethics violations after an investigation by the Bronx District Attorney's Office, and was ordered to pay $221,000. He is currently under Federal investigation: A grand jury issued a multi-count indictment on November 8, 2007 alleging conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and lying to the Internal Revenue Service. Kerik surrendered to authorities on Friday, November 9, 2007, was arraigned before Magistrate Judge George Yanthis in White Plains, New York Federal Court, and pled not guilty to all 16 charges. [ cite news |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7087364.stm |title = Ex-NY police chief denies charges |date = 2007-11-10 |accessdate = 2007-11-14 |work = BBC News] [cite news |url = http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3843981 |title = Ex-NYC Top Cop Kerik Pleads Not Guilty |accessdate = 2007-11-14 |date = 2007-11-09 |work = Associated Press via ABC News |last = Fitzgerald |first = Jim] [cite web |url=http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/kerik-indictment/ |title=Indictment of Bernie Kerik |accessdate=2007-11-10 |format=JPG |date=2007-11-09]

Personal

The son of Donald Raymond Kerik, Sr. and Patricia Joann Bailey, Kerik was born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in Paterson, New Jersey. In 2001, Kerik published a memoir, "," [See the description on [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060508825 Amazon.com] .] a New York Times best seller. In this book, he revealed that his parents divorced when he was three years old, and that his mother, an alcoholic and a prostitute, was murdered when he was nine - possibly by her pimp. [cite web |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/bernard_b_kerik/index.html?inline=nyt-per |title=Maria Newman, "Bernard B. Kerik", "The New York Times", "Times Topics", October 12, 2007 |accessdate=2007-11-09 |format= |work=]

Kerik attended Eastside High School, [ [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2NjIxNDE4JnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg="N.J. native to lead Homeland Security"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", December 3, 2004. Accessed December 21, 2007. "Kerik, 49, was born in Newark and grew up in Paterson, where he attended Eastside High School."] but dropped out to enlist in the army. [{http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4065105.stm Profile: Bernard Kerik] , "BBC News", November 9, 2007. Accessed December 21, 2007. "Mr Kerik dropped out of high school to join the army, where he became a military policeman stationed in South Korea."] He later received a General Equivalency Diploma. After leaving the New York City Police Department, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from Empire State College of the State University of New York in 2002. He also attended Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. [cite web |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html? Sres=9A0DE0DD1631F930A35751C1A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |title=A Street Cop's Rise From High School Dropout to Cabinet Nominee - New York Times |accessdate=2007-11-09 |format= |work=]

Kerik has worked as a U.S. Army Military Policeman (MP), a bodyguard, a jail warden and an undercover narcotics detective. He is also a 5th degree black belt master instructor in the martial arts, who holds black belts in both Japanese Karate and Korean tae kwon do.

In 1987, when he was working as a New York Police officer, Kerik declared bankruptcy, citing his credit card bills and loan payments. [cite web |url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1207041kerik1.html|title=Millionaire Kerik A Former Deadbeat - The Smoking Gun|accessdate=2007-11-09 |format= |work=]

Marriages and children

Kerik's first child was a daughter born out of wedlock, when he was 19 and serving in South Korea as a military policeman. The daughter, Yi Sa (Lisa) Marie Jordan, was born in October 1975. Her mother is a woman identified Yi Yun Cha. In February, 1976, Kerik completed his tour of duty in South Korea and was transferred back to the United States, leaving both women behind. In his autobiography, Kerik called the episode “a mistake I will always regret, and I pray to God that one day I can make it right”. In December, 2001, Kerik and his daughter Lisa re-united after 26 years of separation. From his daughter, he has two grandchildren.Kerik has been married three times. His first marriage was to Linda Hales on August 10, 1978, when he was nearly 24 and she was 27. They separated in 1982 and were officially divorced June 6, 1983. [http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2004/12/secret-wife.html Info on Linda Hales Kerik Priest] Linda — now remarried and known as Linda H Priest — is the Clerk of Superior Court in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Kerik's second marriage — was to Jacqueline Llerena of New Jersey. It lasted from September 3, 1983 to July 1992. Together they had one son, Joseph Michael (born June 11, 1985) who is a Police Officer with the Newark Police Department in New Jersey.

Kerik's third marriage was to Syria-born Hala Matli (born February 3, 1972). He met her in 1996, when she was the officer manager in his dentist's office. They married on November 1, 1998, and they have two daughters: Celine Christina (born March 3, 2000) and Angelina Amber (born October 30, 2002). Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City, is their godfather. [cite web |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0412/11/cst.01.html |title=CNN.com - Transcripts |accessdate=2007-11-09 |format= |work=]

He had a year long affair with Judith Regan, the publisher of his autobiography.

Kerik presently lives in a $2.2 million home in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/16/national/16nanny.html?pagewanted=all&position= Bernard moved his family from Riverdale, Bronx to NJ]

Military and police experience

Kerik enlisted in the U.S. Army in July, 1974 and became a Military policeman (MP) assigned to Korea as an MP Sentry Dog Handler and to the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina assuming Military Police duties and teaching hand to hand combat to Special Operations and Special Forces Personnel at the John F. Kennedy Unconventional Warfare Center. In 1977, he received an honorable discharge from the Army whereby he became a member of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office (NC). In April, 1978, he was employed by the Morrison Knudson Saudi Arabia Consortium (MKSAC) as a Security Officer on the King Khalid Military City in Hafar Al-Batin, Saudi Arabia for nearly two and a half years.

Kerik worked from 1982 to 1984 as chief of investigations for the security office at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, one of the kingdom's premier hospitals, where members of the royal family are treated. Six members of the hospital security staff, including Kerik, were fired and deported after an investigation in 1984 by the Saudi secret police. [cite web |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A45175-2004Dec7?language=printer |title=washingtonpost.com: Kerik's Surveillance Activity in Saudi Arabia Is Disputed |accessdate=2007-11-09 |format= |work=]

Kerik served as Warden of the Passaic County jail, the largest county adult correctional facility in New Jersey, from January to July 1986. There, he also served as the Department's Training Officer and Commander of the Special Weapons and Operations units.

Kerik served with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) from July 1986 to May 1994, in both uniformed and plain clothes duty. While assigned to the US Justice Department's New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, he was one of two case agents responsible for overseeing one of the most substantial narcotic investigations in the history of the department, resulting in the conviction of more than sixty members of the Cali Cartel. Fact|date=April 2007

Commissioner of NYC Department of Correction

Kerik served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction, a position to which he was appointed on January 1, 1998.Fact|date=May 2007 He was responsible for an annual budget of $835 million, a civilian and uniformed workforce of 13,000 and 133,000 annual inmate admissions in the Department’s 16 jails, 15 court detention pens and four hospital prison wards, including Rikers Island.

He was credited with the creation of the Total Efficiency Accountability Management System (TEAMS), a management analysis and accountability program that placed as a finalist for the Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Award, for Innovations in American Government for year 2000. Through TEAMS, the Department witnessed historic performance gains in virtually all areas of jail operations as a result of many new initiatives in violence reduction, overtime reduction, modernization of security equipment, an absence rate analysis program and others.

During his tenure, the Department developed a gang intelligence unit and gang tracking database, networking with local, state and federal authorities across the country. Inmate violence--defined as inmate-on-inmate stabbing and slashing incidents—were reduced by 93% FY ‘95 to FY ’99. Similarly, overtime spending in FY ‘99 decreased 45% from FY ‘95 and the uniform sick rate dropped for the same period 25%. These achievements occurred during a period when the inmate population rose to record levels, from 110,410 admissions in FY ‘94 to 133,000 in FY ‘99, a 25% increase.

He previously served for three years as the Department of Correction's First Deputy Commissioner and, prior to that, as the agency's Executive Assistant to the Commissioner and Director of the Investigations Division. In December 1997, he was appointed by the Mayor to the New York City Gambling Control Commission. Kerik also chaired the Michael Buczek Foundation's annual fund-raiser that honors law enforcement across the nation.

New York City Police Commissioner

Kerik was appointed the 40th New York City Police Commissioner by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani on August 21, 2000. He left office at the end of Giuliani's term on December 31, 2001. More than half of mayor Giuliani's cabinet opposed Kerik's appointment. Kerik's lack of a college degree was among the cabinet's major concerns. [cite web |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/us/politics/03kerik.html?hp |title=Loyal to Kerik, Giuliani Missed Warning Signs - New York Times |accessdate=2007-11-09 |format= |work=] Possession of a college degree was a requirement established in 1985 by then-Commissioner Benjamin Ward for anyone promoted above the rank of Captain.

As the leader of the largest municipal police department in the United States, Commissioner Kerik oversaw a uniformed force of more than 41,000 officers, a civilian force of more than 14,500 which included the 3,500 member School Safety Division, 2,000-member Traffic Control Division, and 3500 member Auxiliary Police Division, and an annual budget of more than $3.2 billion. Under Kerik's 16 month term as Commissioner, violent crime in New York City registered its biggest drop in five years in 2001, a decline all the more startling because it came as the violent crime rates in many other cities around the country were increasing. Giuliani gave much of the credit for the drop in 2001 to his police commissioner, "Commissioner Kerik took over a Police Department that was leading the country in crime declines," he said, "and somehow he was able to figure out how to create even more crime reduction and to do that against a national trend in which crime is going up in much of the rest of the country".

Known in the department as the "beat-cop commissioner", Kerik frequently cruised the city at night with a security detail composed of cops who have been in shootouts, dangled from rooftops, been hit by bullets, raced into burning buildings and seen their partners die. During his time as police commissioner he made five arrests including one involving two ex- convicts - one a paroled killer, wanted for a carjacking at gunpoint in Virginia - for allegedly driving a stolen van in Harlem.

As Police Commissioner, Kerik served on the Terrorism Committee with the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Criminal Justice Advisory Board for St. John's University.

Attack on the World Trade Center

Kerik was serving as Police Commissioner during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, when at approximately 8:48 a.m., and again at 9:03 a.m., two hijacked, passenger-occupied Boeing 767 airliners, piloted by terrorists, were intentionally flown into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center. He was responsible for overseeing the Police Department's law enforcement response and investigation of the attack.

Kerik was in his office when the first attack occurred and arrived at the base of Tower I about three minutes before United Airlines Flight 175 slammed into Tower II, showering him and his staff with debris from the burning building and plane. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani arrived within minutes afterward and the two men walked to a temporary command post on West Street to meet with senior police and fire personnel who later died when the buildings collapsed.

The NYPD was placed on Condition Omega, the City's highest alert; existing duty charts were immediately suspended with uniformed personnel performing 12 hour tours of duty with regular days off suspended. The NYPD Command and Control Center was operational by 9:45 a.m. Lower Manhattan, south of 14th Street from the Hudson to the East River, was frozen and accessible to emergency personnel only.

When the south tower of the World Trade Center imploded, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Police Commissioner Kerik and their top aides were trapped inside a building at 75 Barclay St. According to the New York Daily News, Kerik, along with his first deputy commissioner, the chief of department and other top brass were all in close proximity to the burning towers, and dodged rubble and debris as the structures fell.

Between Tuesday, September 11 and Tuesday, September 26, a total of 863 bomb threats were called into 911. During the same period the prior year, only 69 similar calls were received

On Tuesday, September 18, Kerik attended a ceremony in which Governor George Pataki signed legislation into law, five new sections to the New York State Penal Law and one to the New York State Criminal Procedure Law, to address terrorist-related activity. Kerik also established the New York Metropolitan Committee on Counter Terrorism, responsible for reviewing existing security measures, technology, information exchange protocols and levels of cooperation among the participating agencies and developing recommendations for improving, facilitating and expediting the same throughout the current national crisis.

The New York City Police Department lost 23 Police Officers on the morning of 9/11. The New York City Fire Department lost 343 Firefighters and the Port Authority Police of NY & NJ lost 37 Police Officers. More than 2,000 civilions died as well.

Interim Minister of Interior of Iraq

In May 2003, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Kerik was appointed by the George W. Bush Administration as the Interim Minister of Interior of Iraq and Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Presidential Envoy to Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III. He was responsible for reconstituting the Iraqi Ministry of Interior which had dissolved into the community during the U.S. led coalition's invasion of Iraq. The Iraq Interior consisted of the National Police, Intelligence Service and Border and Customs Police.

In Rajiv Chandrasekaran's book on Iraq, "Imperial Life in the Emerald City", Kerik was said to be arrogant, incompetent, and undedicated in his position.

Kerik was also criticized by George Packer in his book, "". [cite book |last=Packer |first=George |title=The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq |year=2005 |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-374-29963-7 |pages=312-313] :

"He [Army Lt. Colonel in charge of Kirkuk reconstruction] was afraid that the new Kirkuk police force, which the battalion he commanded had already set up, would have to be scrapped when Bernard Kerik - the colorful former New York police chief - finally got around to announcing his national plan. Instead, Kerik spent his time in Baghdad going on raids with South African mercenaries while his house in New Jersey underwent renovation. He went home after just three months, leaving almost nothing behind, while the Lt. Colonel spent almost a year in Kirkuk."

But in Bremer’s book, “My Year in Iraq”, Bremer calls Kerik “streetwise and no-nonsense”, highlighting Kerik’s concerns over the first car bombing of the Jordanian Mission and the lack of qualified and trained Iraqi Police Officers. Kerik called the police officers of “poor quality”, and noted that some may be ok, but they don’t have any real training, lack equipment, and sure the hell are not attuned to modern police techniques”.

Retired US Army General Ricardo Sanchez also criticized Kerik's performance in Iraq, stating:

"I would be hard-pressed to identify a major national-level success that his organization accomplished in that time. They'd get tips and they'd go and actually raid a whorehouse. Their focus becomes trying to do tactical police operations in the city of Baghdad, when in fact there is a much greater mission that they should be doing, which is training the police. He is a very energetic guy. He is very confident - overconfident to an extent - and he is very superficial in his understanding of the requirements of his job. His whole contribution was a waste of time and effort." [Gaskell, Stephanie, "Former Iraq Commander: Bernard Kerik Was 'A Waste Of Time' In Iraq", New York Daily News, May 5, 2008.]

In response, Kerik stated, "I wasn't a big fan of General Sanchez because he had no respect for the Iraqi police who were courageous enough to return to work when others fled," Kerik told The New York Daily News. "He refused to see them as partners in combating the war-torn violence that was crippling Iraq, and as a result, there was constant strife." "The U.S. military police and coalition troops on the ground worked great with the Iraqis," he said. "It's too bad they didn't have that same relationship at the top." Kerik denied arresting any prostitutes in Iraq and said the Army always knew about his operations. "If we didn't notify them it's because they were involved in the operation," he said.

In a United Nations UNODC Fact Finding Report Mission Report dated 5-18-2003, Kerik was cited as leading a small "International Policing Team", to restructure and rebuild the Iraqi Police and Ministry of Interior. They noted that the team made "positive interventions in a number of areas", but were under "no illusions about the magnitude of the reforms and work required" moving forward. Because Iraq had suffered from years of authoritarian rule, conflict and isolation, failure to pursue the necessary reforms with speed and resources, could result in serious consequences for the development of democracy and economic prosperity in Iraq.

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

On May 18, 2004, Mr. Kerik testified before the 9/11 Commission in New York City. He concluded his testimony with a list of lessons learned or recommendations, making the following points:

• First, emergency operations centers, with an Office of Emergency Management responsible for its operations, similar to the one in New York City, are essential, not only to coordinate operations in the event of a crisis but also for planning purposes. Relationships and response plans must be well established, before an emergency occurs – you just can’t make them happen in the midst of a crisis.

• Second, success in securing our homeland requires accurate and real time intelligence that is shared with all necessary stakeholders, whether they are at the local, state or federal level. There must be internal monitoring systems that will insure efficiency and accountability with regard to information sharing and communications. A culture change in intelligence and information sharing is essential and those that refuse to change must be removed. There can be no compromise.

• Third, this culture change has begun, assisted through the provisions of the Patriot Act. This law contains many provisions, particularly with respect to information sharing, that better enable law enforcement to continues its fight against terrorism. Thus, the Act should be continued.

• We should create a mechanism to hold countries accountable that promote terrorism against the United States. Such countries constitute a legitimate threat against Americans, both here and abroad.

• Finally, I believe our battles have only just begun. Removing the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda leadership from Afganistan --- and Saddam and his regime from Iraq, were just the beginning in addressing the real threats against us. We must stand firm, stay pre-emptive and never believe for one minute that this war is over. And to those who would say that our actions in Iraq or Afghanistan have only worsened the threats against us, or to the Spanish who believe their involvement in Iraq resulted in the train bombings in Madrid, I ask: Why us on September 11th, 2001.

"They brought this war to us, and it is a war we cannot afford to lose. I ask the members of this Commission to put politics aside, put our freedom first and give us the ammunition we need to continue the battle before us. For without it…we lose".

Politics

Upon his return from Iraq, Kerik was extremely politically active, campaigning for Republican candidates for political offices at all levels, including speaking at the 2004 Republican National Convention, where he endorsed George W. Bush for re-election.

Kerik has been an outspoken supporter for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, calling for aggressive sanctions against Iran and Syria for their support of state sponsored terror. Kerik uses a MySpace website blog to vocalize his support for the Bush administration’s war on terror.

Consulting work

Following his departure from the New York City Police Department, he was employed by Giuliani Partners, a consulting firm formed by the former Mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani. He served as a Senior Vice President at Giuliani Partners and as Chief Executive Officer of Giuliani-Kerik LLC, an affiliate of Giuliani Partners. Kerik resigned from these positions in December, 2004. Kerik is currently the Chairman of The Kerik Group LLC, a consulting firm specializing in Crisis Management and Risk Mitigation, Counter-Terrorism and Law Enforcement and Jail/Prison Management strategies. He has served as an advisor and consultant to His Majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and to President Bharrat Jagdeo of the Republic of Guyana. He has overseen threat and vulnerability assessments for a ruling family in the United Arab Emirates and has also worked on crime reduction and national security strategies in Trinidad & Tobago and Mexico City, Mexico.

Nomination as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security

On December 3, 2004, Kerik was nominated by President Bush to succeed Tom Ridge as United States Secretary of Homeland Security. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales vetted Kerik during that nomination period. [cite web |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0744 |title=No Skeletons in My Closet! |accessdate=2007-11-09 |format= |work=] But on December 10, after a week of press scrutiny, Kerik withdrew acceptance of the nomination. Kerik stated that he had unknowingly hired an undocumented worker as a nanny and housekeeper who had used someone else's social security number. Similar violations of immigration law had previously caused the withdrawal of the nominations of Linda Chavez as Secretary of Labor by George W. Bush and of Zoe Baird as Attorney General by President Bill Clinton.

Shortly after withdrawal of the nomination, the press reported on several other incidents which might also have posed difficulties in gaining confirmation by the Senate. These include: questions regarding Kerik's sale of stock in Taser International shortly before the release of an Amnesty International report critical of the company's stun-gun product; a sexual harassment lawsuit; an affair with Judith Regan; allegations of misuse of police personnel and property for personal benefit; connections with a construction company suspected of having ties to organized crime; and failure to comply with ethics rules on gifts. [cite web |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00B11F73F540C738FDDAF0894DE404482 |title=As Kerik Faces Court, Questions Persist on Background Check - New York Times |accessdate=2007-11-09 |format= |work=]

Awards and honors

Considered the most decorated Police Commissioners in the history of the New York City Police Department, he earned 30 medals for excellent, meritorious and heroic service, including the Saint Paul's Society Medal for Valor, for his involvement in a gun battle in which his partner was shot and wounded and he returned fire, downing the suspect. Other medals included 1 Honorable Mention, 5 Commendations, 10 Meritorious Police Duty and 13 Excellent Police Duty medals.

Mr. Kerik received a U. S. Presidential Letter of Commendation from President Ronald Reagan for heroism and was appointed Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. He was also appointed Knight Commander, of the Military Constintinian Order of St. George by the Duke of Calabria, Italy. He received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Mayor’s Medal of Honor from the City of Paterson, New Jersey and a Mayor’s Meritorious Commendation from the City of Passaic, New Jersey, all for heroism. He earned the Medal of Merit from the New Jersey State Police Benevolent Association and the Medal for Valor from the International Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association.

Other honors have included: the Golden Star Leadership Award, Los Angeles, California; Special Achievement Award, Special Narcotics Prosecutor's Office, City of New York; Man of the Year Award, Honor Legion, Police Department – City of New York; Man of the Year Award, Detective’s Endowment Association, Police Department – City of New York; Man of the Year Award, Brooklyn Law School, LELSA; 2 Distinguished Service Awards, US Department of Homeland Security; DEA Administrator's Award, U.S. Department of Justice, DEA; Distinguished Person of the Year, NYC Correction Captains Association; Distinguished Service Award, New York Shields; Distinguished Service Award, New York City Retired Detective's Association; Dedication and Commitment Award, NYC Correction Officer’s Association and the President’s Appreciation Award, NYC Correction Guardians Association.

He is an active member of the Detective’s Endowment Association – City of New York and the New Jersey State PBA (Silver Card - Life Member). He is a member or past member of the NYPD and New Jersey Honor Legions; the National Council of Columbia Societies in Civil Service; the Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association of New York and the International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association. He is the former Vice Chairman of the Boy Scouts’ Greater New York Council Law Enforcement Exploring Division; the Michael John Buczek Foundation Award's Committee.

He has received Honorary Doctorates from Michigan State University, New York Institute of Technology, Manhattanville College, College of New Rochelle and Iona College, and he received the President's Medal from Hunter College.

He is a 5th Degree Master Instructor in the Martial Arts, studying both Korean and Japanese Karate and has been inducted into The Centurion Black Belt Hall of Fame.

Investigation results

On June 30, 2006, after an eighteen month investigation conducted by the Bronx District Attorney's Office, Kerik plead guilty to two ethics violations (unclassified misdemeanors) and was ordered to pay $221,000 in fines at the 10-minute hearing.

Kerik acknowledged that he failed to document a personal loan on his annual New York City Conflict of Interest Report (a violation of the New York City Administrative Code) and accepting a gift from a New Jersey construction firm attempting to do business with the city, (a violation of the New York City Charter). During the court hearing, the Assistant Bronx District Attorney stated that "although some may draw inferences from this plea, there is no direct evidence of an agreement between Kerik and the New Jersey construction firm". Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg immediately removed Kerik's name from the Manhattan Detention Complex, a New York jail that had been renamed in Kerik's honor on December 21, 2001 by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. [cite web |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/03/nyregion/03kerik.html |title=Disgraced and Penalized, Kerik Finds His Name Stripped Off Jail - New York Times |accessdate=2007-11-09 |format= |work=New York Times]

Subsequently, on July 20, 2006, the two New Jersey contractors were indicted on perjury charges, accused of lying to the Bronx grand jury in the Kerik investigation. [cite web |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/20/nyregion/20kerik.html |title=2 Contractors With Kerik Ties Are Indicted on Perjury Charges - New York Times |accessdate=2007-11-09 |format= |work=]

Federal indictment

On November 8th, 2007, in White Plains, New York, Bernard Kerik was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, tax fraud and making false statements. Prosecutors say Kerik received about $255,000 in renovations to his Riverdale, Bronx, apartment from a company seeking to do business with the city of New York and concealed the income from the Internal Revenue Service. [Katz, Celeste; and Becker, Maki. [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/01/24/2008-01-24_bernard_kerik_go_probe_all_you_want.html "Bernard Kerik: Go probe all you want"] , "New York Daily News", December 18, 2004. Accessed May 4, 2008. "That follows a separate inquiry begun by Bronx prosecutors into a Riverdale apartment Kerik bought in 1999 while he was having financial trouble."] The indictment also charges Kerik made several false statements to the White House (in his background information statement regarding his Department of Homeland Security appointment) and other federal officials. If convicted on all 16 counts in the indictment, Kerik could face a maximum sentence of 142 years in prison and $4.7 million in fines. He was released upon payment of a $500,000 bond. [cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/09/kerik.indictment/index.html |title=Former Giuliani protege indicted on corruption charges - CNN.com |accessdate=2007-11-09 |format= |work=] [cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/11/10/2007-11-10_feds_bernard_keriks_a_scammer_who_ripped-3.html |title=Feds: Bernard Kerik's a scammer who ripped off city |accessdate=2007-11-10 |format= |work=]

ee also

*Rudy Giuliani promotions of Bernard Kerik

References

External links

* "This article was originally based on information from New York City's official website [http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/om/html/2000b/pr332-00] ."
* Newsday article, May 23 2003 announcing Kerik's appointment to post in Iraq [http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/nyc-nykeri163287559may16,0,7051520.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-manhattan]
* Tom Brokaw MSNBC Interview July 14 2003 [http://www.msnbc.com/news/938727.asp?0bl=-0]
* [http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20041205-113427-4677r.htm Only In America] - biographical article by Arnaud de Borchgrave in "The Washington Times", December 5, 2004
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45175-2004Dec7.html Kerik's Surveillance Activity in Saudi Arabia Is Disputed] , John Mintz and Lucy Shackelford, "Washington Post", Dec. 10, 2004
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56247-2004Dec10.html Homeland Security Nominee Withdraws]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6697161/site/newsweek/ Why Did Bernard Kerik Really Bow Out?] "Newsweek", Dec. 11, 2004
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4087505.stm Bernard Kerik problems]
* [http://www.wnbc.com/news/10851624/detail.html Kerik hired as Security Advisor to Guyana Government]
* [http://www.city-journal.org/html/9_2_why_the_jails.html Why the Jails Didn't Explode] "City Journal", Spring 1999
* [http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/finance/Bernie_Kerik_Wont_Fold.shtml Bernie Kerik Won't Fold] Best Life Magazine

Bibliography

* "War Stories: Behind the Silver and Gold Shields" Thomas J. Ward, Bernard B. Kerik (Looseleaf Law Publications, 2002) ISBN 1-889031-58-5
* "The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit of Justice" Bernard B. Kerik (Regan Books, 2001) ISBN 0-06-000901-2 (autobiography) [http://seaburn.com/blackbooknews/biography.htm]
* "In the Line of Duty" Bernard B. Kerik (Regan Books, 2001)
* "Imperial Life in the Emerald City" Rajiv Chandrasekaran
* "Never Forget: An Oral History of September 11, 2001" Mitchell Fink and Lois Mathias (Regan Books, 2002)
* "Leadership" Rudolph W. Giuliani (Miramax Books, 2002)
* "The Cell: Inside the 9/11 Plot, and why the FBI and CIA failed to stop it" John Miller, Michael Stone and Chris Mitchell
* "My Year in Iraq" L. Paul Bremer III (Simon & Schuster 2006)