Bernard Kerik, former NYPD chief during 9/11, dead at 69 – Washington Examiner
Bernard Kerik, former NYPD chief during 9/11, dead at 69
Former New York Police Department commissioner Bernard Kerik died on Thursday. He was 69 years old.
Kerik was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1955. His family later moved to Paterson, New Jersey, and he grew up in the city. He attended Eastside High School, which would later gain recognition due the 1989 film Lean on Me. Kerik eventually dropped out of school in 1972 and later joined the U.S. Army.
After serving abroad, Kerik joined the NYPD in 1986. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani later chose Kerik to be his bodyguard during his 1993 mayoral campaign, according to the Associated Press. Later, as mayor, Giuliani appointed him to head the New York City Department of Corrections in 1998. He held the position until 2000 when Giuliani again promoted him to the city’s new police commissioner.
Kerik was police commissioner during the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001 and remained in the position until the end of the year, when Giuliani’s term expired.
The former mayor was emotional when speaking about Kerik during his show on Thursday. He said he was like his “brother” and that he was better for knowing him.
“We’ve been together since the beginning,” Giuliani said on his talk show on Thursday after learning of Kerik’s death. “He’s like my brother. I was a better man for having known Bernie.”
He also acknowledged Kerik’s actions immediately following the 9/11 attacks.
“He was at my side within 20 minutes of the attack and never left,” Giuliani added.
Giuliani posted a tribute to Kerik on his X account.
In his later years, Kerik experienced a fall from grace and was sentenced to prison.
In 2007, he was indicted by a grand jury on tax fraud charges and making false statements about his income, according to multiple reports. In 2009, he pleaded guilty in connection to numerous felony charges, including “obstructing and impeding the due administration of the internal revenue laws from 1999 to 2007,” “one count of aiding in the preparation of a false tax return,” and “five counts of making false statements to the federal government.” He was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release as part of his conditional probation.
ALABAMA AG STEVE MARSHALL LAUNCHES RUN FOR TUBERVILLE SENATE SEAT
“It is a very sad day when the former Commissioner of the greatest police department in the world is sentenced to prison for base criminal conduct,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said at the time regarding Kerik’s crimes. “Today’s sentencing of Bernard Kerik is one of the most powerful recent reminders that no one in this country is above the law.”
Kerik would eventually be pardoned for his crimes by President Donald Trump during the last year of his first term in February 2020.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
Auto Amazon Links: Could not resolve the given unit type, . Please be sure to update the auto-insert definition if you have deleted the unit.