Latest news with #Kerik
New York Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
End of watch for ex-NYPD Commish Bernie Kerik, 1955-2025
Former NYPD commissioner Bernard Kerik, 'America's Cop,' who helped make New York the safest big city in America and led the department through the 9/11 terror attack, passed away Thursday at 69. A high-school dropout from Paterson, NJ, he joined the Army and eventually earned his GED while stationed at Fort Bragg (and, much later, a college degree). A few years after leaving the service, he joined the NYPD in 1986, earning the department's Medal of Valor for saving his partner in a gun battle. He shifted to the Department of Correction in '94, rising to head it in '98. At DOC, he led a complete turnaround of the Rikers Island jail complex, ending an epidemic of inmate violence. In 2000, recalled his old boss, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, 'He became police commissioner when they thought crime couldn't be reduced any further, yet he reduced it further. His work helped New York become the safest big city in America and a shining example of urban renaissance.' In his 16 months as the city's top cop, he was lauded for his hands-on leadership — even making five arrests, plus collaring two ex-cons driving a stolen van in Harlem — and presiding over a 63% drop in violent crime. He'd just written a memoir of his rise, 'The Lost Son,' when the planes hit the towers. After 9/11, Kerik's work overseeing NYPD rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero led to his honorary appointment as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and brought him to the attention of President George W. Bush, who tapped him to organize Iraq's provisional police force and then named him to head the newly-created Department of Homeland Security. Then the roof fell in, as the vetting process uncovered some stupid mistakes that torpedoed the nomination and eventually led him to plead guilty to federal tax fraud and do four years' hard time. Yet Kerik bounced back, eventually penning his second best-seller, 'From Jailer to Jailed: My Journey from Correction and Police Commissioner to Inmate #84888-054.' He devoted much of his later years to prison issues and (sensible) criminal-justice reform. Bernard Kerik was a cop's cop. Rest in peace.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Rudy Giuliani Chokes Up Remembering Former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik
Rudy Giuliani became visibly emotional while paying tribute to former New York police commissioner Bernie Kerik, who died Thursday at age 69. The disgraced former New York City mayor audibly sniffled and appeared to be holding back tears at several points during Thursday's episode of his 'America's Mayor Live' podcast, a segment of which was recorded just moments after Kerik's death was publicly confirmed. Describing Kerik as 'my closest friend and my brother, who saved my life,' Giuliani said, 'Actually, there was no one in my life who was braver than he was.' 'I was a better man for having known Bernie. I certainly was a braver man and a stronger man, and I wish my father had known Bernie because my father was the bravest man I ever knew,' he explained. 'I don't know what I'm going to do without him. Never expected this. I love him.' A New Jersey native and Army veteran, Kerik was appointed by Giuliani to serve as New York's police commissioner in 2000. He was hailed as a national hero after overseeing the city's response, rescue and recovery efforts in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In 2004, he was tapped by then-President George W. Bush to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Five years later, however, he pleaded guilty to federal tax fraud and false statement charges, and was given a four-year prison sentence, of which he served three years. President Donald Trump pardoned Kerik during a 2020 clemency blitz, after which Kerik reteamed with Giuliani to investigate Trump's baseless claims of election fraud following his loss to Joe Biden later that year. Deeming Kerik 'one of the first victims of lawfare,' Giuliani added: 'He was pardoned by a great president with a big heart and a lot of decency, and he loved that president. 'Bernie dedicated, I would say, the last years of his life, from about 2015 on, to making sure Donald Trump would become president, and would succeed as president,' he continued. 'He loved him. He absolutely loved him.' Toward the end of the broadcast, Giuliani said he'd been planning to visit Kerik over the weekend. 'I feel like I should've been with him,' he said. Watch Thursday's episode of 'America's Mayor Live' below. Giuliani's comments on Bernie Kerik begin around the 1:08:52 mark: Donald Trump Taps Rudy Giuliani's Son For Top Sports Gig Ex-NY Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, Who Pleaded Guilty To Federal Tax Fraud, Has Died Rudy Giuliani Says He's Too Sick For Court Hearing — But Fine For Trump's Inauguration
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Tearful Rudy Giuliani breaks down over death of Bernie Kerik
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani broke down in tears remembering ex-NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who died on Thursday at age 69. 'I was a better man for having known Bernie,' Giuliani said on his 'America's Mayor Live' podcast shortly after Kerik's death was announced. 'I don't know what I'm going to do without him.' Earlier this month, Kerik was hospitalized with a serious illness from which he was expected to recover. Giuliani said he had planned to visit his old pal on Saturday and regrets not doing so earlier. 'I feel like I should've been with him,' the choked-up Brooklyn native told listeners. Giuliani recalled the times he spent with Kerik, which included fighting crime in New York City, moving the city forward after the 9/11 terror attacks and supporting President Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The former mayor also praised his longtime friend for his 'honesty and integrity,' claiming Kerik was targeted by 'lawfare' when he served three years in prison for tax fraud. Giuliani became increasingly emotional recalling Kerik's service to law enforcement in the U.S. and overseas during the Iraq War, as well as their work together in the private sector. 'I've gone through difficult times, right, and I found out who my friends were,' he confessed. 'Bernie was there for every single thing.' The water works began when Giuliani once again said he wished he'd been at Kerik's bedside when he died. 'I wish I was there for you Bernie, you were always there for me,' he sobbed before saying a prayer for Kerik.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Bernard Kerik, who led NYPD on 9/11 before prison and pardon, has died at 69
NEW YORK — Bernard Kerik, who served as New York City's police commissioner on 9/11 and later pleaded guilty to tax fraud before being pardoned, has died. He was 69. FBI Director Kash Patel said that Kerik's death Thursday came after an unspecified 'private battle with illness.' Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who tapped Kerik as a bodyguard for his 1993 mayoral campaign and later appointed him to lead the NYPD, reflected on their long history on his show Thursday. 'We've been together since the beginning. He's like my brother,' Giuliani said through tears. 'I was a better man for having known Bernie. I certainly was a braver and stronger man.' New York City Mayor Eric Adams, also a former NYPD officer, said he'd visited Kerik, his 'friend of nearly 30 years,' at a hospital earlier in the day. Kerik, an Army veteran, was hailed as a hero after the 9/11 attack and eventually nominated to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, before a dramatic fall from grace that ended with him behind bars. He served nearly four years in prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to tax fraud, making false statements and other charges. The charges stemmed partially from apartment renovations he received from a construction firm that authorities say wanted Kerik to convince New York officials it had no links to organized crime. During Kerik's sentencing, the judge noted that he committed some of the crimes while serving as 'the chief law enforcement officer for the biggest and grandest city this nation has.' President Trump pardoned Kerik during a 2020 clemency blitz. Kerik was one of the guests feting Trump after his first federal court appearance in Florida in a case related to his handling of classified documents. Kerik grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, where he dropped out of the troubled Eastside High School later depicted in the 1989 film 'Lean on Me.' He joined the Army, where he became a military policeman stationed in South Korea. He went on to work private security in Saudi Arabia before returning stateside to supervise a jail in New Jersey. He joined the NYPD in the late 1980s and was appointed in the 1990s to run New York's long-troubled jail system, including the city's notorious Riker's Island complex. Kerik was appointed by Giuliani to serve as police commissioner in 2000 and was often by the mayor's side in the period after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. 'He was at my side within 20 minutes of the attack and never left,' Giuliani recalled in a statement following Kerik's death. In Kerik's 2015 book, 'From Jailer to Jailed,' he described becoming 'America's Top Cop' after the attacks. 'But I'd give anything for that day not to have happened. I wish it hadn't. But it did,' he wrote. 'And I happened to be there at the time. I was there, and I did the best I could do under the circumstances. It's all any of us did.' He was tapped by President George W. Bush to help organize Iraq's police force in 2003, then nominated to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security the following year. But Kerik caught the administration off guard when he abruptly withdrew his nomination, saying he had uncovered information that led him to question the immigration status of a person he employed as a housekeeper and nanny. More serious legal troubles followed, culminating in his conviction. In 2005, Kerik founded the Kerik Group, a crisis and risk management consulting firm. More recently, he worked for Giuliani again, surrounding the efforts to overturn Trump's 2020 loss.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Bernard Kerik, N.Y.C. Police Commissioner Who Led 9/11 Response and Was Pardoned by Trump for Felonies, Dies at 69
Bernard Kerik, who served as NYPD police commissioner during 9/11, has died at age 69 Kerik was first hailed as a hero for facilitating the emergency response to the attacks, but later fell from grace due to multiple legal woes He pleaded guilty to eight felonies in 2009 and served three years in prison, then was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2020Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik has died. He was 69. FBI Director Kash Patel announced news of Kerik's death in a Thursday, May 29 post on X, noting that Kerik had been in the midst of a "private battle with illness." Kerik led the NYPD during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and was widely regarded as a hero for facilitating the department's response, according to Reuters. His career was on a steady rise until a series of accusations and investigations in the mid-2000s — including tax evasion, fraud and making false statements — landed him in prison. President Donald Trump pardoned him in 2020. Kerik, the 40th NYPD police commissioner, grew up in Paterson, N.J., and dropped out of Eastside High School. He then enlisted in the Army and was stationed in South Korea, according to the Associated Press, which reports that Kerik worked in private security in Saudi Arabia before coming back to the U.S., where he supervised a New Jersey jail. His career with the NYPD began in the '80s, and Kerik was eventually tapped to oversee the city's troubled prison system. In 2000, Kerik was appointed police commissioner by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani and held the position for 16 months, The New York Times reported. Kerik was on the ground at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and helped facilitate the building's evacuation. His actions on 9/11 earned him praise and many formal honors, cementing him as one of the day's heroes. Yet, his legal troubles began shortly after. In 2004, he was nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security by former President George W. Bush. Kerik unexpectedly withdrew his name from consideration because he employed an undocumented person in his household and his failure to pay payroll taxes, according to the Times. His admission led to further investigations into Kerik's dealings, which revealed that he carried on an extramarital affair in an apartment meant for rescue workers at the World Trade Center site. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. It was also revealed that he had commissioned renovations from a construction firm with alleged ties to organized crime, had committed tax fraud and had made false statements to federal investigators, according to the Times. In 2009, Kerik pleaded guilty to eight felonies, according to CNN, including tax fraud and making false statements to federal officials. He was sentenced to four years in prison but ended up serving three for good behavior. Kerik later wrote a memoir, From Jailer to Jailed, which was published in 2015. Trump granted Kerik a full pardon in 2020, after which Kerik became a staunch supporter of the president. Like Giuliani, Kerik denied the results of the 2020 election and said former President Joe Biden won because of fraudulent voting practices, according to the Times. During the House Jan. 6 committee, Kerik provided documents implicating himself in other efforts to deny the election results. Read the original article on People
