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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.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Bernard Kerik, beleaguered former New York police chief through 9/11, dead at 69
Bernard 'Bernie' Kerik, who rose to national prominence after leading the New York police department through the September 11 terror attacks, has died aged 69. FBI Director Kash Patel announced Kerik's death on X, saying he passed away 'after a private battle with illness.' Lauding Kerik, Patel called him 'a warrior, a patriot and one of the most courageous public servants this country has ever known.' Kerik was the tough-talking head of the New York police when Osama bin Laden's hijackers struck the World Trade Center towers with commercial passenger jets in September 2001. In the traumatic days and weeks after the attack, Kerik, with his squat, muscular build, balding head and black moustache, became a familiar face to Americans across the country as he helped then-mayor Rudy Giuliani guide New York through the crisis. He'd served as Police Commissioner for less than a year when his life and career were altered forever by the terror attacks that killed nearly 2,750 people, including 23 NYPD officers. When Giuliani's second term ended shortly after the attacks, Kerik left office with him and continued their decades-long friendship and professional allegiance. Kerik's rough upbringing was detailed in a memoir, The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit. Born in New Jersey to an alcoholic sex worker, he was abandoned by his mother and brought up by his father, and had a troubled childhood. His career took him around the world, with a stint on a military police posting in South Korea and a role as a security consultant for the Saudi royal family in Saudi Arabia. He later joined the New York Police Department, where he worked undercover in the narcotics division and helped bust 60 members of the notorious Colombian Cali drug cartel. After leaving the Police Commissioner role post-9/11, Kerik remained active in Republican politics, taking on a tour of duty to Iraq in 2003 to help train their law enforcement personnel for former President George W Bush. He suffered another fall from grace after pleading guilty in 2009 to felonies, including tax fraud. He admitted to accepting $255,000 worth of renovations to his apartment from a construction firm suspected of having mob ties, which was angling for government contracts. His plea helped him avoid a maximum potential sentence of up to 61 years behind bars. Instead, he was sentenced to four years in prison. He was released in 2013. Kerik received a presidential pardon in 2020, during President Donald Trump's first term in office. He later teamed up with Giuliani to investigate debunked allegations of election fraud following Trump's 2020 loss, and was among those subpoenaed by lawmakers over accusations of plotting to overturn the election in the January 6, 2021 attacks on the US Capitol.
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Bernard Kerik, New York police chief through 9/11, dead at 69
NEW YORK, May 30 — Bernard 'Bernie' Kerik, who rose to national prominence after leading the New York police department through the September 11 terror attacks, died yesterday. He was 69. FBI Director Kash Patel announced Kerik's death on X, saying he passed away 'after a private battle with illness.' Lauding Kerik, Patel called him 'a warrior, a patriot and one of the most courageous public servants this country has ever known.' Kerik was the tough-talking head of the New York police when Osama bin Laden's hijackers struck the World Trade Center towers with commercial passenger jets in September 2001. In the traumatic days and weeks after the attack, Kerik, with his squat, muscular build, balding head and black moustache, became a familiar face to Americans across the country, as he helped then-mayor Rudy Giuliani guide New York through the crisis. He'd served as Police Commissioner for less than a year when his life and career were altered forever by the terror attacks that killed nearly 2,750 people, including 23 NYPD officers. When Giuliani's second term ended shortly after the attacks, Kerik left office with him and continued their decades-long friendship and professional allegiance. Kerik's rough upbringing was detailed in a memoir, 'The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit.' Born in New Jersey to an alcoholic prostitute, he was abandoned by his mother and brought up by his father, and had a troubled childhood. Early on his career took him around the world, with a spell on a military police posting in South Korea and working as a security consultant for the Saudi royal family in Saudi Arabia. He later joined the New York Police Department, where he worked undercover in the narcotics division and helped bust 60 members of the notorious Colombian Cali drug cartel. After leaving the Police Commissioner role post-9/11, Kerik stayed active in Republican politics, taking on a tour of duty to Iraq to help train their law enforcement in 2003 for former president George W. Bush. He suffered another fall from grace after pleading guilty in 2009 to felonies, including tax fraud. He admitted to accepting US$255,000 worth of renovations to his apartment from a construction firm—suspected of having mob ties—angling for government contracts. His plea helped him avoid a maximum potential sentence of up to 61 years behind bars. Instead, he was sentenced to four years in prison. He was released in 2013. Kerik received a presidential pardon in 2020, during President Donald Trump's first term. He later teamed up with Giuliani to investigate debunked allegations of election fraud following Trump's 2020 loss, and was among those subpoenaed by lawmakers over accusations of plotting to overturn the election in the January 6, 2021, attacks on the US Capitol. — AFP
