Former NYC Top Cop, 9/11 Hero, Jailed

Former NYC top cop, 9/11 hero, jailed

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...section=justin

Posted 11 hours 12 minutes ago

Former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik has been sent to jail after having his bail revoked.

He is facing corruption charges relating to his involvement with a company run by the mob.

The former commissioner's bail was revoked because he disclosed sealed case information that was subsequently leaked to the media.

Kerik was once considered a national hero thanks to his performance as commissioner during the September 11 terrorist attacks.

He now faces a possible 142-year jail sentence if found guilty of all charges.

Bernard Kerik mug shot released; NYPD's ex-top cop is now inmate No. 210-717

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/20...nard-kerik.jpg

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_c...op_is_now.html

BY Robert Gearty and Greg B. Smith
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

10/21/2009

Bernard Kerik - former NYPD police commissioner, one-time Homeland Security Secretary nominee, national Sept. 11 hero - has a new label. Inmate No. 210-717.

Kerik got his assigned number at the Westchester County jail after becoming the first NYPD commissioner to wind up behind bars when a judge revoked his bail Tuesday for trying to taint the jury pool in his upcoming corruption trial.

Officials at the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla refused to say if Kerik was put in isolation.

Kerik declined requests for media interviews while his lawyers vowed a prompt appeal to try to get him out.

A furious Judge Stephen Robinson threw Kerik in the clink after prosecutors said the former top cop and the head of his legal defense fund engaged in a subversive campaign to sway potential jurors.

The judge blasted Kerik for ignoring his prior warnings to bar Anthony Modafferi, the head of the fund, from posting anti-prosecution rants on the Internet.

"Mr. Kerik has a toxic combination of self-minded focus and arrogance that leads him to believe that the ends justify the means, that rules that apply to all don't apply to him in the same way, that rulings of the court are an inconvenience," Robinson said.

The one-time "hero" of 9/11 was led away by U.S. marshals after handing his red tie, religious medals and a ring to his lawyers, standard procedure for all prisoners.

Kerik had been out on a $500,000 bond and set to go on trial next week on charges of accepting apartment renovations from a mob-linked contractor seeking a city license.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Perry Carbone revealed that Kerik's supporters were posting on the Web distorted information designed to "try to taint the jury pool."

In June, the judge learned that a nonpracticing lawyer affiliated with Kerik was speaking with witnesses.

Kerik acknowledged having retained the man for $1, and Robinson warned it better not happen again.

In recent weeks, prosecutors discovered that Modafferi wrote anti-prosecution screeds on a Web site linked to Kerik's defense fund site.

They said Kerik was also using Twitter to refer supporters to Modafferi's site. In one entry the judge quoted, Modafferi wrote, "In a heavy-handed attempt the government gave Kerik an ultimatum, plead or the government will do everything in its power to destroy Kerik and his family."

The judge also cited an affidavit in which Kerik admitted sending Modafferi a defense motion that included material that was not public.

Modafferi then sent an e-mail to The Washington Times about some of the material.

The Times did not publish it. In court, defense lawyer Michael Bachner called the e-mail "regrettable," but insisted Kerik was not intentionally trying to "circumvent an order of the court."

Being assigned a cell in Valhalla is just the latest humiliation in the slow-motion downfall of Kerik, who was appointed by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and labeled a national hero after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

His nomination for homeland security secretary imploded after a series of revelations tainted that image, including the expensive renovation of his Bronx apartment by a troubled contractor who, prosecutors say, wanted Kerik's help in getting a city license.

Ex-NYC Top Cop Kerik Plans Guilty Plea

http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...934892,00.html

By AP / JIM FITZGERALD
Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

(WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.) — Just days before starting a triathlon of trials, former New York City police Commissioner Bernard Kerik appears to be opting for a shortcut.

A person familiar with the case said Wednesday that Kerik, who won praise nationwide for his steadiness after the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York, planned to enter a guilty plea Thursday that would resolve three pending federal criminal trials.

The plea deal could send Kerik, who nearly became Homeland Security chief, to prison for about 2 1/2 years, the person told The Associated Press.

The person wasn't authorized to discuss the plea negotiations publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Kerik's attorney Michael Bachner said he could not confirm or deny a plea agreement.

Kerik, 54, originally pleaded not guilty. He pledged to fight the charges when he was indicted two years ago and he appeared determined until last month, when he was suddenly jailed for sharing secret pretrial information.

Kerik spent 10 days in the jail's psychiatric unit because of stress.

In the first trial, which had been scheduled to begin Monday in White Plains, Kerik was accused of accepting renovations to his co-op apartment in exchange for recommending a company that was looking to do business with New York City.

Kerik also faced a second trial in White Plains on various tax charges. The third case, in Washington, accused him of lying to the White House during his Homeland Security vetting.

The case was an embarrassment to Kerik's mentor, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was running for president when Kerik was charged. Giuliani, a Republican, had named Kerik police commissioner, had gone into private business with him and had pushed President George W. Bush to nominate him to run the Department of Homeland Security.

Bush nominated Kerik in December 2004. Kerik withdrew his name a week later, citing immigration and tax issues over a former nanny.