Ex-head of NY police pleads guilty to eight charges
Ex-head of NY police pleads guilty to eight charges
18:12, November 06, 2009 
Email | Print | Subscribe | Comments | Forum 
Former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik pleaded guilty Thursday to eight charges including tax fraud and lying to White House officials.
A federal judge accepted the plea bargain, under which Kerik would be sentenced to between 27 and 33 months in prison, but was not required to plead guilty to several other charges.
The judge also said he would not make a final judgment until formal sentencing on Feb. 8, 2010. The possible maximum sentence is 61 years.
Kerik admitted that he lied to White House officials while being vetted for head of the Homeland Security Department by denying that he had financial dealings with anyone doing business within New York City.
Kerik, 54, was once hailed as a 9/11 hero. He was widely praised for his firm leadership after the September 11 attacks when he was New York City Police Commissioner from 2000 to 2001. As a rising star, he was nominated as Secretary of Homeland Security by President George W. Bush in December 2004.
However, Kerik withdrew his nomination a week later, explaining that he had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny.
On Thursday, he admitted receiving apartment renovations worth 50,000 U.S. dollars from a company suspected of having ties to organized crime.
He also pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion, hiding income from the Internal Revenue Service and faking a charitable contribution.
Kerik has agreed to pay nearly 188,000 U.S. dollars in restitution and to pay overdue taxes and penalties. He might face additional fines of up to over a million dollars.
A grand jury of a U.S. District Court issued a 16-count indictment against Kerik on Nov. 8, 2007, accusing him of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and lying to the federal government.
Kerik was then arraigned before Magistrate Judge George Yanthisin White Plains, New York, but pled not guilty to all charges. On Oct. 20 of this year, his bail was revoked and he was jailed pending trial.
Source: Xinhua
A federal judge accepted the plea bargain, under which Kerik would be sentenced to between 27 and 33 months in prison, but was not required to plead guilty to several other charges.
The judge also said he would not make a final judgment until formal sentencing on Feb. 8, 2010. The possible maximum sentence is 61 years.
Kerik admitted that he lied to White House officials while being vetted for head of the Homeland Security Department by denying that he had financial dealings with anyone doing business within New York City.
Kerik, 54, was once hailed as a 9/11 hero. He was widely praised for his firm leadership after the September 11 attacks when he was New York City Police Commissioner from 2000 to 2001. As a rising star, he was nominated as Secretary of Homeland Security by President George W. Bush in December 2004.
However, Kerik withdrew his nomination a week later, explaining that he had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny.
On Thursday, he admitted receiving apartment renovations worth 50,000 U.S. dollars from a company suspected of having ties to organized crime.
He also pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion, hiding income from the Internal Revenue Service and faking a charitable contribution.
Kerik has agreed to pay nearly 188,000 U.S. dollars in restitution and to pay overdue taxes and penalties. He might face additional fines of up to over a million dollars.
A grand jury of a U.S. District Court issued a 16-count indictment against Kerik on Nov. 8, 2007, accusing him of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and lying to the federal government.
Kerik was then arraigned before Magistrate Judge George Yanthisin White Plains, New York, but pled not guilty to all charges. On Oct. 20 of this year, his bail was revoked and he was jailed pending trial.
Source: Xinhua
Special Coverage
Major headlines
Editor's Pick
Most Popular
Hot Forum Dicussion
