Bernard Kerik - Investigation, Federal Indictment and Imprisonment

Investigation, Federal Indictment and Imprisonment

On June 30, 2006, after an eighteen-month investigation conducted by the Bronx District Attorney's Office, Kerik pleaded "guilty" via a sworn statement in open court to two ethics violations (unclassified misdemeanors) and was ordered to pay $221,000 in fines at the 10-minute hearing. Kerik acknowledged that he failed to document a personal loan on his annual New York City Conflict of Interest Report (a violation of the New York City Administrative Code) and accepting a gift from a New Jersey construction firm attempting to do business with the city (a violation of the New York City Charter).

On November 8, 2007, in White Plains, New York, Kerik was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, tax fraud and making false statements. Prosecutors say Kerik received about $255,000 in renovations to his Riverdale, Bronx, apartment from a company seeking to do business with the city of New York and concealed the income from the Internal Revenue Service. The indictment also charged that Kerik made several false statements to the White House (in his background information statement regarding his Department of Homeland Security appointment) and other federal officials. If convicted on all 16 counts in the indictment, Kerik could have faced a maximum sentence of 142 years in prison and $4.7 million in fines. He was released upon payment of a $500,000 bond. The New York charges were dropped in December 2008, but he was indicted in a separate Washington, DC action because that is where the crimes happened.

On October 20, 2009, Kerik's bail was revoked after he allegedly disclosed information which was under seal. He was remanded to the Westchester County Department of Corrections jail in Valhalla, New York, which has a section reserved for federal prisoners. While angrily revoking Kerik's $500,000 bail during the trial, Federal Judge Stephen C. Robinson delivering what the NY Times termed "a withering criticism of Mr. Kerik from the bench, describing him as a 'toxic combination of self-minded focus and arrogance.'"

On November 5, 2009, Kerik pled guilty to "tax fraud and lying." "The crimes called for a sentence of two to three years but Judge Robinson sentenced Kerik to more than that because of "the almost operatic proportions of this case." Kerik was also ordered to pay restitution of nearly $188,000.

Kerik is currently incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in New York City with a release scheduled for October 2013.

While in prison, Kerik was reported to have tweeted his negative opinion of the proposed Park51 project, though as a prisoner he was forbidden access to the Internet, a prison spokesperson said.