Who is Bernard Kerik? Ex-NYPD commissioner hailed as 9/11 hero, then enmeshed in fraud case, has died at 69

Bernard Kerik, the disgraced former New York City police commissioner, hailed for his leadership during the 9/11 incident, has passed away at 69 due to illness, according to an AP report.

The news was confirmed by the NY police department (NYPD) via social media on May 29. And FBI Director Kash Patel shared that Kerik's death came “after a private battle with illness”.

Kerik fell from grace after pleading guilty for tax fraud and serving time in jail for the same. He was later pardoned by United States President Donald Trump and released from prison, it added.

Post the military he worked private security in Saudi Arabia, before returning to the US as a supervisor at a New Jersey jail. He joined the NYPD in the late 1980s and in the 1990s was tapped to run New York’s long-troubled jail system, including the city’s notorious Riker’s Island complex, the AP report noted. Kerik rose through the NYPD ranks to the position of commissioner.

He was appointed as police commissioner in 2000 by then mayor Giuliani, and was in the role during the September 11, 2001 twin tower attacks.

In Kerik's 2015 book, “From Jailer to Jailed”, he described becoming “America’s Top Cop" after the attacks. Stating: “But I’d give anything for that day not to have happened. I wish it hadn’t. But it did. 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.”

In 2003, then President George W Bush appointed Kerik to help organise Iraq’s police force. In 2004, Kerik was nominated to head the US Department of Homeland Security, but 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.

In 2005, Kerik founded the crisis and risk management consulting firm, called Kerik Group.

In 2010, he was arrested for federal tax fraud and false statements. The charges said he recieved $2,50,000 in apartment renovations from a construction company, to convince NY city officials the firm had no organised crime links.

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.” He served three years in prison and was released in 2013.

Later in 2020, US President Donald Trump pardoned Kerik.

He later worked for the former mayor of New York City surrounding the efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss.

In his post on social media, Kash Patel described Kerik as “a warrior, a patriot, and one of the most courageous public servants this country has ever known.”

“He was decorated more than 100 times for bravery, valor, and service, having rescued victims from burning buildings, survived assassination attempts, and brought some of the world’s most dangerous criminals to justice. His legacy is not just in the medals or the titles, but in the lives he saved, the city he helped rebuild, and the country he served with honor,” Patel said.

(With inputs from AP)