Sources: Kerik Indictment Expected by Friday

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November 07, 2007 8:57 AM

A federal indictment against former police commissioner Bernard Kerik is expected as early as this Friday. Government sources say that if the indictment is unsealed on Friday, Kerik is expected to surrender at the Westchester Federal Courthouse in White Plains, N.Y.

The sources say Kerik has told his close friends and members of his legal team that he expects the potential indictment to come before the statute of limitations expires on Nov. 15 on charges that could include tax evasion and bribery.

If the indictment is leveled against Kerik, it will be the latest twist in the tale that began when the child of a prostitute rose to police commissioner of New York City, achieved heroic proportions in the shadow of the collapsing World Trade Center, was gifted a diamond-encrusted chief's badge, awarded millions of dollars in stun gun stock options by business clients and given the proffer of a presidential appointment by President George Bush to head the Department of Homeland Security.

The early chapters were well-documented by Kerik in his autobiographical account "The Lost Son." The final chapters have yet to be written.

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They will very likely include a struggle to pay legal bills that could result in the sale of his multi-million-dollar New Jersey mansion, a long stretch in federal prison and severe damage to his consulting practice, which includes lucrative contracts with U.S. ally Jordan, according to multiple sources involved in the investigation.

Last spring Kerik turned down a plea bargain in which the government offered a short prison sentence. Now friends of Kerik are attempting to raise money from his well-heeled associates for a legal defense fund, the sources said. It has been difficult, given that many of those associates may also have relationships with presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani who is routinely questioned about his relationship with Kerik.

As recently as Monday, Giuliani said that whatever Kerik's failings, he had been an effective corrections commissioner and an effective police commissioner for the city of New York.

"There were mistakes made with Bernie Kerik," Giuliani said in an interview with the Associated Press while in New Hampshire. "But what's the ultimate result for the people of New York City? The ultimate result for the people of New York City was a 74 percent reduction in shootings, a 60 percent reduction in crime, a correction program that went from being one of the worst in the country to one that was on '60 Minutes' as one of the best in the country, 90 percent reduction of violence in the jails."

Giuliani was a staunch supporter of Kerik's nomination by President Bush to head the Homeland Security Department. That nomination fell apart amid allegations that Kerik, while corrections commissioner, paid less than $18,000 to a contractor for nearly $200,000 worth of renovations to his apartment. In 2006, Kerik pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges related to the renovation.

"It was a mistake not checking him out as thoroughly as I should have," Giuliani told the AP about the failed nomination.

Lawyers for Kerik declined to comment for this story.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said it does not comment on ongoing investigations.

This post has been updated.

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