Bernard Kerik, NYPD chief during 9/11, dies

Former New York City police commissioner and security adviser Bernard Kerik died on Thursday at the age of 69. Kerik died following a private battle with illness, FBI Director Kash Patel said. He was decorated more than 100 times for valor and service, which included his leadership of the response to the 9/11 terror attacks, according to Patel. But he also served nearly four years in prison after being sentenced in 2010 for tax fraud and false statements. President Donald Trump pardoned him in 2020.

Kerik joined the military after dropping out of high school. He became a military policeman and worked several law enforcement jobs before joining the New York Police Department in the 1980s, according to the Associated Press. He was appointed to run the city’s jail system in the 1990s and named police commissioner in 2000.

After 9/11 and the fall of Saddam Hussein, President Bush tapped Kerik to help restructure Iraq’s police force, the Associated Press reported. Bush nominated Kerik for Homeland Security secretary the following year. Kerik withdrew his nomination over his housekeeper’s immigration status, then was indicted for making false statements to White House officials vetting him, according to the Associated Press.

What did Kerik do after his imprisonment? Kerik continued to run his crisis management consulting group, The Kerik Group. He also wrote books about his career and imprisonment. Kerik reunited with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, with whom he led the 9/11 response, to work on legal challenges to the 2020 election results, according to the Associated Press.

Kerik is survived by his wife Hala, son Joe, and daughters Celine and Angelina, according to Giuliani.