Nov 7, 2007 8:36 pm US/Eastern
Ex-NYPD Top Cop Likely Faces Indictment
WASHINGTON (CBS News) ―
Former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, once a close associate of Republican presidential candidate
Rudy Giuliani, will face a federal indictment on tax fraud charges and other counts as early as Thursday,
CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports.
A person familiar with the Kerik investigation says prosecutors
expect to announce criminal charges in a news conference Friday at the
U.S. Attorney's office in White Plains, N.Y. Kerik is expected to turn
himself in and not face arrest.
A grand jury that has been hearing evidence in the case for several
months was expected to vote Thursday on whether to indict Kerik, a
federal law enforcement official said Wednesday.
Asked Wednesday whether Kerik would face federal charges by the end
of the week, defense attorney Kenneth Breen said: "I haven't been told
one way or the other."
Yusill Scribner, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia, declined to comment.
The investigation of the former New York City police commissioner
stemmed from a $240,000 renovation of his Bronx apartment in 1999.
Authorities alleged most of the makeover was paid for by
mob-connected builders who sought his help winning city contracts - a
charge he denied until a misdemeanor guilty plea in state court last
year spared him jail time and preserved his career as a security
consultant.
Before the apartment scandal broke, Giuliani had endorsed his old
friend's nomination in 2004 to head the Department of Homeland
Security. But only days after President Bush introduced Kerik as his
nominee, Kerik announced he was withdrawing his name because of tax
issues involving his former nanny.
A federal indictment of Kerik could cause a major headache for
Giuliani, a Republican, as the first presidential primaries draw near.
Giuliani frequently says that he made a mistake in recommending
Kerik to be Homeland Security chief, but that might not be enough to
avoid the political damage of a drawn-out criminal case involving his
onetime protege.
Giuliani, in an interview earlier this week with The Associated
Press, argued that Kerik's woes shouldn't overshadow his
administration's crime-fighting record.
"There were mistakes made with Bernie Kerik," Giuliani said. "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. ... Sure,
there were issues, but if I have the same degree of success and failure
as president of the United States, this country will be in great shape."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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