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Apr 4, 2007 9:10 pm US/Eastern
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Kerik Delays Start Of Caribbean Security Jobs
Ongoing Investigations To Keep Former NYPD Boss In U.S.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CBS/AP) ―
Former New York Police Department Commissioner Bernard Kerik has apparently postponed plans to work as a security consultant for two Caribbean countries because of unresolved legal troubles, a Guyanese official said Wednesday.
Kerik was expected to begin a one-year contract as Guyana's national security adviser in February. He was also hired as a consultant by Trinidad, although it was unclear when that job would begin.
Guyanese Interior Minister Clement Rohee said Wednesday that Kerik sent a statement to Trinidadian authorities saying he could not travel while U.S. prosecutors were pursuing charges against him -- most related to his failed bid for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary job in 2004.
Kerik has not notified Guyana, said Rohee, who would not disclose further details.
Trinidadian authorities could not immediately be reached for comment by telephone.
One of Kerik's New York-based lawyers, Kenneth Breen, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
President Bharrat Jagdeo announced last year that Kerik would begin working as his security adviser despite accusations of ethics violations lodged against the former New York official.
Authorities have said Kerik would work to upgrade Guyana's ability to battle drug traffickers, who are increasingly using the English-speaking country as a base for smuggling, and would boost the police department's technology and improve its forensic and investigation methods.
Kerik first drew attention in the United States while leading the New York police department's response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
In late 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush nominated him for Homeland Security chief, but Kerik withdrew after acknowledging that he had not paid all the taxes for a family nanny-housekeeper and that the woman may have been in the country illegally.
Last June, Kerik pleaded guilty to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from a company that was trying to do business with New York.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)