Kerik withdraws
Stabroek News
April 12, 2007
As had been predicted by critics, embattled ex-New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik has been forced to pull out of his contract as security advisor to President Bharrat Jagdeo because of the charges he may soon face in the US.
"[Kerik] said he doesn't want the country to be tainted," Jagdeo revealed yesterday at a news conference, adding that similar reasons were given for his decision to put off his involvement in Trinidad and Tobago.
US federal prosecutors are preparing to charge Kerik with several felonies, including tax evasion and conspiracy to commit wiretapping. As a result, Kerik revealed last week that he would not be returning to Trinidad until the charges against him are dealt with. He also said he did not want his presence to lead to criticisms of the opposition United National Congress, which contracted his services to deal with the country's high crime rate.
President Jagdeo said Kerik maintained his innocence of the charges, but he desired to protect his clients from the likely fallout. "He said `this will all go away,'" Jagdeo reported, before explaining that "…he would withdraw from the contract until the matter is resolved."
The President, however, assured that Kerik's decision would not affect the country's police reform process. He mentioned that the British government has submitted a proposal which he is studying for reply.
Additionally, he said there are components funded by the country and the IDB not contingent upon Kerik's involvement.
Kerik was hired because of his experience as New York City Police Commissioner and the work of his security firm, the Kerik Group, which has held a number of security contracts in Jordan, Iraq and other Middle East hotspots.
But his hiring has been met with heavy criticisms here in light of the long-standing allegations about his conduct during his tenure as New York City Commissioner. Prior to the formal hiring by the President there had been intense criticism of the move and appeals not to involve Kerik in the reform of the police force because of his own legal problems and questions over his conduct. The parliamentary opposition parties - the PNCR-1G, AFC and GAP-ROAR - have recorded their objections to the hire, and PNCR-1G MP Deborah Backer called for his termination at the start of the week.
Kerik was President George W. Bush's nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security, but he withdrew his name from consideration for failing to pay social security taxes for his nanny. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had endorsed the nomination but has since admitted that it was a mistake. Giuliani's association with Kerik is being seen as a major blow to his campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination, particularly after reports of impending charges against him.
Recently, the Washington Post reported that federal prosecutors are preparing to charge Kerik with violating federal tax laws, alleging that he did not declare on his tax returns gifts he received while serving as New York's corrections commissioner, including costly renovations to an apartment he had bought. The FBI is also investigating loans Kerik received while he was in private business with Giuliani as well as information that he had omitted from a mortgage application.
In March, Kerik turned down an offer to plead guilty to federal charges that would have required him to serve prison time. The US attorney's office in New York City is also threatening to charge Kerik with conspiracy to commit illegal wiretapping in his dealings with the 2006 Republican candidate for New York attorney general, Jeanine Pirro.
Kerik has pleaded guilty to felony charges in New York State, where he admitted that he accepted nearly US$200,000 in gifts while a public official - including more than US$165,000 spent on renovations to his apartment. The money came from companies affiliated with a New Jersey outfit that federal authorities and state gambling regulators had linked to organized crime. In 2005, Kerik invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to answer questions before a New Jersey gaming regulatory body about his relationship to the people involved in the apartment renovations. (Andre Haynes)