NEW YORK (AFP) — Former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik, a close ally of Republican presidential front-runner Rudolph Giuliani, was formally indicted Friday on charges of tax evasion and corruption.
Kerik, appointed city police chief when Giuliani was New York mayor, surrendered to authorities after a federal grand jury indicted him on 14 charges including tax evasion, wire fraud and accepting unlawful payments.
"Time and again Kerik was asked specific questions about his financial dealing and time and again he lied," US attorney Michael Garcia told reporters, unveiling the 14-count indictment in the city of White Plains, New York.
"It is a sad day when this office returns an indictment against a former law enforcement officer, particularly one who served in positions as high as those held by Bernard Kerik," he added.
"But we will not hesitate to pursue any public official who violates his oath and betrays the public trust as Mr. Kerik is alleged to have done."
Kerik, who was due to appear before a judge later Friday, faces more than 100 years in jail if convicted on all the charges.
The former police chief, 52, is accused of secretly accepting 250,000 dollars in renovations to his apartment from a construction firm with suspected mafia ties while he was Correction Department commissioner under Giuliani.
Kerik, who pleaded guilty in a state court last year to accepting the work, is also accused of not declaring as income 9,000 dollars in monthly rent he received on an luxury apartment on the city's posh Upper East Side.
He is further accused of making false statements when he was considered for the job as head of the US Department of Homeland Security in 2004.
Giuliani, who supported Kerik's nomination for Homeland Security secretary, has sought to distance himself from Kerik, who withdrew his nomination for the federal position after admitting he had failed to pay taxes on a nanny.
"I have made a mistake, I made a mistake in not clearing him effectively enough," Giuliani said on the campaign trail in Iowa on Thursday.
Kerik's trial is likely to take place in the next six months to a year, according to local reports, likely in the closing stages of next year's presidential race and causing further embarrassment for Giuliani.
A Democrat spokesman said the scandal would certainly harm Giuliani.
"Rudy Giuliani's tough-on-crime mantra is laughable given that he promoted Bernard Kerik throughout his career while knowing about his ethical problems," spokesman Dag Vega told The New York Times.
Kerik, who once served as Giuliani's chauffeur and bodyguard, rose through the ranks of the police department to become police commissioner, enjoying hero status in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
He went on to help train Iraq's fledgling police force in the wake of the US-led invasion in 2003.
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