White Plains, New York (CNN) - Former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik on Thursday pleaded guilty to giving false statements to Bush administration officials who vetted his unsuccessful 2004 nomination for homeland security secretary.
Kerik, 54, also indicated that he would admit to tax violations as part of a plea agreement in exchange for a recommended sentence of less than three years in prison.
Kerik had been scheduled to go to trial next week on a variety of corruption charges, including allegations that he received and concealed benefits of about $255,000 in renovations to his Riverdale, New York, apartment from a company seeking to do business with the city of New York.
In December 2008, prosecutors charged him with making several false statements to the White House and other federal officials when he applied for positions in the Bush administration, including his nomination to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In 2006, he pleaded guilty to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts while he worked as city corrections commissioner, but under his plea agreement he paid $221,000 in fines and avoided jail time. His admission dogged the 2008 presidential campaign of his longtime patron, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who admitted his endorsement of Kerik had been "a mistake."
–CNN's Mary Snow contributed to this report.
From CNN Politics
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Glad to see this criminal go down and his future will be one of ex-felon. This jerk is a disgrace to the NYPD and everything else he has been a part of.
So I couldn't help but notice that this guy look slike G. Gordon Liddy. Does that mean he's going to prison?
Maybe this guy, Bush, Cheney and Rove, can get a GROUP DISCOUNT in prison..
Go straight to jail do not stop to collect any pardons.
What a shame......when I lived in NY, I respected Bernie Kerik and Rudy Giuliani as I thought they did a great job managing NYC.................then Bernie got too big for his britches and came tumbling down and Rudy fell in love with his gold digger wife..........a very sad story indeed.
This guy belongs in jail. Lying, thief, moron !
This guy got screwed...it's what he knows and people don't want you to know....and they made sure to set it up so he can't do a thing except plead guilty. It's from the old book...do repairs with a smile on your face and a knife in your back. Sad all around.
This is how vetting should be. He was not made a part of the administration.
Obama simply appoints, the Democrats approve. It doesn't matter if they encourage pedophilia and communism.
Guiliani 2012! lol
Wasn't he one of Rudy G.'s buddies?
What a creep! (Take it either way.)