New York, NY –
Former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik pleaded guilty to eight felonies in federal court in White Plains this morning. Prosecutors recommended that he be sentenced to between 27 and 33 months in jail. WNYC's Ailsa Chang reports.
REPORTER: Kerik was dressed in a dark gray suit and red tie. He was barely audible in the courtroom as he said, "Guilty, Your Honor," to two counts of tax fraud, one count of making a false statement on a mortgage loan application, and five counts of making false statements to federal officials when he was being vetted to head the Department of Homeland Security.
"This is a very sad day," said Judge Stephen Robinson, who will decide Kerik's ultimate sentence. Robinson said Kerik wasn't "just a one-dimensional figure," that he lived a full life and there was much good in that full life. The judge said he would take all of that into account.
Kerik's sentencing hearing will be February 18th. In the meantime, his defense lawyers will ask the judge to consider letting him out of jail for now. For WNYC, I'm Ailsa Chang.
Ailsa Chang is an award-winning journalist who covers criminal justice, terrorism and the courts for WNYC. She found her way into public radio after practicing law for five years, and can definitely say that walking the streets of New York City with a microphone is a lot more fun than being holed up in the office writing letters to opposing counsel.
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