Bernard Kerik, who led NYPD on 9/11 before prison and pardon, dies at 69

Former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who served alongside then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani at the time of the Sept. 11 terror attacks and later spent years in prison on federal tax fraud charges, died at the age of 69.

The New York Police Department confirmed his death Thursday on social media.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X that Kerik died "after a private battle with illness." No further information regarding the circumstances of Kerik's death was immediately available.

"We mourn the loss of Bernard B. Kerik, a warrior, a patriot, and one of the most courageous public servants this country has ever known...With over forty years of service in law enforcement and national security, he dedicated his life to protecting the American people," Patel said in the post. "Bernie led with strength and resolve in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, guiding the NYPD through one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history. He was decorated more than 100 times for bravery, valor, and service, having rescued victims from burning buildings, survived assassination attempts, and brought some of the world’s most dangerous criminals to justice."

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement that "It was just this afternoon that I stopped by the hospital to see Bernie Kerik, my friend of nearly 30 years, before his passing. He was with his loved ones who are in my prayers tonight. He was a great New Yorker and American."

Giuliani reflected on his long history with his former police commissioner on his show Thursday.

"We’ve been together since the beginning. He’s like my brother," Giuliani said through tears. "I was a better man for having known Bernie. I certainly was a braver and stronger man."

Kerik, an Army veteran, worked as a corrections officer in New Jersey in the 1980s before he joined the New York Police Department. He first started working with Giuliani in 1993 as a part of the security detail for Giuliani during his campaign for mayor, a race he won.

Kerik was named the city's Department of Correction commissioner in 1997 and was later appointed by Giuliani as NYPD commissioner in 2000.

Giuliani and Kerik were hailed as heroes after the Sept. 11 terror attack on the World Trade Center. Kerik was later nominated in 2004 to be Homeland Security secretary, but his misdeeds were uncovered in the scrutiny that followed, leaving his reputation in tatters.

He abruptly withdrew his nomination to run the department, catching the Bush administration off guard. At the time, Kerik said he had uncovered information that led him to question the immigration status of a person he employed as a housekeeper and nanny.

His fall from the pinnacle of law enforcement was so steep, even a NYC jail named after him was renamed.

In 2010, he pleaded guilty to federal tax fraud and false statement charges, partially stemming from over $250,000 in apartment renovations he received from a construction firm that authorities say counted on Kerik to convince New York officials it had no organized crime links. The false statement charges were connected to lies he told to White House officials during his failed Homeland Security secretary nomination.

In a presentence filing, prosecutors chided Kerik, saying "he more than once unlawfully used public office for private profit, and then, after leaving government, became a wealthy man by shamelessly exploiting the most horrific civilian tragedy in this nation's history."

Kerik was sentenced to four years in prison, and ended up serving three years behind bars. After he was released in 2013, Kerik frequently advocated for national criminal justice and prison reform, including before Congress and at the White House.

Kerik was pardoned by President Donald Trump in Feb. 2020, during his first term in office.

"I started crying," the Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, resident said at the time.

Kerik, who was a frequent Fox News guest and visitor to the president's Mar-a-Lago resort, said he "thanked [Trump] profusely" while on the call informing him of the pardon.

In 2005, Kerik founded the Kerik Group, a crisis and risk management consulting firm. He again worked for Giuliani nearly 20 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, when he worked for the former mayor surrounding the effort to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.