Disgraced former New York Police Department head Bernard Kerik was released yesterday morning from a federal penitentiary in Maryland, according to the New York Daily News.
The newspaper reported that Kerik, who was selected at one time to assist with reforming Guyana’s police force before his troubles started, was headed for a feast at his New Jersey home, according to a friend.
According to the report Al Manzo, a Kerik friend and owner of a restaurant, said the former cop’s wife, other family members and close friends were gathering to greet him.
Kerik, 57, will likely serve out the rest of his term for eight felony convictions under home confinement.
Kerik was sentenced to four years in prison in February 2010 after a federal judge blasted him for using his high-profile part in the city’s 9/11 response to make money.
Kerik’s guilty plea in a November 2009 plea deal including admissions that he lied to the White House, filed false tax returns and lied about US$255,000 in work done by a mob-linked contractor.
Last October, a humiliated Kerik wept on the witness stand while testifying against the two brothers accused of covering up the free remodelling of the ex-commissioner’s Riverdale apartment.
The ex-top cop surrendered on May 17, 2010, but earned time off for good behaviour that cleared him to leave the Cumberland, Md., facility and actually begin home confinement on May 23, prison officials said.
Former President Bharrat Jagdeo had been criticized for hiring Kerik as his security advisor and had adamantly refused to go back on his decision despite the many negative reports about Kerik and his past.
Eventually, Kerik withdrew from the assignment.
