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Bernard Kerik, the former police commissioner of New York City whose meteoric rise to the national spotlight was matched only by his even faster fall, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to eight felony counts that included lying to the White House and tax crimes. The plea agreement calls for a sentence of up to nearly three years.

“It is a sad day when the former chief law enforcement officer of New York City pleads guilty to eight federal felonies,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a prepared statement.

Lawrence Kobilinsky, an acquaintance of Kerik and a forensics professor and chairman of the Department of Sciences at John Jay College in New York , was trying on Thursday to grasp the idea of the tainted American icon going off to prison for a while.

“That is just amazing,” Kobilinsky said. “It’s ironic to see him behind bars right now. It’s kind of shocking in a way. It’s sad, especially since he was the commissioner of corrections. This is astonishing.”

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