Bernie Kerik/ photo from his website

What’s Ex-NY Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik up to since he was released from federal prison after serving about three years?

For one, he’s back to running the Kerik Group, that provides security and countterrorism services internationally.

He’s also pushing for prison reform.

Kerik emailed a press release Sunday stating that he’s pushing for prison reform, and plans to deliver a speech on Jan. 29 at the Arlington Artisphere, 1101 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington VA, to talk about a prison system he says is in dire need of repair.

His press release states:

Too many people are being sent to prison for non-violent offenses. The US has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prisoners. One in 31 Americans are behind bars, on probation or on parole. Our system of justice is too costly to the taxpayers and to family and friends of those being  incarcerated. Bernard Kerik has had a bird’s eye view and has come out of prison with specific recommendations.

In 2004, President George W. Bush nominated Kerik to serve as  Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A week later, he withdrew his name after admitting he failed to pay payroll taxes for his children’s nanny.

He ended up pleading guilty to income tax charges and lying to the federal government. He was sentenced to four years in prison and ended up serving about three years. He was released from federal custody last Oct. 15.

Last November, Matt Lauer of the Today Show interviewed Kerik about his life behind bars. (See the interview below).

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Bernie Kerik/facebook

Disgraced NY Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik was released from prison in late May, and has been serving out the remainder of his sentence under house arrest at his home in Franklin Lakes, N.J.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons inmate locator says Kerik, 58, will officially finish his sentence Oct. 15. He was sentenced to a four-year term for eight felony convictions in 2010.

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 It’s interesting how soon we forget about public figures when they run afoul of the law. Sometimes years go by before we finally say, “Gee, whatever happened to Congressman so-and-so” and “I wonder when he’s getting out of prison.”

Well, ticklethewire.com was wondering the same. So we checked with the Bureau of Prisons to see when we might see some of the folks in public again. Here’s an update on their release dates.

Bernie Kerik/facebook

Bernie Kerik:  Kerik,  57, seemed to have it all.  The former New York City Police Commissioner was a post-9/11 hero. He had his boy Rudy Giuliani promoting him. And then the roof fell in. He was caught lying when being considered for head of Homeland Security under George W. Bush. And he was busted for receiving about $255,000 in renovations to his apartment from a company seeking contracts with the city. He was sentenced to four years in prison for eight felony counts. He’s serving out his sentence now in New York. Release date: 10-15-2013.

 Randall “Duke” Cunningham: Cunningham, 70, of California, was an influential Congressman who served from 1991 to 2005. His days as a player inside the Beltway ended when he resigned in November 2005 after copping a plea for taking at least $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. He was sentenced to 8 years and four months. He’s currently serving out his sentence in Tucson. Release date: 6-4-2013.

William Jefferson

William Jefferson: Jefferson, 65, the New Orleans Congressman, served nine terms before he was finally defeated. He could have been Congressman for life had it not been for an FBI sting. He was hardly known outside his district, that is until he stuffed $90,000 in marked FBI bills in freezer at his home on Capitol Hill. The judge in Alexandria, Va. hit him hard with a 13 year sentence. He is currently serving his time in Beaumont, Tex. Release date: 8-30-2023

 

Blagojevich/file photo

Rod Blagojevich: You can only  hope that Blago, 55, has learned to control his chatter-box persona in prison. Some people may not be so tolerant of that in such closed-in quarters. Blago was convicted in his first trial on only 1 of 24 counts, and that was for lying to an FBI agent. But the feds wised up and simplified the case in the second trial and got convictions on 17 of 20 counts. The judge didn’t hold back. He sentenced Blagojevich to 14 years in prison. He’s currently serving in Littleton, Colo. Release date: 5-23-2024

Bernie Madoff: Madoff, 74, will go down in history as one of the biggest swindlers of his time. He’s currently serving his sentence at the Butner prison facility in North Carolina. He got whacked with a ridiculous, but appropriate sentence of 150 years.Release date: NEVER.

Ex. Gov George Ryan

George Ryan Sr: Ryan, 78, served as Illinois 39th governor from 1999 to 2003. He was convicted in 2006 of racketeering, fraud and other offenses involving favoritism and kickbacks for state contracts and property leases. He was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison. He is currently serving out his sentence in Terre Haute, Ind. Release date: 7-4-2013.

Monica Conyers/facebook

 Monica Conyers: Conyers, 48, the wife of Rep. John Conyers Jr., was a city council member in Detroit. She was considered rather abrasive and combative and was particularly good at creating divisiveness in a city that could hardly afford that. She was convicted of bribery and sentenced to more than three years in prison.  She’s currently serving her time in Alderson, W. Va.Release Date: 5-16-2013.

 It’s interesting how soon we forget about public figures when they run afoul of the law. Sometimes years go by before we finally say, “Gee, whatever happened to Congressman so-and-so” and “I wonder when he’s getting out of prison.”

Well, ticklethewire.com was wondering the same. So we checked with the Bureau of Prisons to see when we might see some of the folks in public again. Here’s an update on their release dates.

Bernie Kerik/facebook

Bernie Kerik:  Kerik,  57, seemed to have it all.  The former New York City Police Commissioner was a post-9/11 hero. He had his boy Rudy Giuliani promoting him. And then the roof fell in. He was caught lying when being considered for head of Homeland Security under George W. Bush. And he was busted for receiving about $255,000 in renovations to his apartment from a company seeking contracts with the city. He was sentenced to four years in prison for eight felony counts. He’s serving out his sentence now in New York. Release date: 10-15-2013.

 Randall “Duke” Cunningham: Cunningham, 70, of California, was an influential Congressman who served from 1991 to 2005. His days as a player inside the Beltway ended when he resigned in November 2005 after copping a plea for taking at least $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. He was sentenced to 8 years and four months. He’s currently serving out his sentence in Tucson. Release date: 6-4-2013.

William Jefferson

William Jefferson: Jefferson, 65, the New Orleans Congressman, served nine terms before he was finally defeated. He could have been Congressman for life had it not been for an FBI sting. He was hardly known outside his district, that is until he stuffed $90,000 in marked FBI bills in freezer at his home on Capitol Hill. The judge in Alexandria, Va. hit him hard with a 13 year sentence. He is currently serving his time in Beaumont, Tex. Release date: 8-30-2023

Blagojevich/file photo

Rod Blagojevich: You can only  hope that Blago, 55, has learned to control his chatter-box persona in prison. Some people may not be so tolerant of that in such closed-in quarters. Blago was convicted in his first trial on only 1 of 24 counts, and that was for lying to an FBI agent. But the feds wised up and simplified the case in the second trial and got convictions on 17 of 20 counts. The judge didn’t hold back. He sentenced Blagojevich to 14 years in prison. He’s currently serving in Littleton, Colo. Release date: 5-23-2024

Bernie Madoff: Madoff, 74, will go down in history as one of the biggest swindlers of his time. He’s currently serving his sentence at the Butner prison facility in North Carolina. He got whacked with a ridiculous, but appropriate sentence of 150 years. Release date: NEVER.

Ex. Gov George Ryan

George Ryan Sr: Ryan, 78, served as Illinois 39th governor from 1999 to 2003. He was convicted in 2006 of racketeering, fraud and other offenses involving favoritism and kickbacks for state contracts and property leases. He was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison. He is currently serving out his sentence in Terre Haute, Ind. Release date: 7-4-2013.

Monica Conyers/facebook

Monica Conyers: Conyers, 48, the wife of Rep. John Conyers Jr., was a city council member in Detroit. She was considered rather abrasive and combative and was particularly good at creating divisiveness in a city that could hardly afford that. She was convicted of bribery and sentenced to more than three years in prison.  She’s currently serving her time in Alderson, W. Va. Release Date: 5-16-2013.

Joseph Tacopina/law firm photo

The headline on the website Gang Land News says it all: “Red Hot NY Lawyer Tacopina Gets Big Chill From Wiseguys.”

The headline was in reference to hotshot lawyer Joseph Tacopina, who was once the go-to guy for a lot of mobsters.

But no more — apparently not since he became a cooperating witness and dished  info to the feds.

“While Tacopina has represented numerous wiseguys and cohorts of at least four New York area crime families in years past, his current roster of clients appears devoid of mob-tied customers, local court databases show,” writes Jerry Capeci, editor of Gang Land News.

Gang Land News reported that Tacopina’s wiseguy clients seemed to vanish after he found himself in the middle of a fee-splitting and tax evasion probe of a prominent New York lawyers  and became a cooperating witness. Gang Land reported that the probe stemmed from an investigation into former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who was a Tacopina client.

Gangland reported that Tacopina became a cooperating witness against Kerik and also told federal investigators that he had funneled about $100,000 to attorney Ronald Fischetti ” from legal fees that he had received from a client whom Fischetti had referred to him in a major state court prosecution.”

Gang Land reported that the fee splitting is not a crime, but could lead to disciplinary action. It can also lead to criminal tax problems. The investigation never lead to any criminal charges.

Still, Gang Land News quoted an unnamed defense attorney as saying:

“It’s an open secret that Tacopina threw Fischetti under the bus four years ago, and that’s a really big issue for wiseguys – and lots of lawyers too.”

Tacopina declined to comment for Gang Land News.  Fischetti told the website that the allegations against him were not true.

Bernie Kerik/facebook

Ex-NY Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who once was considered for the top spot at the  Department of Homeland Security in the Bush administration, got some bad news Thursday.

The 2nd Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld his four year sentence, saying the judge was fair, the Associated Press reported. His attorneys had argued the judge was too harsh and gave a sentence that surpassed the three years called for under the sentencing guidelines.

Kerik, 55, who is being housed in a federal prison in Maryland,  pleaded guilty in 2009 to tax fraud, making a false statement on a loan application and lying to the White House, which was doing a background on him so he could become Homeland Security chief.

AP reported that the sentencing judge, Stephen Robinson in White Plains, N.Y., was bothered by Kerik’s behavior, and noted that he lied the President to get a cabinet post.

Kerik’s attorney Andrew Shapiro said, according to AP: “We’re very disappointed by the ruling and considering our next steps.”

To read more click here.

OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST

• NY Judge Clears Commuter Accused of Driving Train (AP)
  
• Republicans Grill DHS on FOIA Delays (AP)
  
• Prosecutors Seek 2012 Trial for Suspected Pirates (AP)
• Defense Calls 6th Witness in Ex-CIA Agent’s Trial (AP)
• Watergate Gets Makeover at Nixon Library (AP)
• Prosecutor: Inside Trading Tips Cited on Tape (AP)

FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICE ACT NEWS

• How to Protect Your Corporation Against FCPA Liability in Mergers (Forbes)
  
• Innospec Agrees to Pay $40.2 Million For Global Corruption Settlement (JD Supra)
  
• Today’s Guidance on UK Bribery Act Launches New Enforcement Era (Forbes)
  
• Macau’s Sands China Under Investigation By HK Regulator (Reuters)
• The Rise and Rise of FCPA (Business Insider)
• Business Ethics and Anti-Corruption Update From Norton Rose (TrustLaw)
• Cases to Test Who is a “Foreign Official” for Purposes of FCPA (JD Supra)
• IBM Bribery Scandal: What Was it Thinking? (IT Business Edge )
• Anti-Corruption Seminar April 5 (Arab Times)

Bernie Kerik/facebook

Leonard Levitt wrote the column “One Police Plaza” for the newspaper Newsday about the New York City police department. Before joining Newsday, he worked as a reporter for the Associated Press and the Detroit News, as a correspondent for Time Magazine, and as the investigations editor of the New York Post.

Bernard Kerik had to wait his turn and pass through the metal detector of the federal courthouse in White Plains last Thursday just like any civilian. The federal marshals, however, still called him, “Commissioner.”

New York City’s 40th police commissioner looked as though he had lost 20 or 30 pounds. His once-massive shoulders had shrunk to normal size.

Beside him was his wife Hala, whom Kerik ushered into the courtroom, where he was to learn just how long and hard his fall from grace would be. With her long dark hair, heart-shaped face and shapely figure, Kerik’s wife resembled, of all people, Judith Regan, his glamorous book publisher and former mistress who is now terrified of him.

Kerik ignored this reporter, whom he had stopped speaking to months ago. Like all of us who were genuinely fond of Kerik and imagined we knew him, the judge about to take away his freedom for four years struggled to understand him.

To read more click here.