Bernard Kerik, NYPD Commissioner During 9/11, Dies At 69

NEW YORK CITY — Bernard Kerik, the NYPD commissioner who led the department during the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, has died at age of 69, according to police and reports.

Kerik's family confirmed he was being treated for heart disease at a Manhattan hospital before his passing.

“For nearly two decades, Kerik served and protected New Yorkers in the NYPD, including helping rebuild the city in the aftermath of 9/11. We offer our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones,” the NYPD said in a post on X.

Before serving as NYPD commissioner, Kerik was the commissioner of the New York City Department of Corrections from 1998 to 2000.

Ex-mayor Rudy Giuliani remembered his friend in a statement.

"I am heartbroken over the loss of my dear friend,” Giuliani wrote in a post on X. “He was a decorated police officer, Corrections commissioner and NYC police commissioner during the worst terrorist attack on American soil.”

Later in life, Kerik fell from grace after pleading guilty to federal corruption and tax crimes. The former commissioner pleaded guilty to misdemeanor ethics violations related to gifts he received while leading the city corrections department in 2006, according to CNN.

In 2009, he pleaded guilty to eight felony charges, including tax fraud and lying to White House officials and was later sentenced to 48 months in prison.

Kerik was released from federal prison after serving three years, and would later release a memoir in 2015.

In 2020, Kerik worked with Giuliani after the 2020 presidential election to search for evidence of voter fraud.