Fat Chance. No rules for rulers!!
It was easy comparing Bernard Kerik to a mob figure, and I was not the only one who did. To top it off, it was later learned he hung a large poster on his office wall of actor Al Pacino, in ‘The Godfather.’ As commissioner, Kerik was more like a wannabe, ‘Mob-Boss,’ who hid behind government protection. Why did Giuliani send this guy to Bush?
Columnist’s note: While going to press, Rudolph Giuliani continued to make excuses for Kerik saying, “Human beings make mistakes, even the best of us.â€? At a press conference outside of his law firm, Giuliani and Partners, he added, “Bernie had the votes in the senate to get confirmed.â€? Then added, “I still have confidence in Bernie, he will remain on staff at Giuliani and Partners.â€? Also, the December 13 front cover of The Daily News talks about an “exclusive” report about Kerik having an affair with a female correction officer — I wrote about this in my column months ago!
The corruption that surrounds Kerik is now at the White House door. There must be an independent investigation. Many times stories about Kerik appeared in the Black Star News over the past four years, but they were not looked at seriously. I do not buy the “Nannygateâ€? story, because I have two daughters – and when they were little girls, if for some reason I needed a baby-sitter, I knew when and how many times that sitter went to the bathroom. Who can believe Kerry didn’t know his babysitter’s background?
In plain English, Bernard B. Kerik should not have been chosen to head Homeland Security. When I heard the news, I had to stop several times to compose myself just writing about this gentleman. I say, it was the Most High who makes all things possible and this misdeed was quickly answered. Who’s Mr. Kerik? And why was it so important he take over Homeland Security? Kerik is Rudy’s yes man, puppet, former bodyguard, and now finally, he’s being exposed for who he really is – a wannabe mobster and a liar.
When former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, broad banded Kerik into the city’s Department of Correction (DOC), there were highly qualified people in place who had the educational paperwork to back it up and were better-qualified candidates. Kerik was literally forced down the throats of those already in charge at DOC. Most were Democrats and left in place by former Mayor David Dinkins’ Administration – something Giuliani did not like, or respect. So, right out the gate, “Race,� played a major role in Kerik being placed in the DOC – to rule over an agency (the DOC) Giuliani planned to privatize. Kerik was the implant that would later force out Black and white tenured civil servants in high-ranking position that did not speak his language, and mostly AfricanAmerican correction officers by trespassing upon their due process.
In the DOC, Kerik formed a unit called, Total Efficiency Accountability Management System (TEAMS), whose primary objective was corruption and instilling fear. At TEAMS meetings, ranking members of service (MOS) would learn, if anyone “crossed� Kerik’s administration, they would be, “… hunted down and made to pay for their disloyalty.� It was very clear Kerik’s ‘abuse of power’ fit him like a glove. Kerik used his pen like a Butcher uses a knife – while destroying many lives in the process, and the city’s Corporation Council (Law Department) and Office of Administration Trials and Hearings (OATH) defended most of his cases, which now needs to be revisited.
Kerik being picked to head Homeland Security dispels the notion, “Crime doesn’t pay!� It has paid well for Kerik and almost did again. For example, Kerik who’s said to have been on top of everything at the DOC, pointed his finger at his left-hand man – civilian chief Fred Patrick, and left him holding the bag. Patrick pleaded guilty to mail fraud and misusing approximately $150,000 of stolen inmates’ commissary money. Approximately one million dollars was funneled to a “Correction Foundation,� account under Kerik’s leadership.
Kerik says he did not know anything about the stolen inmates money then moved on to join Giuliani partners in crime. When the investigation surrounding the money issue got hot, “Bernie,â€? was shipped out to Baghdad to play, “Top Cop.â€? I made several calls to the White House and Pentagon and no one could answer how Kerik was cleared to leave the state while a criminal investigation was ongoing. If my memory serves me right, it was Kerik who failed his mission in Baghdad, which caused lives to be lost. What kind of “police force” did he “train” while there? After his arrival, the death toll was on the rise and just as he escaped, the Baghdad Police academy was destroyed, because of his policies. Then there were the crimes committed against prisoners at Abu Ghraib – it’s not clear if Kerik had any direct responsibility with the abuse that went on there, but when he was commissioner of the city’s jails – during surprise early morning area searches the treatment of prisoners was somewhat the same. Kerik was falsely recognized for bringing down the assaults in the city’s jails. To keep the numbers low, in a lot of cases, assaults on staff and inmates were not reported.
Having knowledge of what’s right and wrong, and working around ‘criminals,’ it did not take long for me to figure out this guy (Kerik) walking around in a suit with an arrogant look on his face, and a parade of bodyguards all around him. It was easy comparing this guy to a mob figure, and I was not the only one who did. To top it off, it was later learned he hung a large poster on his office wall of actor Al Pacino, in ‘The Godfather.’ As commissioner, Kerik was more like a wannabe, ‘Mob-Boss,’ who hid behind government protection.
We are talking about a city municipality; where does the word loyalty come into play when in fact; every civil servant had taken an oath of office to uphold the law and the constitution? Being loyal to anyone is a form of corruption and disregard for Mayoral Executive Order #16, which is supposed to prevent such activity.
This mob-like persona Kerik sported put fear into a lot of people. Too many men and women employed with the DOC are still afraid to speak out and use their mortgage or pension as the reason for keeping quiet – when they really fear retaliation; and the DOC is supposed to be a law enforcement agency! Kerik did not come up through the ranks in the DOC and the staff that showed him the ropes were forced out the door. Kerik, as a civil chief, came with his own personal philosophy as to how the jails were to be run and right away began to send messages not to report wrongdoing at any level. This policy has proven to be looked upon as a major mistake, which trespasses against Mayoral Executive Order #16, and this city is still getting hammered with complaints and lawsuits being filed. When the Bronx District Attorney’s Office commenced their investigation into the Scandal at Correction – there should have been more than 40 uniform and non-uniform members of service (MOS) being indicted.
You can’t have someone in charge of Homeland Security who believes covering up for someone who did wrong is being loyal. Kerik covered up for his bodyguard, former DOC captain John Picciano, who’s married with children, but managed to pistol-whip his girlfriend – correction officer, Carmen Vives. Picciano should have been arrested and charged with a felony for the assault on a female subordinate and the misuse of a firearm. Yet, Kerik promoted and made him his Chief of Staff before taking him over to the New York Police Department, when he was made commissioner.
An award given to Kerik destroyed a “Black� fraternity in the DOC, ‘Correction Guardian Association (CGA). Some of these “Black� high-ranking members began making statements to the mainstream media about Kerik that were not true. Kerik went stepping into the NYPD as if he had a good relationship with African-Americans, when in fact; he had a good relationship with Negroes. There’s a big difference.
A historic Black organization, (CGA), which was founded to protect and fight for the rights of Black People everywhere – fell into the hands of those who would fear Kerik. At a CGA meeting, one board member told me, “When Kerik finds out who is dropping dime on him, he’s going to take care of them.� That was funny, because I had written articles in the Black Star News since 2000 regarding Kerik’s corruption. So I took that comment as an inside message being sent.
It was sad to know, Kerik has turned these guys into messengers, and they felt it was much safer for Guardian leaders to pass Kerik’s words than to stop him from attacking People, and it didn’t stop there. The Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association (COBA) headed by a “Blackâ€? president, Norman Seabrook (loyal to both Kerik and Giuliani) stated at a packed union meeting that he was not going to spend a dime of the union’s money on behalf of members being terminated by Kerik. It was this type of dismal loyalty that ran amuck at the DOC. Most of the managerial staff assigned under Kerik’s hands was already dirty. Everywhere you turned, there was some type of corruption or under-handed hookup.
In the DOC, the race issue was not that visible until Giuliani became mayor. Racism flew out of the closet like a bat out of Hell. However, African-Americans were in the majority and holding most of the ranking positions, but this was soon to change under Giuliani. It took the Scandal at Correction to expose these wrongs. The scandal itself was racist; it involved the Italian-Americans going against the Irish-Americans who were both jockeying for the top ranking positions in the DOC – while the African-Americans (the majority) watched from the sidelines.
Anyone with common sense already knows Giuliani does not need to ever head another position in government anywhere in this country. Giuliani divided New York City along race lines, at the same time disrespecting African-American political and community leaders. Then he wanted to move his girlfriend into Gracie Mansion where his wife and children lived. It wasn’t until September 11, 2001, when everyone regardless of race, color, or gender; pulled together and began to start watching each others’ backs again. No one knew who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. No one knew who the ‘Enemy’ was, and it would be a shame that one-day we find out – the ‘Enemy,’ were these money hungry “Inner circleâ€? folks waiting for the right time to scare us and take away our liberties – just to get a crack at controlling the “New World Order,â€? and a cap on all the black gold – oil.
Maybe we can sit back and allow a few, “Stupid White Men,� to take over a municipality, but we cannot sit by and let it happen to a country. There is no place for this kind of ‘Criminal’ loyalty when lives are being lost; grandmothers are being ordered back to war, and no one has answers for this madness we are in or a time it will all end.
Write to your senators and ask them, – ‘How did they get fooled by Giuliani and Kerik.’ There’s no doubt in my mind, they are still using 9/11 for personal gain. Homeland Security would have been a moneymaker for both of these men and their cronies. In my opinion, they could care less about securing these lands. Let’s tell Giuliani and Kerik to go find another way to get rich – but first, “You have a right to remain silent, anything you say may …â€?
Winkfield’s column appears every week in The Black Star News and online: www.blackstarnews.com, Contact him for consideration regarding covering your story. Employees with any City or State agency are encouraged to contact him. Send comments to: [email protected]. Cell – 917-248-1790. Write to: ON THE SPOT, c/o Post Office Box 230149, Queens County, 11423. We can protect whistleblowers by honoring their privacy with confidentiality.
