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BERNIE FALLS ON RUDY

Bernie Falls on Rudy

To the Editor:

It looks like Bernard Kerik beat the rap (or at least got a slap on the wrist) by pleading out to two misdemeanors instead of taking his chances at trial and possibly going to jail on a felony. He just might have been the first person in the United States - ever - to serve prison time in a jail that bore his name, the Bernard B. Kerik Correctional Facility in Manhattan. There goes his chances for the Guinness Book of World Records!

The big question is, will it hurt Rudolph Giuliani in his run for the White House? Of course it will. Here was a guy who served as his bodyguard in Rudy's 1993 run for Mayor against David Dinkins, and was close to Rudy all the way through two terms as Mayor. The relationship continued into the business world after Rudy's political career took time off. We have President George W. Bush to thank for (unintentionally) "outing" the man whose greed and ties to alleged mobsters made him a great liability. Bernie never learned what former Mayor Ed Koch always knew. If you never put a cent of dirty money in your pocket, and you never accept "gifts," you can make a lot of mistakes and come out smelling like a rose.

MICHAEL J. GORMAN
Editor's note: The writer is a retired NYPD Lieutenant and an attorney.