FOR THE RECORD

A large flock of turkey vouchers, worth $40 each, appears to have flown the coop at Local 1505 of DC 37. The more-than $5,000 loss was discovered Nov. 19 after the local ran short at its holiday party. President Michael Hood matched the number of members who signed for the vouchers, each of whom received two, and found that at least 135 were missing.

After an executive board discussion in December, the membership was informed of the disappearance at a meeting Jan. 23. It is still unclear if the disappearance was a result of fowl play. "I asked the membership to form a committee to look into who was in the chain of custody," said Mr. Hood. The five-person rank-and-file committee has 30 days to investigate the matter and make a recommendation to the executive board. That recommendation will then go to the membership.

Some members wonder why the local waited for two months to start investigating the matter and believe the probe should not be performed in-house. "It should be done outside the members," said City Park Worker Kurt Walsord. "Then whoever takes up the investigation will go fairly toward what happened. If it's somebody in the local, there could always be a cover-up."

Mr. Hood said that a DC 37 ethics officer will help to oversee the process.

Members also questioned why the local couldn't track down whether the vouchers had been used by checking against the serial numbers assigned to each. Mr. Hood said that he had contacted Pathmark about putting a freeze on the missing vouchers, but because he didn't have their serial numbers, Pathmark said it might not be able to trace them.

DC 37 officials are particularly sensitive to turkey-related issues, since a scam under which local presidents split excess charges to their treasuries with in-house turkey broker and then-Local 376 President Joe DeCanio took the stuffing out of more than a few locals and added to the legal woes of several presidents in the late 1990s.

"I believe this process will unfold properly," said Mr. Hood, "and present clearly what has happened and who and how many people are responsible."

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If it's any comfort to those he worked with in the Police and Correction departments and those officials in the Bush Administration who interviewed him for Homeland Security Secretary, Bernie Kerik lied to his own lawyers, too.

That was the primary revelation in a ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephen C. Robinson last week disqualifying one of Mr. Kerik's lawyers from representing him because of a possible conflict of interest.

The former Correction and Police Commissioner is facing trial on Federal charges that include tax evasion, misusing his city positions for personal gain, and lying to White House officials during interviews for the Homeland Security job. He had sought to have Kenneth Breen represent him.

But Federal prosecutors asked that Mr. Breen be disqualified due to a possible conflict of interest because he knew of some of the lies Mr. Kerik told prior to both the state indictment that led to his conviction on somewhat related charges 19 months ago and the Federal one last November.

They told Judge Robinson that another lawyer for Mr. Kerik, Joseph Tacopina, had informed the Bronx District Attorney's Office that Mr. Kerik had paid for all the renovations on a Riverdale apartment during the late 1990s and that the cost was between $30,000 and $50,000. It turned out that the renovations were paid for by a company whose owners have been linked to organized crime, and, when Mr. Kerik pleaded guilty in Bronx Supreme Court, he admitted the cost had been $165,000 (the Federal indictment says that the true tab was $255,000).

Mr. Breen maintained he should be allowed to represent Mr. Kerik because he did not become his counsel until after he made those false statements to Mr. Tacopina. But Judge Robinson found that he would have a potential conflict when it came to questioning Mr. Tacopina, who is scheduled to be a witness.

He ordered Mr. Kerik to obtain new counsel within 30 days of his Jan. 23 ruling, which sets the deadline on George Washington's birthday.