N.Y. 9/11 police chief admits to corruption

Kerik, who was New York's head of police at the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, admitted to accepting 255,000 dollars worth of renovations to his apartment from a construction firm angling for government contracts.

The company ─ which is suspected of having mob ties ─ installed marble bathrooms, a jacuzzi and a new kitchen in the former police chief's apartment in the upscale New York suburb of Riverdale.

According to the indictment, Kerik then contacted regulators on behalf of the firm, but concealed the payments in tax returns as the firm was being investigated.

On Thursday he also pleaded guilty to lying to White house officials about the renovations while being vetted to become the head of Homeland Security.

He pleaded guilty to a total of eight charges. “It is a sad day when the former chief law enforcement officer of New York City pleads gu ilty to eight federal felonies,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, “but no one is above the law.”

Kerik was also accused of not declaring a total of 236,000 dollars in rent he received on an luxury apartment in New York's posh Upper East Side.

Other payments allegedly not declared include a total of 100,000 dollars received from a software company and a book publisher.

The 54-year-old is expected to be sentenced in February next year, when he could have faced 61 years in prison, but will likely receive a lesser sentence thanks to the plea deal.

He has agreed to pay 187,931 dollars restitution, but faces additional fines running to over a million dollars.

Kerik, who once served as former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani's chauffeur and bodyguard, rose through the ranks of the police department to become police commissioner, enjoying hero status in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

He went on to help train Iraq's fledgling police force after the US-led invasion in 2003.

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