Rudy Giuliani's Kerik Problem

The former mayor is staking his campaign on leadership skills, but his loyalty to his disgraced former top cop raises questions

Dennis Van Tine / Atlaspress

Bernard Kerik and Rudy Giuliani in 2006

Bernard Kerik, a mid-level New York City corrections official, was at home late one night in January 1995 when the telephone rang. It was his boss, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who wanted to talk. Kerik had been Giuliani's driver and bodyguard during much of the mayoral campaign, and he offered to meet the mayor the next morning. "No," said Giuliani. "Now." It was 10:30, but Kerik trooped over to Gracie Mansion and joined the mayor in a poorly lit parlor, where they shared a bottle of red wine that had been a gift from Nelson Mandela. "It was good to...

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