New York, NY —

In defense of Bernard Kerik, presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani says the successes of the former police commissioner outweigh any of his mistakes. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

Giuliani says he didn’t investigate Kerick thoroughly enough before elevating him to the top Police Department post in 2000. Last year, the former Police Commissioner pled guilty to charges that he accepted $165,000 dollars worth of construction on his Bronx apartment from Interstate International.

Investigators believe the firm has ties to the mob. Giuliani says Kerik's successes at reducing crime and decreasing violence in the city's prisons should outweigh his indiscretions. At Giuliani's urging, President Bush nominated Kerik as Homeland Security Chief in 2004. Kerik withdrew over issues surrounding undocumented domestic help. For WNYC, I'm Bob Hennelly.