Boob Cops Plea?
The NY Times is reporting that erstwhile Police Commissioner Bernard "I'm a Corrupt Boob" Kerik, is purportedly about to cop to a plea deal for his role in improperly accepting $200,000 in free renovations to an apartment he owned in the Bronx. Under the deal, Kerik would purportedly plead guilty to accepting gifts. Although this is being spun as merely "administrative violations" by Kerik's lawyer, bear in mind that the statute in question is designed to prevent corruption among municipal employees and is a misdemeanor which would result in your immediate dismissal from City service. The appropriate section of City Charter Section 2604 reads:

No public servant shall accept any valuable gift, as defined by rule of the board, from any person or firm which such public servant knows is or intends to become engaged in business dealings with the city, except that nothing contained herein shall prohibit a public servant from accepting a gift which is customary on family and social occasions.

And Section 2407 provides the penalty:

Any person who violates section twenty-six hundred four or twenty-six hundred five of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof, shall forfeit his or her public office or employment.

Mere administrative violations? I don't think so. Remember, this wasn't accepting tickets to a hockey game, this was accepting $200,000 in home repairs!
- posted by Base10 @ 12:51 PM