Critics state that Giuliani showed consistently poor judgment in promoting the career of <[Bernard Kerik>], who started out as a <[New York Police Department>] detective driving for his campaign, then became the city's Correction Commissioner and later police commissioner and a founder of <[Giuliani Partners>]. Kerik also served as bodyguard for Giuliani.<ref>Fred Kaplan, "Is Bernard Kerik Qualified to Run Homeland Security?" slate.com December 4, 2007
http://slate.com/id/2110638/</ref><ref>Associated Press, "Giuliani's Police Chief Could be a Problem: Case of ex-NYC police commissioner could crash into final push for votes" October 26, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21491113/</ref>Giuliani is godfather to Kerik's two younger children, by Kerik's third wife, Hala Matli (born 1972, married 1998): Celine Christina and Angelina Amber. <ref>CNN December 11, 2004
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0412/11/cst.01.html</ref>More than half of mayor Giuliani's cabinet opposed his 2000 appointment of Kerik as police commissioner. Kerik's selection came despite the fact that he lacked a college degree. Possession of a college degree was a requirement of police department officials at the captain rank and higher, a practice instituted by former police commissioner <[Benjamin Ward>].
Giuliani then pushed President Bush to nominate Kerik to be secretary of Homeland Security, at which point multiple scandals derailed the nomination and Kerik's career; subsequently Kerik pled guilty to corruption charges dating from his Corrections days (1999). (He pled guilty in Bronx court to state misdemeanor charges related to undeclared acceptance of $165,000 in apartment renovations performed by Interstate Industrial, a reputably mob-associated firm.) In March of 2007, ''The New York Times'' reported that Kerik was likely to also be indicted for tax fraud and illegal eavesdropping, and also disclosed that Giuliani had testified under oath in April 2006 that he had in fact been briefed on Kerik's mob links in 2000 — prior to his appointment of Kerik as Corrections Commissioner. Giuliani had previously denied knowing of these connections until years later. Kerik is also under investigation for conspiracy to <[eavesdrop>] on the conversations of the husband of <[Jeanine Pirro>], <[Albert Pirro>], whom Ms. Pirro suspected of having an affair.
====Briefing of Giuliani====
Mayor Giuliani said that neither he nor his aides could remember being briefed about Kerik's involvement with Interstate Industrial. However, a late 2007 ''<[New York Times>]'' investigation of the diaries and investigator's notes of Edward J. Kuriansky, the city investigations commissioner, indicate that such a meeting did indeed occur. Additionally, Kuriansky also remembered briefing one of Giuliani's closest aides, Dennison Young Jr., about Kerik's involvement with Interstte Industiral just day s before the police commissioner appointment. Regarding Giuliani's appointment patterns and loyalty as a factor in professional relationships, former deputy mayor (under Giuliani) Fran Reiter said, "Rudy can fall for people big time, and sometimes qualifications are secondary to loyalty."<ref>Michael Powell, "Loyal to Kerik, Giuliani Missed Warning Signs," "New York Times," November 3, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/us/politics/03kerik.html?hp</ref>