Ex-NYPD Commissioner Kerik pleads guilty

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Former New York Police Department Commissioner Bernard Kerik pleaded guilty Thursday to charges he lied to the White House.

Kerik, 54, became the first city police commissioner to become a felon when he entered his guilty plea to eight charges ranging from tax evasion to theft of honest services, the New York Daily News reported.

Kerik's plea in federal court in White Plains, N.Y., is part of a deal with prosecutors, who dropped mail and wire fraud charges against him and agreed to recommend he serve no more than 33 months in prison.

The Daily News said Kerik, who once was nominated to the post of U.S. secretary of homeland security by then-U.S. President George W. Bush, was accused of providing the White House with false statements.

The former New York police commissioner withdrew his name shortly after accepting the nomination.