[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 51 (Thursday, April 30, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E718-E719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      TRIBUTE TO BERNARD B. KERIK

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 30, 1998

  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call to your attention 
Bernard B. Kerik, who was officially sworn-in as Commissioner for the 
City of New York's Department of Corrections.
  On December 23, 1997, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani announced the 
appointment, effective January 1, 1998, of the Department of 
Correction's First Deputy Commissioner, Bernard B. Kerik, as 
Commissioner.
  Mr. Kerik, as Commissioner, oversees an annual budget of 
approximately $792 million, a civilian and uniformed workforce of about 
13,000 and an inmate population of some 133,000 admissions yearly in 
the Department's 16 jails, 15 court detention pens and four hospital 
prison wards. As First Deputy Commissioner, he was responsible for the 
day-to-day operation of the Department. He has been appointed by Mayor 
Giuliani to the position of First Deputy Commissioner January 24, 1995, 
Mr. Kerik served in prior positions with the Department as Executive 
Assistant to the Commissioner and as Director of the Investigations 
Division.
  Prior to DOC, Mr. Kerik served with the New York City Police 
Department for eight years. After uniformed and plain clothes duty with 
anti-crime and narcotics units in Midtown South and Manhattan North 
commands, he was assigned to the U.S. Justice Department's New York 
Drug Enforcement (DEA) Task Force. There, he helped direct one of the 
most substantial narcotics investigations in the history of that 
office, resulting in the conviction of more than 60 members of the Cali 
Cartel. Mr. Kerik received 28 citations for meritorious and heroic 
service during his tenure with NYPD, including that Department's Medal 
of Valor.
  Before joining NYPD, Mr. Kerik was the Warden of the Passaic County 
Jail, the largest county adult correctional facility in the State of 
New Jersey, responsible for the administrative direction of the 265 
uniformed and civilian staff and an annual budget of $7.2 million. He 
also served as that Department's Training Officer, assistant commander 
of the Sheriff's Emergency Response Team, and commander of the Special 
Weapons and Operations Units.
  Mr. Kerik spent nearly four years in various security assignments in 
Saudi Arabia, training Saudi and other nationals in physical security 
and police patrol operations. Before that, he served as an MP for three 
years in the U.S. Army, assigned to the 18th Airborne Corp where he 
trained Special Forces personnel at the John F. Kennedy Unconventional 
Warfare Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was also a member of an 
all-Army martial arts team.
  Mr. Kerik has a diverse background and education in international and 
domestic anti-terrorism, personal protective security and special 
weapons and operations. He has been commended for heroism by President 
Ronald Reagan and the Cities of Paterson and Passaic, New Jersey. He 
has received the DEA Administrator's Award, the Medal of Valor from the 
International Narcotic Enforcement Officers' Association, and a Special 
Achievement Award from the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of 
New York.

[[Page E719]]

  In December, 1997, he was appointed by the Mayor as a member of the 
newly-formed New York City Gambling Control Commission. The five-member 
Commission is charged with establishing and enforcing regulations for 
shipboard gambling to ensure that consumers are protected from 
fraudulent practices and to prevent the influence of organized crime.
  Mr. Kerik is vice chairman of the Boy Scouts' Greater New York 
Councils Law Enforcement Exploring Division. He also chairs the Michael 
John Buczek Foundation's annual fundraiser that honors law enforcement 
heroes across the nation. Named in memory of a 34th Precinct, officer 
slain in the line of duty, the Foundation provides financial assistance 
to youth foundation in that neighborhood and to the law enforcement 
community in New York and New Jersey.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me, our colleagues, the family and 
friends of Commissioner Kerik's, and the City of New York, in 
recognizing the many outstanding and invaluable contributions Bernard 
B. Kerik has made to public safety through his distinguished career in 
law enforcement.

                          ____________________