NEW YORK -- We all know there were problems with the vetting process for homeland security director post.
But was Bernard Kerik ever properly vetted for the job of police commissioner?
That is the question as sources familiar with the process tells NewsChannel 4's
Melissa Russo it appears Kerik never filed the necessary forms with the New York City Department of Investigation.
The big question: Did Bernard Kerik fill out the proper paperwork to become police commissioner? If he did, would he have passed the test? If he did not, then why not?
When a mayor selects someone for a high-level post in city government, that nominee is required to go through an extensive background check even if they've already gone through that process for a previous city job.
In 2000, then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani promoted Kerik from correction commissioner to be his top cop.
Sources say Kerik would have been required to fill out an extensive background questionnaire like the 44-page form currently used by the city.
It's an extensive form requiring clear answers to many questions, including sources of income like transfers of property or gifts. The form also asks about tax filings and any potential conflicts of interest.
Since Kerik withdrew his nomination for Homeland Security secretary, many issues have surfaced about everything from questionable gifts he allegedly accepted to ties to people convicted of crimes to his personal finances, all of which he would have been required to disclose in that questionnaire. But NewsChannel 4 is told there is no record of Kerik having filed such paperwork.
The New York Times reported recently that Kerik also did not file the proper background paperwork when he obtained FBI security clearance after 9/11 and when he accepted a job overhauling the police force in Iraq.
Why would Kerik have been allowed to skirt the process?
Larry Levy, who is now with Giuliani Partners, the former mayor's firm, and was the attorney in city hall who coached candidates through the vetting process during the Giuliani administration, said he does not remember Kerik repeating his background check when he moved to be police commissioner.
But he says that would not have been unusual. He said while the rules technically required it to be repeated, it often wasn't when an official moved from one high-level job to another.
Kerik's private attorney also told NewsChannel 4 there is no question that Kerik was properly vetted.
But technically, you are supposed to go through that process every time you change positions, as long as some time has passed.
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