Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik is convicted. Did alcoholism fuel his egomania?
Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, pleading guilty to lying to the White House while being vetted for the top Homeland Security post and for income tax evasion. As Commissioner on 9-11, he won glowing reviews for his leadership—all the while filing false tax returns (he has promised to refile 1999 through 2003 and 2005). As discussed in Drunks, Drugs & Debits: How to Recognize Addicts and Avoid Financial Abuse, most crimes, including white-collar crimes such as tax evasion, are committed by alcoholics. Other clues to likely alcoholism include abandoning an illegitimate Korean daughter, accepting undisclosed gifts from firms doing business with New York City while Commissioner, having at least two mistresses, being expelled from Saudi Arabia after a physical confrontation with a local police official and ignoring an arrest warrant for failure to pay his debts, all of which and more are detailed in the December 2007 edition of TAR. Kerik could be one of the great examples of what I call the Grand Paradox of Addiction–the highly functional alcoholic who achieves extraordinary success, while abusing others and living with a “rules don’t apply to me” attitude.