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Keriks Story - Still Untold

Kerik, Tacopina, Connolly

Bernie Keriks farewell party last week , which included local Franklin Lakes celebrityCaroline Manzo, was a send off for the embattled former police commissioner prior to

the start of his prison term. The story of Franklin Lakes resident Bernie Kerik is still to bewritten by Bernie Kerik, but sooner than that will be an article by former detective turnedinvestigative reporter John Connolly.

The subject of the upcoming Vanity Fair piece will be ex-Kerik attorney Joe Tacopinawho cooperated with federal investigators in their case against his client, Berni Kerik.Tapocina was not only Keriks defense attorney, but also a business partner in helping toestablish Keriks consulting firm and in a failed investment opportunity. In a previouspiece for Vanity Fair, Michael Shnayerson reported on an apparent betrayal by Tacopinawith respect to sharing a fee with Kerik for finding an investor for another client:

On October 5, 2007, Tacopina signed an agreement with the Follieri Group to receive$2.5 million as a finders fee for himself alone. Correspondence provided to Vanity Fairshows Kerik was in the dark about the terms of the deal for weeks afterward, askingTacopinahis lawyer, after allnot to let Follieri double-cross him by denying him hishalf of the finders fee

NYPDConfidential.com expanded on some of John Connollys previous reporting of theclose Tacopin/Kerik relationship in October of 2008 with their headline Bernie Kerik-Betrayed by Joe. This article focused in on Keriks 2007 court motion to learn howfederal agents turned his attorney against him:

The concerns are heightened not mitigated by the fact that Mr. Tacopina wassufficiently concerned about being questioned by the government that he brought withhim an attorney to represent his own but not Mr. Keriks interests, and that he wasinterviewed apparently without the compulsion of a grand jury subpoena and outside thestructure of the grand jury so that there is no verbatim record of what transpired

While Keriks guilty pleas leave no doubt about wrong doing, the upcoming Vanity Fairarticle may shed light on tactics used by federal agents to elicit convictions. Rolling-over

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a defendants attorney, and Keriks sentencing beyond recommended guidelines, warrantconsideration as to whether headlines or justice are the main goal of federalinvestigations. Big name federal targets, like NJ native Martha Stewart, naturally attractmedia attention, but questions remain as to whether some of those resources should beworking to uncover more sinister characters like Bernie Madoff.

Kerik supporters have long held that the investigation and sentencing smacked of unfairtreatment. The soon to be published Connolly piece may shed light on whether Tacopinabreached attorney-client privilege, and why he so readily rolled-over on a person oftendescribed as a close friend.

Readers will have to wait a little longer for the Kerik story in his own words, but they canexpect the story to continue in mainstream media a lot sooner.