His meteoric rise to become New York City’s chief law enforcement officer was later tarnished after he pleaded guilty to federal corruption and tax crimes.

Kerik had been commissioner for just one year before he was faced with the biggest terroristic attack ever on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001. He heroically led the NYPD through the devastating rescue

Bernard Kerik, NYPD police commissioner during 9/11, has died at age 69. Kerik, first hailed as a hero for facilitating the emergency response to the attacks, later fell from grace due to multiple legal woes.