Hard Time

Is Bernie Kerik Cracking?

Judge says jail psychiatrist considers him "at risk."

Former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik, in jail on corruption charges in New York's Westchester County, has been moved to a special unit of his detention facility, and the judge presiding over his case indicated that it could be for psychiatric reasons. Following a conversation with the jailhouse psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Mahler, Judge Stephen Robinson told reporters "that there was more going on than simply Mr. Kerik being placed there because of his notoriety, status, or the circumstances of this case." Robinson said Kerik, once President Bush's nominee for secretary of Homeland Security, may be forced to undergo a court-ordered exam. The news could delay Kerik's trial for conspiracy and fraud, among other charges, which is scheduled to begin November 9.