"The New York Times" quotes interviews with people who have been briefed on a $250,000 personal loan given to Bernard Kerik, an associate of Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Guliani, that the lender was apparently "Israeli billionaire and philanthropist, Eitan Wertheimer, whose family’s vast holdings include companies with US Defense Department contracts" and a related contact was "Brooklyn businessman Shimon Cohen, a marble and stone merchant who has been a friend of Kerik’s for several years."
"The New York Times" stresses that the loan was not illegal and that neither Wertheimer nor Cohen have been "charged with wrongdoing." Both men have declined to speak about the loan or the reasons it was made to Kerik.
"The New York Times" writes, "Federal prosecutors have not alleged that anything about the loan itself was improper. But they charged in a 16-count indictment unsealed two weeks ago that Kerik had failed to disclose it to the federal government as required after the White House appointed him to train the Iraqi police in 2003." He is charged with tax evasion and fraud.
The indictment itself did not disclose the names of the two donors, referring only to "John Doe 7" and "John Doe 8".
The indictment states that Kerik has accepted financial help from several friends over the years. The loan to Kerik came in June 2003 when he was on leave from his job at Giuliani Partners, the consulting firm of former Mayor Giuliani, and serving in Iraq as an adviser to the Interior Ministry for the Coalition Provisional Authority. In that post, which he held for three months, Kerik was assigned to train the Iraqi police.
"The New York Times" quotes sources as saying that "Wertheimer met Kerik through Cohen, a longtime friend, according to associates, and the two spent time together during Kerik’s trip to Israel in August 2001. Later that year, as he left his New York City police post, Kerik handed out 19 gold and blue enamel badges that declared the recipients “Honorary Police Commissioners,” and Wertheimer received one."
"The New York Times" quotes a spokeswoman for Giuliani Partners as saying, "The company had not had any business relationship with any of Wertheimer’s companies during the time Kerik was affiliated with the business. Kerik left the consulting company directed by Giuliani in 2004, after his nomination to be the federal Homeland Security secretary was withdrawn."
Last year, the Wertheimer family sold 80% of machine tools manufacturer Iscar Ltd. to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-A; BRK-B), controlled by chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, for $4 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 25, 2007
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2007