Rudy Giuliani's Kerik Problem

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But Kerik's troubles were only beginning. He soon faced questions from the state of New York about allegedly taking bribes while at the corrections division. Not long after, the Department of Justice began its own probe. In 2005 Kerik resigned from Giuliani Partners.

According to the 16-count indictment handed up on Nov. 9, Interstate Industrial Corp., a hauling firm that was trying to get a business license from New York City while under investigation for possible ties to organized crime, paid $255,000 for the redesign and renovation of Kerik's apartment in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. The renovations included new walls and floors, a new kitchen, new marble bathrooms, a Jacuzzi and a "marble entrance rotunda." An official of the firm, the indictment charges, paid more than $236,000 in rent for a second Kerik apartment. At the same time, Kerik allegedly contacted regulators on the hauling firm's behalf to enable it to do business with the city. Prosecutors allege that Kerik also lied to investigators as well as on required disclosure forms about receiving these payments and failed to declare these and other kinds of income on his tax returns.

Kerik pleaded not guilty to all charges. Giuliani quickly acknowledged his error in promoting Kerik. Standing with two former U.S. Attorneys in front of a county courthouse in Dubuque, Iowa, Giuliani said, "I regret the fact that I didn't do a better job of vetting him, and I've apologized to the President for that."

There is some evidence that Giuliani had at least a hint of his top cop's darker connections. Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that the man who oversaw the vetting of Kerik to be police commissioner in 2000 was aware of Kerik's ties to Interstate Industrial. According to his notes, the investigator, Edward Kuriansky, briefed both Giuliani and his chief counsel on the matter. Giuliani told a state grand jury last year that while he recalled Kuriansky's briefing, he had no recollection of hearing about Kerik's relationship with the firm or its principals. (Kuriansky, whose office of investigations reported to the mayor in the Giuliani era, died in July before any discrepancy could be clarified.)

Was Giuliani too close to Kerik to ask hard questions? Giuliani's rivals certainly pointed to Kerik's indictment as a signal that something isn't jake in the storied House of Rudy. "Very sad and disappointing," said Romney. McCain ally Tom Ridge, a straight arrow who turned down a chance to be on the Republican ticket in 1996 because he did not believe he was ready for the job of Vice President, was sharper. "We're not talking about some urban city patronage job," said Ridge. "That's not what a Cabinet Secretary's about."

Giuliani is betting that voters will see his promotion of Kerik in the broader context of his record. "I'm not running as the perfect candidate, and I'm not running as the perfect President," he said. "What I'm running as is someone who's had a great deal of success, and I think I can bring that success to Washington." But he is making another bet about Republican voters too. An operative from a rival campaign believes that Giuliani's bid for the White House can be reduced to two sentences: "I'm not a nice guy. But the people you fear, fear me." If that's right, Giuliani isn't looking for voters to love him, or even like him. He just wants their respect. And then, who knows? Loyalty may follow.