(Photo: AP) When Kerik was appointed police commissioner in August 2000, he was a little-known, low-key figure. After the attack, the 48-year-old Kerik was a near-constant presence at Giuliani's side, helping rally with his solemn determination a department that had lost 23 members. In 2001, he published his memoirs, "The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit of Justice," in which he revealed that his mother was a prostitute who had been beaten to death. A consultant for Giuliani Partners until his resignation in Decembre 2004, Kerik was been on assignment in Iraq, where he was dubbed the "Baghdad Terminator" for his no-nonsense style in rebuilding the city's police force. On Dec. 3, 2004, Kerik was nominated by President George W. Bush to succeed Tom Ridge as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. After a week of press scrutiny, Kerik withdrew acceptance of the nomination, citing potential problems with the immigration and tax status of a former nanny. Kerik has been hit with other allegations as well, including that he had connections with people suspected of doing business with the mob and that he had simultaneous extramarital affairs with two women. In June 2006, Kerik pled guilty to two ethics violations and was ordered to pay $221,000. Soon after, current Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg removed Kerik's name from the Manhattan Detention Complex, a New York jail that had been renamed in Kerik's honor on Dec 21, 2001, by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.