Kerik’s contractor found guilty of perjury

A jury convicted New Jersey contractor Peter DiTommaso of perjury on Dec. 21, in connection with renovations made on former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik’s apartment on West 239th Street. The same jury found Mr. DiTommaso’s brother, Frank, not guilty three days later.

Peter DiTommaso was convicted on two counts of second-degree perjury  for lying to a grand jury in 2006 about making $255,000 in renovations on Mr. Kerik’s Riverdale apartment. Prosecutors argued the DiTommasos completed the renovations in exchange for landing profitable city contracts.

Peter DiTommaso faces up to seven years in prison and will be sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 28.

Shortly after President George W. Bush nominated Mr. Kerik to head the Department of Homeland Security, investigators discovered he committed tax fraud and lied to White House officials about $255,000 in renovations to his Riverdale apartment.

In 2009, Mr. Kerik pleaded guilty to eight felonies, including evading taxes, preparing a false tax return, making a false statement on a loan application and five counts of making false statements to the federal government. He was sentenced to four years in prison on Feb. 18, 2010.

But he had a break from his jail cell in October when he was called to testify at the DiTommassos trial. In 2009, Mr. Kerik admitted to allowing the DiTommaso’s company, Interstate Industrial Corporation, to pay for the renovations, which eventually led to indictments of the DiTommaso brothers.