In a story that broke a few days ago, Bernard Kerik, the former police commissioner of New York City, was sentenced to four years in prison for tax evasion and lying to federal officials. Kerik was a close associate of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and was even nominated in 2004 by George W. Bush for the position of Secretary of Homeland Security. The background checks for the position were the start of Kerik's troubles. Kerik eventually admitted to tax evasion and receiving renovations from a construction company allegedly tied to organized crime which he helped to secure city contracts. The sentence he received of four years was only a year over the minimum federal sentencing guidelines sentence.