Ex-NY police chief to be indicted

Bernard Kerik was also a business partner of Rudolph Giuliani

Former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik is to be indicted on corruption charges, reports in the United States say.

Mr Kerik, a close ally of the Republican presidential candidate, Rudolph Giuliani, is expected to hand himself in to the New York authorities.

He is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars from an allegedly mafia-related construction firm.

Mr Kerik was once President Bush's choice for homeland security secretary.

WABC television reported that Mr Kerik was expected to hand himself in on Friday in Westchester County, just north of New York City, where a federal grand jury was investigating his finances and business dealings while on the city payroll.

Potentially harmful

Mr Kerik was thrust into the public spotlight in his position as New York police commissioner after the 11 September 2001 attacks.

He supervised the police department's response and was often seen at the side of then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

In 2004, Mr Kerik withdrew before being confirmed as Homeland Security chief after he was accused of extra-marital affairs, and of profiting from stock options on a stun-gun company which had contracts with his department.

He cited tax queries about his employment of a nanny as his reason for withdrawing.

The BBC's Matthew Price in New York says this latest chapter in Mr Kerik's history could be potentially harmful for Mr Giuliani's presidential campaign.

Mr Giuliani, addressing a news conference in Iowa on Thursday, responded briefly to questions about the expected indictment:

"In that particular case, I pointed out I made a mistake, I made a mistake in not clearing him effectively and I take responsibility for that. When you are mayor of New York, you make 100,000 decisions. Some of them you make wrong," he said.

Mr Kerik pleaded guilty last year to charges of accepting $165,000 (£78,000) worth of renovations to his Bronx apartment from a construction company which authorities were investigating for links to organised crime.