Bernard Kerik is home for the holidays — and he’d better stay there, a judge ruled yesterday.
The disgraced former NYPD commish was released on bail and put on home confinement pending his February sentencing, with a stern admonishment from the court not to stray from the terms of the deal.
“I suppose if your house is on fire, you should be able to get out,” White Plains federal Judge Stephen Robinson told Kerik.
But, the judge warned, “I am very strict about pretrial release and what people do. My suggestion to you is, if in doubt, don’t do it unless you have prior approval.”
The half-hour bail hearing came five days after Kerik pleaded guilty to eight felonies, including tax fraud and lying to the White House while he was being considered to head the Department of Homeland Security.
He is due to be sentenced Feb. 18, and faces 27 to 33 months in prison under the terms of his plea bargain.
Kerik’s release came with several conditions, including having to wear a monitoring bracelet on his ankle and the posting of an additional $975,000 bond, on top of his previous $500,000 bail.
He’s allowed out of the house to visit his lawyer and his accountant and to attend religious services, but only with permission from probation officials.
Robinson sternly rejected Kerik’s bid to walk his kids to and from school.
“This is not home confinement with morning strolls and afternoon strolls,” blasted Robinson, who recounted how he’d once thrown a man back in the slammer for leaving his house to get a newspaper from the lawn.
After being freed, Kerik was driven to his Franklin Lakes, NJ, home in a black SUV. He stared straight ahead, ignoring reporters and photographers, as the vehicle maneuvered down a long driveway into an attached garage.
Kerik had been in jail since Oct. 20, when Robinson revoked his bail, saying the former top cop had leaked legal documents to influence a potential jury pool. Because Kerik copped a plea, avoiding a trial and jury, the judge let him out.
After posting the additional bail — secured by his Franklin Lakes home — Kerik strutted out of the courthouse, smirked at reporters and jumped into the SUV.
Additional reporting
by Joe Mollica