Bernard Kerik, who served as New York City's police commissioner on 9/11 and later pleaded guilty to tax fraud before being pardoned, has died. He was 69. FBI Director Kash Patel said that Kerik's death Thursday came after an unspecified "private battle with illness."

His meteoric rise to become New York City’s chief law enforcement officer was later tarnished after he pleaded guilty to federal corruption and tax crimes.

Bernard Kerik, NYPD police commissioner during 9/11, has died at age 69. Kerik, first hailed as a hero for facilitating the emergency response to the attacks, later fell from grace due to multiple legal woes.