Family Life

01.07.10 | FL News Team

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants taxpayers nationwide to pay for the federal trials of suspected 9-11 plotters. Bloomberg says the cost of holding the trials in the Big Apple could top 200-million-dollars per year. He's formally requested funding from the federal treasury to cover the expense. In a letter to White House Budget Director Peter Orszag, Bloomberg says, quote, "New York's financial resources are in short supply." He says the trials will require existing personnel be removed from crime prevention efforts and that there would be "significant" overtime expenses.

 U.S. Attorney Eric Holder agrees with Bloomberg. He told lawmakers last year "New York should not bear the burden alone." Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the accused mastermind of the 9-11 attacks, and four accomplices will be detained in lower Manhattan during their trials that, according to Bloomberg, could last years.