Mayor Bloomberg is set to testify in the criminal case of a political operative charged with stealing $1 million from Bloomberg's campaign.
The against former Bloomberg operative John Haggerty Jr. is set to open Sept. 12, and Bloomberg will be asked to explain how his 2009 campaign worked, how he spent nearly $110 million to win re-election and how he decided which civic and nonprofit groups benefited from his generosity, sources said.
"This is potentially explosive," said one person familiar with the confidential discussions between the Manhattan DA's Office and Haggerty's lawyers.
Bloomberg and former Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey are both going to appear on the prosecution's witness list, sources said. And even if they get scratched by the DA at the last minute, defense lawyers plan to include them on their roster.
The mayor has already testified before the grand jury that indicted Haggerty, but most of that testimony has not been revealed.
Haggerty's lawyers, according to sources, also are considering adding Bloomberg's top aide, First Deputy Mayor Patti Harris, to their witness list. And they are likely to call Bloomberg's 2009 campaign manager, Bradley Tusk.
Haggerty's attorneys, including former state Attorney General Dennis Vacco, plan to pry open secret discussions about the mayor's strategy to line up the support of City Council members in his bid to overturn term limits.
They also plan to question Bloomberg and Sheekey about the campaign's use of the state Independence Party to funnel money to Haggerty instead of simply channeling the funds through Bloomberg's own political operation.
The DA and defense lawyers have declined to comment on the case, citing the judge's gag order. Bloomberg's office also declined to comment yesterday.
The Haggerty trial is shaping up as one of the strangest and most intriguing in the city's political history. Prosecutors contend Haggerty, a GOP operative from Queens, committed grand larceny by stealing most of the $1.1 million Bloomberg passed to him through the Independence Party for a poll-watching operation on Election Day 2009.
Haggerty contends that he stole nothing and that the mayor never complained that any money was taken illegally.
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