By Ben Fractenberg and Nicole Bode
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — Michael Bloomberg took the stand Monday to testify against a former aide accused of stealing more than $1 million from him under the guise of providing ballot security during the mayor's campaign for a third term.
John Haggerty is charged with grand larceny, money laundering and falsifying records after allegedly taking $1.1 million that Bloomberg donated to the Independence Party for providing ballot security at 1,300 poll sites — then failing to carry out the task, prosecutors said.
Bloomberg has come under fire as part of the trial as Haggerty's defense lawyer tried to turn the case into an examination of his alleged practices of personally donating money to political parties and then directing that they be used toward his own political campaign.
On the stand Monday, Bloomberg testified that he made a $100,000 donation to Independence Party as a general contribution and $1.1 million for ballot security.
He added that said Haggerty had provided the same service in 2005 for same amount of money, and added that he never would have given that "magnitude of a donation" if it wasn't going for ballot security.
"He was supposedly an expert in the minutia of elections," Bloomberg testified under questioning by defense attorney Raymond Castello. He added that he met Haggerty in either 2001 or 2005, and that Haggerty worked as volunteer in the 2005 campaign.
"My understanding was that he knew more about it [ballot security] than the rest of us," Bloomberg said.
"He [Haggerty] just took the money for his personal gain, that's my understanding," he added.
Bloomberg was ushered into the court with maximum security Monday morning, being driven into the court through a Department of Correction back entrance in a car with heavily tinted windows, and then being taken into the courtroom through a back entrance, rather than the public hallway.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said via email Monday that "the NYPD provides security for the Mayor but does not discuss its logistics." The Department of Correction said there was no delay in producing inmates for court Monday as a result of Bloomberg using the back entrance.
Bloomberg said his understanding of ballot security was to provide "somebody in every polling station in the city," to help people "get through the bureaucracy" and "exercise their vote."
Critics have called ballot security a way of suppressing votes, particularly when it came to Bloomberg's contentious third term, which had to get a special waiver from the City Council to be exempt from the city charter's two-term limit.
"On balance, we're very happy with the results this morning," said Haggerty attorney Dennis Vacco, who said he was surprised by how many details the billionaire mayor said he couldn't remember or didn't know.
"For a guy who spends $105 million to run for re-election - the amount he's spending on the campaign - you would think that he would be a little bit more familiar with the laws of the State of New York and the city," he said.
Bloomberg's former and current deputy mayors testified last week, defending his decision to donate to the campaign and saying he did nothing wrong.
A spokesman for the mayor also hit back at Haggerty's defense team previously, saying they're trying to turn the blame onto someone else.
"The [DA] has said the Mayor did not break any law ... the evidence will show [Haggerty] stole money from Mayor Bloomberg through outright lies," said mayoral spokesman Jason Post.
"Mr. Haggerty and his legal team are prepared to say anything to avoid prison," he added.
After the mayor was excused, Allison Jaffin, who spent years at City Hall and now works for Bloomberg Philanthropies, was called to testify.
Again, Castello tried to paint a picture of a City Hall where public and private interests blur and huge sums of money pass through hands with little oversight.
Catsello grilled Jaffin about a breakdown of the $1.1 million-dollar budget prepared by Haggerty at the end of October 2009, which included $138,000 for 230 drivers, $25,000 for another 220 cars rentals, and for $474,000 for 1,355 poll watchers to ensure “there was no funny business going on.”
Jaffin testified that all of the expenses seemed legitimate to her at he time and that she was relying on Haggerty to know what was needed.
“It did not strike me as fiction… I thought it was very close [to what the actual costs would be],” she said.
Tuesday is expected to be yet another heated day, with testimony from Haggerty's alleged mistress, Fiona Reid, who also happened to be a key player on Bloomberg’s reelection campaign.
Prosecutors intend to argue that Haggerty romanced Reid, whom they described as “the campaign’s chief financial officer,” so he’d have a better shot at getting at Bloomberg’s money.
Haggerty’s lawyers had attempted to block the proceedings to the press, arguing that Reid’s relationship with Haggerty was “totally irrelevant” and that jurors could wind up hearing about his alleged indiscretions, even if the judge decided to keep the affair hidden to the jury.
Michael Ambrecht, a lawyer for Haggerty’s wife, Noreen Healey, also tried to keep Reid out of the spotlight, arguing that allowing her to speak publicly would be “extremely hurtful” to his client.
The judge ruled that the relationship between the two is fair game, but said he will wait until Tuesday to decide whether to reveal that Haggerty was married at the time.
