Bloomberg Is Unlikely to Testify in Fraud Trial, Judge Says

The mayor had been subpoenaed by a lawyer for Mark Mazer, the lead defendant in what prosecutors have called “a massive and elaborate scheme” to defraud New York City through an automated payroll project called CityTime, which they said involved more than $ 600 million in city money and more than $ 40 million in kickbacks.

The city had sought to quash the subpoena, arguing that the mayor’s role with respect to CityTime “has little, if anything, to do with the charges at issue in this case.” Compelling the sitting mayor to testify, the city argued, “will simply divert attention from the real issues and risk turning the mayor’s appearance at trial into a sideshow.”

On Tuesday, Judge George B. Daniels of Federal District Court made it clear he was not yet persuaded that Mr. Bloomberg’s testimony was relevant or necessary.

“Don’t expect him to be here unless I say so, and I’m not aware of anything that would make me say so at this point,” Judge Daniels said.

The judge said Mr. Mazer’s lawyer would have to submit a “convincing” letter showing that Mr. Bloomberg had relevant and admissible testimony.

“I am confident that I can put before you compelling reasons with competent evidence,” the lawyer, Gerald L. Shargel, responded.

It is rare but not unheard of for a New York City mayor to testify in a criminal trial. In 2011, Mr. Bloomberg testified for the prosecution in the trial of John F. Haggerty Jr., a Republican political consultant who was convicted of stealing money that the mayor had contributed to the Independence Party in 2009.

Mr. Mazer and two co-defendants are scheduled for trial on Oct. 15. In court papers, a city lawyer, Richard J. Costa, said Mr. Shargel had declined to provide a statement about the relevance of the testimony that he was seeking.

Mr. Shargel had said only that Mayor Bloomberg had made certain public statements about the cost of CityTime, the fact it worked, the anticipated savings it would bring, and that he had defended the project, Mr. Costa wrote.

In asking that the mayor not be compelled to testify, Mr. Costa added that any testimony Mr. Bloomberg gave would not be based on personal knowledge but rather upon material that he had read or been briefed about. Mr. Shargel declined to comment after the proceeding.

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