NY chief: 9/11 trials' security cost high

NEW YORK, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Security costs for the trial of the alleged mastermind of the 2001 terror attacks likely will top an estimated $75 million, New York's police chief said.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said he is seeking federal aid to pay for providing extra security during the trials of accused Sept. 11, 2001, mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his four co-defendants, USA Today reported Wednesday.

"We certainly can't do it alone," Kelly said of underwriting additional security he says will cost "way beyond" the $75 million Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., estimated during a Senate hearing in November.

"Commissioner Kelly is right to be concerned," Ed Kowalski, a director for the 9/11 Families for a Secure America Foundation, told USA Today. "The security issue is absolutely huge."

"New York should not bear the burden of the costs associated with this case alone," said U.S. Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd, adding that the department was working with the New York Police Department, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others.

Kelly said he had nothing specific that terrorists would strike during the as-yet unscheduled trials, USA Today said. However, "it is our operating assumption that the threat will go up," he said. "I think it is fair to say that an event contemporaneous to the trials would be a goal (of) the terrorists."