FOR THE RECORD

FOR THE RECORD

Testimony during the trial of terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui last week helped illuminate a non-answer Police Commissioner Ray Kelly gave when asked on a "60 Minutes" segment broadcast March 19 if he had confidence in American intelligence agencies.

FBI Special Agent Harry Samit told the jury in Mr. Moussaoui's case that his superiors had prevented him from gaining access to the radical fundamentalist's computer despite his having warned them roughly 70 times prior to Sept. 11 that he might be planning to hijack an airplane.

The two FBI officials singled out for special criticism by Mr. Samit are still employed by the bureau, and they and the FBI declined comment on his testimony.

What he said made it clear that Mr. Kelly was not being coy when he sidestepped a question from "60 Minutes" correspondent Ed Bradley about why he was not counting on the FBI or the CIA to warn him about imminent terrorist threats to the city.

Mr. Bradley's piece detailed the extensive efforts taken during the Bloomberg administration to allow the NYPD to do its own intelligence gathering, from the hiring of its own anti-terror experts to the posting of cops overseas in key locations to uncover possible plots that target the city. It noted that those officers have quickly been dispatched to European cities following terrorist attacks to gather information and hunt for clues.

When Mr. Bradley asked Mr. Kelly - who has also given extensive anti-terror training to all cops - whether his taking those steps signified a lack of confidence in Federal intelligence agencies, Mr. Kelly did not directly respond. He merely noted that New York was the only city that had been attacked twice by terrorists (the first time in February 1993 when he was Police Commissioner under Mayor Dinkins) and that he was doing everything he could to ensure that there was not a third time.

Given Mr. Samit's testimony later in the week that Michael Maltbie, a still-active FBI official who used to be one of the ranking men in the bureau's Radical Fundamentalist Unit, prior to 9/11 had ignored a plea by Special Agent Greg Jones to "prevent Zacarias Moussaoui from flying a plane into the World Trade Center," who can blame Mr. Kelly for not trusting others to safeguard the city?

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In response to renewed calls from public-sector unions for Taylor Law reform, the City Council Committee on Civil Service and Labor will be holding a hearing March 30 to examine how the measure has affected city and state workers.

The Taylor Law, which was enacted in 1967, is named after George W. Taylor, who served as the Chairman of Governor Rockefeller's Committee on Public Employee Relations. The law grants organizing rights to public employees, but it also prohibits them from striking.

"The Taylor Law obviously controls so much of our city work force," said Council Labor Chair Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. "We are interested in how it plays a part in negotiations."

Representatives from many of the city's largest public-sector unions are expected to testify. They include: The United Federation of Teachers, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, and Transport Workers' Union Local 100.

The hearing will also discuss some of the ramifications the recent TWU strike will have on other city labor organizations and how the Taylor played a role in that walkout, Mr. Addabbo said. Our condolences to the family of Matt Farrell, former Director of Administrative Services for the City Council, who died suddenly March 24 after complaining of stomach pain as he entered a Queens hospital.

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As this newspaper appeared on the stands March 28, funeral services for him were being held beginning at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph's Church in Garden City, L.I.

Mr. Farrell, who had just recently left the Council to join the lobbying firm of Davidoff and Malito, was remembered by Speaker Christine Quinn as "a dear friend [who had] given me invaluable guidance, advice, love and support."

The nephew of former Uniformed Firefighters' Association President Jimmy Boyle is survived by his wife, Anastasia; his parents, Elizabeth and Matthew; sisters Kelly and Kimberly; and a nephew and two nieces.