Mayor Michael Bloomberg made a personal appeal for the federal government to pick up the tab for the September 11th trial, which he says will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

In a letter sent to federal budget officials, senators, congressmen and Attorney General Eric Holder, Bloomberg says New York will do what it has to in order to secure the trial and the suspects while they're detained in the city.

He says the costs could amount to $216 million for the first year of the trial alone and hundreds of millions more if the proceedings drag on.

The mayor adds that the city's financial and police resources are not infinite.

"I don't want to be in a situation where I have to take security away from other parts of this city," said the mayor. "We only have so much money, and we only have so many police. We can only afford so many police."

It is not yet known when the alleged mastermind of the terror attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, above, and four other suspects will be transferred to the city from Guantanamo Bay.

So far, a trial date has not been set.