Is The City Using 9/11 Recovery Money To Fight First Responder Claims?

If true*, then this seems sort of mean spirited:

The city is using a big slice of the $1 billion it got from the feds post-9/11 to fight first responders who claim they got sick on the site, a lawyer who is suing the city charged yesterday.

David Worby, who is waging a suit on behalf of 8,000 WTC responders and their survivors, said $20 million has been “spent on city lawyers to deny the claims of cops, firefighters and others who were sickened.”

“That money should be used to help these people,” he said. “Take $100 million from the billion, Mr. Mayor, and set up a proper registry” to monitor the health of those who toiled at Ground Zero.

There was no immediate response to Worby’s accusation from Mayor Bloomberg, but the city contends it is allowed to tap funds from the World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company to defend itself against claims. The federally funded entity was set up after the 9/11 attacks because no commercial insurance company would take on the risk.

Bloomberg promised to look into whether the city stiffed its 9/11 heroes after being prodded to do so by hard-hitting Daily News editorials that described the plight of 12,000 ailing Ground Zero workers.

*Can this possibly be true?