STEPHANIE GASKELL
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said Tuesday he would give families of uniformed workers killed at the World Trade Center $100 million within 60 days if he can take control of a charity designed to aid victims of the attack.

The widows of about 20 police officers had threatened legal action to stop the transfer of control of the $160 million fund from the city to a private charity managed by Giuliani. Their lawyer said Tuesday they would now drop their plans to sue.

The Twin Towers Fund was created by Giuliani while he was mayor for families of police officers, firefighters and other public employees killed Sept. 11.

Each of the 400 families has already received an average $124,000 from the fund. Giuliani said Tuesday he would quickly distribute an average of $250,000 more if given control of the fund.

``Every single penny that comes to us from the city will go directly to them,'' he told the NY1 cable television news station Tuesday.

Ed Hayes, a lawyer who represents about 20 of the 23 families of New York Police Department officers killed in the attack, said he was happy with the proposal.

But some critics say they fear a shift of the money into a private fund would cause delays in payments to victims, lessen oversight and threaten recipients' privacy. Some also criticize the proposed pay scale for fund administrators, with several getting six-figure salaries.

Kevin Gallagher, the president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, said the union would meet later this week to discuss the issue.

``We feel that the funds should be gotten to the families as soon as possible but disagree with ... the large sums of overhead expenditure previously disclosed,'' he said in a statement.

Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he had no problem with Giuliani overseeing the fund: ``Giuliani does, did and will care about the widows and children left behind.''

State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who must approve the transfer of control of the fund, has said he'll insist on audits and other safeguards before Giuliani can take over.

Giuliani aides have indicated that the former mayor supports such safeguards.

Spitzer did not immediately return a telephone message left at his office Tuesday.