Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg acknowledged on Sunday that he concealed the arrest of a deputy mayor, but refused to apologize for his actions.

Speaking outside a church in Brooklyn, the mayor rejected the notion that he had an obligation to tell the public of the arrest, saying, “I always assumed it would come out, but it’s not my responsibility.”

The deputy mayor, Stephen Goldsmith, had been arrested in Washington on July 30 after an altercation with his wife at their home there. Mr. Goldsmith, 64, told the mayor of the arrest, and he resigned a few days later.

This was Mr. Bloomberg’s first remarks on the controversy since it was revealed on Thursday that the mayor had misled the public as to why Mr. Goldsmith resigned; at the time, the mayor had said only that Mr. Goldsmith was “leaving to pursue private-sector opportunities in infrastructure finance.”

Mr. Bloomberg said once Mr. Goldsmith told him of the arrest, he knew that the deputy mayor must resign. But he added that he felt no need to further embarrass the family by making the arrest public.

“The obligation I have as an employer is to treat all my employees with respect,” Mr. Bloomberg said.

Mr. Goldsmith was charged with simple assault domestic violence; prosecutors were not pursuing the case because his wife had wanted the charges dropped.

Under New York City law, the city’s Department of Investigation must be notified whenever a city official is arrested in New York; in this case, Mayor Bloomberg was not required to do so because Mr. Goldsmith was arrested in Washington.

Mr. Bloomberg first read from a statement, and then took questions from reporters, answering them calmly. When asked about criticism from elected officials, including Bill de Blasio, the city’s public advocate who accused the mayor of lying, the mayor brushed it off, denying that he misled the public.

(Source: NY Times)