NEW YORK — The mystery figure lurking in the shadows of Sean "Puffy" Combs' bribery and weapons trial was thrust into the light Wednesday, with potentially devastating consequences for the rap mogul.

Matthew "Scar" Allen, the Brooklyn felon who instigated the 1999 nightclub fight that led to Combs' arrest, was nabbed early Wednesday morning in Maryland. Allen had earlier agreed to testify but fled before he could be called to the stand.

As the defense reeled from the news that Allen was found and will testify against Combs, the prosecution dropped even more bombshells. According to court papers unsealed Wednesday, Allen, who was standing just inches from Combs inside of Club New York on Dec. 27, 1999, will not only testify that the music executive fired a gun during the argument but he will also claim Combs tried to bribe him, his brothers and his gravely ill mother to keep quiet.

"I was ... informed of several attempts by Mr. Combs personally to pay for their silence," prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos stated in a letter released Wednesday.

The stunning allegations come at the close of the prosecution's three-week long case against Combs. The head of Bad Boy Entertainment, who faces 15 years in prison, is accused of carrying a 9mm handgun during the nightclub brawl and subsequent police chase, and then offering his chauffeur $50,000 to take the rap.

Combs left court Wednesday afternoon without commenting, perhaps not wanting to get another dressing down from Bogdanos, who earlier in the day chastised Combs for speaking to the press. The prosecutor charged that Combs violated the trial's gag order Friday when he stood in front of the microphones on the courthouse steps and called his former chauffeur, key state witness Wardel Fenderson, a liar.

Bogdanos rested his case Wednesday, but said he plans to reopen it and call Allen next week after the defense rests. Witness after prosecution witness has testified about the altercation between Combs and a man they referred to as "Scar," but it was unclear until Wednesday whether jurors would ever come face to face with him.

The defense is certain to attack Allen's credibility. Not only was he a fugitive, but he was previously convicted of gun possession, and was facing weapons and domestic violence charges in January when he gave prosecutors a jailhouse interview about the nightclub shooting.

In that statement, he describes going to the Times Square disco that night. The prosecution claims he was in the company of his brothers, James and Steven, when the fight with Combs began.

"I was standing at the bar with some of my friends drinking champagne and Puffy's crew was leaving," he wrote. He said Combs' entourage jostled him, knocking over his glass. He turned and shoved Combs, and the two screamed at each other. As the arguing continued, he said, someone at the bar "threw money at Puffy. It was a lot of money and it came down like snow."

He said Combs' co-defendant Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, who faces 25 years in prison on attempted murder charges, began firing a gun.

"At that point, Puffy had a gun in his right hand as I was running out ... The reason I know both Shyne and Puffy fired is because I saw the fire coming out of their guns," he said.

If he testifies as expected, Allen would be the fourth prosecution witness to put a gun in Combs' hand the night of the shooting. Two gunshot victims, Natania Reuben and Julius Jones, said they saw him point a gun during the fight and Fenderson said his boss tucked a gun in his waistband before going to the club. Another patron, Tarnisha Smith, said she saw him with a gun, but her testimony crumbled on cross-examination.

According to a detective who testified Wednesday, investigators knew from the start that Allen could be an important witness. However, New York City Police Detective Arthur Caddigan said, they were unable to find him.

As police were looking for him, the prosecution claims, Combs was also keeping on eye on Allen. According to the minutes from a closed door meeting the opening day of the trial, Bogdanos told Judge Charles Solomon and the defense lawyers that Allen was accusing Combs of bribery.

According to the prosecutor, Combs approached Allen at a party sometime after the shooting. When Allen asked why Combs had shot at him, the prosecutor said, Combs hinted at a payoff and told Allen to contact his associates for more information. On several other occasions, Combs bumped into Allen and again urged him to call certain associates. When Allen didn't, Combs sent an emissary, the prosecutor said. Allen never accepted any money, he added.

It wasn't until this January, a year after the shooting, that police got a chance to ask him about the Club New York incident. While jailed on weapons charges in Brooklyn, Allen gave a statement and said he would testify. A few days later though, he made bail and disappeared.

While he was on the run, his mother and brothers were frequently questioned about his whereabouts. And their experiences during that month are shaping up to be a contentious issue in the days to come.

Allen family attorney Paul Testaverde charged in papers released Wednesday that the police officers violated the family's civil rights by "repeated invasions of their home to harass, intimidate and curse at my clients, without cause or justification."

But Bogdanos has rejected those accounts, saying he is on good terms with the family and their fear is largely a product of the defendants efforts, not the prosecution's.

"Their greatest concern was retaliation by Mr. Combs and those surrounding him against their mother, Shirley Allen," he wrote. According to statements by the Allen's family attorney, Shirley Allen "has extreme alcohol addiction problems" and suffers from asthma and high blood pressure. He described her as near a nervous breakdown from pressure brought on by the case.

Combs' defense team is to open its case Thursday morning.