December 19, 2002
CITIGROUP HIRES BUSH AIDE WITH D.C. PULL
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amAs it nears a settlement on charges of conflict of interest by its equity research analysts, Citigroup has hired a high-powered Washington lobbyist for the newly created job of senior...
MORE EYES WATCHING CABLE THAN BROADCAST TV
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amMore than half a century after the first black box sprang to life, cable TV ratings have surged past the fuddy-duddy broadcast channels, the longtime staples of American television. According...
HAMPTONITES FIGHT TO BAR MCMANSIONS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amA large and vocal group of Southampton residents gathered last week at the Village Hall meeting to voice their opinions on proposed size restrictions on home construction in the area....
VIVENDI RAID ALERT: FRENCH PAPER CHASE HITS MORE COMPANY EXECS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amFrench authorities are widening their search for documents related to alleged financial corruption at Vivendi. A week after raiding Vivendi's Paris headquarters and the homes of former chief executive officer...
HERSHEY BUYBACK LOOKS SWEET
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amWHAT does Hershey Foods' management have up its sleeves? The company that makes the famous chocolate Kiss announced last Friday what the pros had been gossiping about for a couple...
EARNINGS WARNINGS DRAG DOW DOWN 88
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amStocks fell for the fourth day of the last five and the Dow Jones industrial average slipped back below the psychologically-important 8,500-point level on poor profit news. It's earnings warning...
BLOCKBUSTER HIT BY DVDS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amShares of Blockbuster Inc. and its parent company were creamed yesterday after the home video rental giant admitted that it cut its year-end profit forecast by 16 percent because discounted...
MIKE'S HONEY POT: DISNEY POOH-BAHS PROBE GOLDMAN IPO $$
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amDisney's board of directors is probing whether Michael Eisner improperly snared shares in Goldman Sachs' initial public offering in 1999. The decision comes just a week after Ford announced that...
BIDDING HITS $2M FOR TIM RUSSERT BOOK
December 19, 2002 | 5:00am"Meet the Press" host Tim Russert ignited a red-hot auction for his memoirs yesterday, attracting advance offers of nearly $2 million. At press time, several major publishers were still said...
PERELMAN BAIL$ OUT REVLON INC.
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amRon Perelman's deep pockets are bailing out beauty giant Revlon, Inc. The billionaire's MacAndrews & Forbes holding company will give up to $150 million to the ailing cosmetics concern to...
FAO FALLS 38% AMID BANKRUPTCY THREAT
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amShares of FAO Inc., parent company to FAO Schwarz, plunged for the second day on concern that the company will be forced to file for bankruptcy protection. The company's shares...
WENDT'S PAY ALL BUT GONE; OPTIONS, PENSION CASUALTIES OF CONSECO BANKRUPTCY
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amGary Wendt, the business world's bad-luck poster boy in both love and job wars, is jinxed again. The 60-year-old financial fixer is losing out on five years of pay over...
ABOUT-FACE FOR GENERAL AT TECH FIRM
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amRichard Secord, embattled chairman of Computerized Thermal Imaging, bought back shares in his company after being subpoenaed by a federal grand jury probing the retired U.S. Air Force general for...
GRACEFUL BUT A BIT OUT OF TUNE
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amTOMMY TUNE: WHITE TIE AND TAILSLittle Shubert Theatre, 422 W. 42nd St. (212) 239-6200. THE brand-new theater, the Little Shubert on West 42nd Street's new Theater Row, is an absolute...
HIS FINEST 'HOUR'
December 19, 2002 | 5:00am25th HOUR 1/2 Spike's best since "Do the Right Thing." Running time: 134 minutes. Rated R (violence, sex, profanity, drugs). At the Empire, the Lincoln Square, the Loews Village. IT'S...
MARK MORRIS CRACKS 'NUT'
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amTHE HARD NUTBAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn. (718) 636-4100. Season runs through Dec. 22. SENDING up one of ballet's sacred cows with style, humor and good...
ABC'S LUCK WASN'T BAD ENOUGH. NOW A STUDIO FIRE MEANS A MUCH-HYPED CELEB REALITY SHOW MAY HAVE TO BE SCRAPPED ; COOKED 'MOLE'?
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amA studio fire in Hollywood has thrown ABC's "Celebrity Mole: Hawaii" into chaos. The offices of Stone Stanley Entertainment, which produces the show, were heavily damaged by water in the...
STARR REPORT
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amMag has 'JAG' star, Graham talking "JAG" star David James Elliott tells the January issue of In Style that he's obsessive-compulsive - and proud of it. "I'm an obsessive-compulsive maniac,"...
AFTER NEARLY 40 YEARS, RUDOLPH STILL RULES
December 19, 2002 | 5:00am'RUDOLPH the Red Nosed Reindeer," one of the oldest holiday specials, still packs a powerful kick The stop-action animated special that has aired on one channel or another every Christmas...
HARSH LIGHT ON SEPTEMBER 12TH LOVE AFFAIR
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amTHE MERCY SEATAt the Acorn Theatre, 410 W. 42nd St. Through Jan. 12. (212) 279-4200. WRITER-director Neil LaBute, an edgy observer of human behavior, tackles another romantic power struggle in...
A JEWISH CHRISTMAS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amIT may not be their holiday, but Jews don't mind celebrating Christmas Eve, too. Next Tuesday night brings a full plate of "Matzoh Ball" parties going on around town for...
NEW YEAR'S PARTY PICKS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amLET the tourists freeze their butts off in Times Square.There's no better place to ring in the New Year than Manhattan, and this year, the city is offering up a...
WHITNEY & MARIAH WEAK
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amTHE winner in the much-anticipated battle of the divas was neither Whitney nor Mariah - but Aaliyah. The over 205,000 copies sold of "Just Whitney" may have been the singer's...
WHAT'S GOT INTO OZZY?
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amIN one of the first scenes in Tuesday's episode of "The Osbournes," you could see that Sharon Osbourne had been crying. No one else in the scene - her son...
'ENOUGH' STAR BUSTED AGAIN
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amCOPS busted former "Eight is Enough" star Adam Rich yesterday after the pint-sized actor drove through a roadside construction site and nearly rammed a California Highway Patrol cruiser, authorities said....
'ANTWONE'-DERFUL: DENZEL'S TRUE-LIFE NAVY TALE A SEE-WORTHY OSCAR CONTENDER
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amANTWONE FISHER ½ Beautifully crafted heart-tugger Running time: 117 minutes. Rated PG-13 (moderate violence, profanity and child abuse). At the Empire, the Beekman, the Union Square. IN his directing debut,...
COPS 'NET S.I. 'SCAMMERS'
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe owner and three employees of a Staten Island company were charged yesterday with scheming to steal millions of dollars in government money earmarked for getting Internet technology into struggling...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amBless me father, I'll have a whiskey and a beer. That's the order you might hear at the Courtyard Pub in the Irish town of Ferns in County Wexford, where...
TRENT LOTT'S LOSING BET
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amSen. Trent Lott took a gamble that appearing on Black Entertainment Television might help restore his image with the black community or the broader public. He lost - and gambled...
CITY BID TO AUDIT MTA ; COMPTROLLER QUESTIONS 'CREDIBILITY' AMID FARE-HIKE TALK
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe battle over a proposed fare hike erupted yesterday after City Comptroller Bill Thompson promised to audit the MTA's books over what he called the state agency's "credibility problem" about...
WEB SITE CASTS WIDE 'NET ON PREYING REVS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amVICTIMS of sex abuse by priests, and their supporters, yesterday launched a Web site identifying 33 local priests accused of molesting kids - and called on the state attorney general...
'TONY SOPRANO' DIVORCES FOR REAL
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThere was another "Sopranos" finale yesterday in a Manhattan courtroom, where a judge whacked James Gandolfini's marriage. "It's over," the tough-guy actor said after Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Judith Gische...
YANKS ARE BX. CHURCH ANGELS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe Yankees went to bat for a Bronx church that was robbed and vandalized three times in a month - donating a vestment and chalice yesterday to bring holiday joy...
'JOGGER 5' RULING TODAY
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe judge presiding over the review of the 1989 Central Park jogger case said he'll issue his ruling today on vacating convictions - weeks earlier than expected. Manhattan Supreme Court...
COP ROOKIES HIT CRIME HOT SPOTS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe NYPD has devised a new strategy it believes will send record-low crime rates dropping even further - by fast-tracking rookies to patrol "hot spot" areas, The Post has learned....
FEDS TURN OFF TEXAS 'TERROR' $$$ SPIGOT
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Five Middle Eastern men who ran a Dallas computer firm with alleged links to the terror group Hamas were busted by the feds yesterday on charges of money...
SERVICE CUTS BEAT MORE TAXES: VOTERS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amALBANY - A majority of voters want to cut state services rather than raise state taxes in order to balance the deficit-plagued New York budget, a new poll yesterday showed....
BIG APPLE'S BIGGEST BUDGET BUSTERS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amSpending on pensions and Medicaid is spiraling to levels that threaten the city's fiscal stability, a top state monitor indicated yesterday. Jeffrey Sommer, director of the state Financial Control Board,...
PREPPY KILLER TO BE FREED ON VALENTINE'S DAY
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amALBANY - Preppy killer Robert Chambers will receive a Valentine's gift from the state - his release from prison. Chambers, finishing a 15-year sentence for the kinky 1986 killing of...
MIKE'S MOST ASH-ININE MOVE, BAR NONE
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amI MUST confess that at City Hall yesterday, I sandbagged an anti-smoking advocate, a decent lady named Joanne Koldare. Ms. Koldare was there when the City Council decreed that from...
NOT A LOTT OF SYMPATHY FROM JEB AND COLIN
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Two Republicans close to President Bush - Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell - yesterday both took swings at embattled Sen. Trent Lott. Republican...
NICE GUY FRIST MAY FINISH FIRST
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amTO many Republicans, inside the White House and elsewhere, the dream now is to get beyond the Trent Lott nightmare and replace him with a healer as Senate leader -...
'NET MD TERROR ALERTS DUE
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amNew York doctors will get Internet alerts about bioterror issues under a program to be announced today by Gov. Pataki. The program, developed by World Medical Leaders - a medical...
W'CHESTER ALSO WANTS L.I. GRIFTER
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amSuspected con artist Roz Williams, wanted by Long Island police for allegedly taking several tony Hamptons restaurants to the (dry) cleaners, is also being sought by Westchester cops for assaulting...
CITY COUNCIL ANTI-SMOKING BILL VOTE
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amBy an overwhelming 42-7 vote, the City Council yesterday handed Mayor Bloomberg the tough anti-smoking bill he wanted after months of intense negotiations and public outcry. Council members proclaimed the...
BUSH SET TO FIRE ON IRAQ REPORT
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The Bush administration is expected to blast Saddam Hussein's weapons declaration as a big lie - but will stop short of declaring immediate war, officials said yesterday. Secretary...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amMANHATTAN Two men assaulted and robbed an MTA bus driver in Inwood and escaped with his watch, wallet and MTA identification, police said yesterday. The incident occurred Tuesday at 11...
FIEND GETS 20-TO-LIFE IN KID SLAY
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amA monster who tortured and bludgeoned his girlfriend's 7-year-old daughter to death was sentenced yesterday to 20 years to life in prison. Jason Lewis, 24, admitted to killing Inez Bennett...
'A' REPORT CARD ; KLEIN DUMPS DOPEY SCHOOL GRADE SYSTEM
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amSchools Chancellor Joel Klein received an old-fashioned "A" yesterday for overhauling the much-maligned school report cards. Klein's office trimmed the report cards from an unwieldy 14 pages to four pages,...
TOWERING STRUGGLE ; DESIGNERS FAIL IN BID TO BUILD BRILLIANCE
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amAFTER yesterday's unveiling of the much-ballyhooed Ground Zero design proposals from seven teams of architects, the people who have a direct financial stake in the site - Larry Silverstein and...
'BARRY BONDS' JUDGE THROWS FANS A $PLIT BALL
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amA San Francisco judge brought King Solomon to the baseball diamond yesterday, ordering two bickering fans to sell a historic home-run ball and split the profits. Superior Court Judge Kevin...
FIRE UNION SUES OVER CUTS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe firefighters' union is suing the FDNY, claiming officials are using 9/11 as an excuse to reduce manpower in more than 50 engine companies. The lawsuit filed by the Uniformed...
THIS BUST'S A DRAG ; HOUSING BIG NAILED BY POST TOOK BRIBE: COPS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amAn ex-Housing Authority bigwig fired for taking extended smoking breaks huffed and puffed his way to a $14,500 bribe before city investigators stubbed him out, officials said yesterday. Robert Swinton,...
STICKY-FINGER FENCE PICKS WRONG GUY
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amA pair of Long Island shoplifters who beat up a saleswoman while robbing clothes were busted by cops when they tried to sell a stolen coat to her boyfriend, police...
PEPSI 'CANS' BRITNEY : BEYONCE TAKES OVERAS SODA SPOKESGIRL
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe pop tart has lost her fizz. Britney Spears was booted yesterday as the star pitchwoman for Pepsi - and replaced by Destiny's Child diva Beyonce Knowles. The soda giant...
LARGE TRIBUTE SPACE AN EARLY FAVE WITH KIN
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amRelatives of Sept. 11 victims showed an early preference for two of the new World Trade Center designs unveiled yesterday: the pair with the greatest area set aside for memorial...
TROOPS READY TO ROLL ; 50,000 GI CALL-UPS DUE AFTER CHRISTMAS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The Pentagon is expected to begin ordering the first phase of massive mobilizations of up to 50,000 troops shortly after the Christmas holidays - in what could be...
FAST-TRACK PROCESS LEAVES JUST WEEKS FOR PUBLIC INPUT
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amDowntown planners are hoping that one or two of the design proposals for Ground Zero emerge as clear public favorites - making it easier for them to narrow their options...
THEATER-CALL BAN GETS OK
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amNoisy cell phones at the movies or Broadway performances got closer to being outlawed last night after the City Council voted 40-9 in favor. "For all of us who've been...
GROUND ZERO ZENITHS ; ARCHITECTS UNVEIL 9 TOWERING NEW VISIONS FOR WTC
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amGround Zero architects unveiled nine new designs yesterday - showing a fascination with tall towers and a common concern for the imperative of memorializing Sept. 11. Big buildings practically sprouted...
MIKE: BUDGET IS CUTTING EDGE
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg gave his administration a pat on the back yesterday for doing more with less, despite massive budget cuts. "If you work harder and you work smarter, you can...
COUNCIL: LET'S BAN MOVIE CALLS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amNoisy cell phones at the movies or Broadway performances got closer to being outlawed last night after the City Council voted 40-9 in favor. "For all of us who've been...
ROOKIES HIT 'HOT SPOTS' IN NYPD PLAN
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe NYPD has devised a new strategy it believes will send record-low crime rates dropping even further - by fast-tracking rookies to patrol "hot spot" areas, The Post has learned....
20-TO-LIFE IN CHILD TORTURE-SLAY
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amA monster who tortured and bludgeoned his girlfriend's 7-year-old daughter to death was sentenced yesterday to 20 years to life in prison. Jason Lewis, 24, admitted to killing Inez Bennett...
RUNNER-UP METS TO GET NAKAMURA
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amTHE Mets failed in a last-ditch effort to lure the top player in Japan, Hideki Matsui, and instead will have to settle for a much-needed but secondary prize, third baseman...
'GODZILLA' BRONX-BOUND: MATSUI & YANKS ON VERGE OF DEAL
December 19, 2002 | 5:00am"Godzilla" in pinstripes. That could happen as soon as today after the Yankees and the agent for Japanese slugger Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui agreed in principle late last night on a...
TIME TO CORNER COLT ; HARRISON TOUGH TEST FOR GIANTS' SECONDARY
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amYou wanted to be a wiseguy, so yesterday you walk up to Will Allen and ask the Giants' second-year cornerback a question after he just finished answering a barrage of...
KNICKS SNIFFIN' AT 8TH SEED
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES It's blasphemy to put playoff hunt and Knicks in the same sentence. But through more than a quarter of the season, the Knicks at 8-14 can still claim...
SPREE LETTING HOUSTON LEAD
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amLatrell Sprewell still hasn't found his shot but he's found a way to fit in, allowing Allan Houston to continue his All-Star caliber season. It's why the Knicks are 7-7...
IT'S DIPIETRO'S TURN IN THE NETS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe season turned to code red yesterday at the Islanders' practice facility in Syosset. Rick DiPietro, recalled from AHL Bridgeport, practiced with the team and was named tonight's starter in...
'PROUD' DAY FOR JOHNSON ; BET MOGUL BECOMES 1ST BLACK OWNER
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amEven when he wasn't speaking, Robert Johnson was beaming, a grin on his face the size of Charlotte. He teased about hiring his 13-year-old son and basketball fanatic, Brett, to...
EX-MATE MARTIN READY FOR MAWAE
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amJET NOTES Former Jets defensive tackle Steve Martin, now playing with the Patriots, said yesterday he hardly was surprised that Jets center Kevin Mawae was the catalyst in last week's...
JETS CAN'T STAND PATS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe Jets remember the sick feeling they had after the Patriots came into their house at their home opener and put a 44-7 shellacking on them back on Sept. 15....
GIANTS KNOW NEXT LOSS LIKELY FATAL
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES When Jim Fassel met yesterday morning with his Giants, he imparted one simple message heading into the week of preparation for Sunday's game against the Colts. "This is...
CHARACTER FLAWS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amWAYNE CHREBET couldn't fly. Neither would any excuse for the inexcusable. So maybe that's why Herman Edwards wants to play as dumb as he had better not be. Given another...
ZEILE SEES BIGGER ROLE
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amTechnically, Todd Zeile is the new Ron Coomer. However, after talking to Joe Torre this past weekend, the veteran infielder received the impression he will get more at-bats than Coomer...
SHAKY LAKERS HIT THE SWAMP
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe record is six games to the south of average. There are suggestions and reports of inside turmoil. The offense was impotent without Shaquille O'Neal and now the defense seems...
NEW MET VOICE: AN EARLY XMAS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amESPN's Dave O'Brien agreed to a three-year contract yesterday to join the Mets' TV booth. As The Post reported last Sunday, O'Brien became the Mets' and MSG's top choice after...
TOUGH TASK FOR COLLINS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amNET NOTES Jason Collins got more than enough of an introduction to Shaquille O'Neal last June during the Finals. And tonight, he'll get a upclose reminder of all the fun...
YANKS COILED TO POUNCE ON CONTRERAS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amSuddenly the Yankees have more options than acquiring Bartolo Colon from the Expos for Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. Late yesterday afternoon, Cuban defector Jose Contreras...
A MAGICAL DAY IN MANY WAYS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amWHILE Robert Johnson was in midtown Manhattan yesterday being formally introduced as the majority owner of the NBA's new Charlotte franchise, Earvin 'Magic' Johnson was in Harlem along with the...
LOU MAY WAIT ON DEVIL DEAL
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amWith the Devils, a frozen roster seems half-redundant. Their forwards have been ice-cold all season. Last night was Lou Lamoriello's last chance to land a goal-scorer or playmaker before the...
RANGERS, YOUNGSTER OK DEAL
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe stunning string of injuries on the blue line that forced the Rangers to sign unemployed veteran journeyman Cory Cross Tuesday also created an opportunity - or is that a...
RANGERS SIGN YOUNG DEFENSEMAN
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amThe stunning string of injuries on the blue line that forced the Rangers to sign unemployed veteran journeyman Cory Cross on Tuesday also created an opportunity - or is that...
YANKS OFFER HIDEKI 3 YEARS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amIf Hideki Matsui's asking price is too high the Yankees are prepared to turn to Cliff Floyd. On the same day the Yankees offered Matsui a three-year deal for about...
AMAZIN'S MATCH BOMBER PROPOSAL
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amTHE Mets have not limited their pursuit of Japanese star players to Norihiro Nakamura. They have also made a three-year offer to Hideki Matsui. While the Mets believe the Yankees...
CURTAIN CALL FOR DUNHAM
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amImagine being Dan Blackburn. One minute, you're a 19-year-old phenom carrying the most expensive hockey team in the world. The next, you're the backup goalie to a guy who barged...
MADDUX WILL STAY; MILLWOOD MAY NOT
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amGREG Maddux will return to the Braves, The Post has learned - a move that could trigger a chain of events that could boost the Yankees' pitching staff or help...
STANTON SAYS HE'D PLUNK ROG
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amAny doubts about Mike Stanton's allegiance were cleared up quickly yesterday at Shea Stadium. Stanton, meeting the media for the first time as a Met, was asked if he would...
SAMPRAS SLATES RETURN TO OPEN
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amPete Sampras will grace Flushing Meadows again. Ending speculation he would retire after shocking the tennis world at the U.S. Open last September, Sampras said he will play another year,...
ANOTHER DREADFUL DEVIL DUD
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amSenators 3Devils 0 Now that it's certifiable, now that the symptoms are undeniable and everyone admits it, GM Lou Lamoriello can't do anything about his Devils' scoring follies for another...
STANTON: YANK SNUB WAS JUST BUSINESS
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amMike Stanton was in Shea Stadium yesterday wearing the Mets' pinstripes and insisting, somewhat unconvincingly, that he's moving on with his life. Just like with Art Howe and Tom Glavine,...
BATTLE FOR MATSUI: YANKS, METS EXTEND OFFERS TO JAPANESE STAR
December 19, 2002 | 5:00amTHE Mets have not limited their pursuit of Japanese star players to Norihiro Nakamura. They have made a three-year offer to that country's most popular player Hideki Matsui. While the...