September 28, 2004

WOMEN LEARNED TO SUFFER SLEAZY SIDE OF WALL STREET

VICKY remembers her early days on the trading desk of a major Wall Street firm. "One of the first times I walked into the firm, one of the top guys...

CBRE WINS 2-WAY 7 WTC RACE

GROUND Zero leaseholder Larry Silverstein has chosen CB Richard Ellis over Cushman & Wakefield to find tenants for 7 World Trade Center, bringing to end a heated campaign to win...

RAINES COVERS HIS FANNIE

Embattled Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines continued to work to save his job yesterday as directors of the huge financial company promised Federal regulators he and other top brass will...

TOMMY IN TROUBLE; ALLEGED TAX DODGE STALLS DESIGNER'S COMEBACK PLANS

Struggling apparel giant Tommy Hilfiger can add one more problem to its growing list: a criminal investigation that could dramatically reshape the company and the apparel industry as a whole....

RISE SALLIE, RISE - KRAWCHECK, CITI CFO, IS NOW QUEEN OF THE STREET

Sallie Krawcheck's star got brighter yesterday when she was named chief financial officer and head of strategy at mammoth Citigroup, making her by far the most powerful woman on Wall...

IF CHECK IS IN THE MAIL, $$ BETTER BE IN THE BANK

Say goodbye to writing a check a day or two before you actually deposit the money to cover it. A new law taking effect just before Halloween to speed paper...

FRAUD ABROAD TACTIC TEMPTS

Tommy Hilfiger may not be the only company to find itself on the hot seat over the potential to use foreign buying offices to improperly shift income overseas and, thereby,...

JUST CALL HIM KIM JONG REEL

DON'T be surprised if Kim Jong Il is first in line to see "Team America." The brutal North Korean strongman is said to be so obsessed with movies that in...

YANKEE-BOSOX SERIES A HIT

THE Bronx Bombers may have dropped two out of three in Boston last weekend, but the ratings were a homerun for the YES Network. The three games were seen in...

GIRL CRAZY - DID DONALD DO STACIE J WRONG?

WHEN Donald Trump fired loose-cannon Stacie J on last week's episode of "The Apprentice," he may have violated a federal law that forbids employers from getting rid of employees just...

PUPPET REGIME - SOUTH PARK DUO ON TERROR FLICK OUTRAGE: 'IT'S JUST A JOKE'

THEY'VE cast Saddam Hussein as Satan's gay lover and spoofed Mel Gibson with "The Passion of the Jew." So why are the cheeky creators of "South Park" surprised at the...

DUBYA DOES DA DR. PHIL SHOW

PRESIDENT Bush will visit "Dr. Phil" tomorrow to talk about raising his twin daughters. The president and first lady Laura Bush pre-taped their interview with "Dr. Phil" McGraw several weeks...

STARR REPORT

'Idea' guy extended CNBC has given a 26-week pickup to "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch," hosted by the advertising exec (Deutsch, Inc.) whose ratings merited the exten sion. Numbers...

WATCH MY 'WIFE,' PLEASE

" WIFE SWAP" Tomorrow night at 10 on ABC/Ch. 7 * * * ½ (three and one half stars) ONE of the very best new reality series this season is...

EXPRESS CHECK-IN: GOSSIP, CHATTER AND ALL THE NEWS YOU'LL USE

FOLLOW THAT STAR DENNIS Quaid's new adventure flick, "Flight of the Phoenix," shot on location in Namibia, opens this fall, reports NYPT's Gretchen Kelly. While shooting, Dennis and his wife...

WILD WEST SIDE; COPS KILL DERRINGER THUG IN CHELSEA

Police shot and killed a bike messenger on a busy Manhattan intersection yesterday after the man refused to drop his gun - an antique-style derringer that cops said was still...

TEACHER REPAIRS BROKEN DREAMS

It was 11 years ago that Robert Lubell's technical-college students refurbished a broken-down computer for a classmate who couldn't afford one for his autistic son - a project that inspired...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Walter Breuning has taken up smoking cigars again - and couldn't give a hoot about health warnings. That's because the retired railroad worker from Great Falls, Mont., just turned 108....

MY KID WAS FRAMED, SAYS PELOSI'S MA

Danny Pelosi's mom says she believes the Long Island contractor was framed for the murder of millionaire Ted Ammon - and questioned why Ammon's sophisticated wife would want to take...

PREPARE FOR LIFTOFF ; VIRGIN PLANS PASSENGER FLIGHTS TO SPACE

Space is no longer the final frontier for the average Joe. Business tycoon Richard Branson said yesterday he's launching the world's first passenger service to space in 2007. It will...

GOP SUES TO CHASE $OROS AWAY

ALBANY - Albany County Republicans are suing to stop a drug-law reform group bankrolled by billionaire George Soros from pouring more money into the campaign of a local Democratic candidate...

SPECTOR HITS 'HITLER' ACCUSERS

LOS ANGELES - Legendary music producer Phil Spector pleaded not guilty yesterday to murdering a B-movie queen - then blasted prosecutors for being unjust and demanded the same treatment as...

DAN'S RATINGS IN A FREE FALL

Dan Rather's ratings in New York continue to tank in the wake of the fake-documents scandal. The "CBS Evening News" averaged 160,000 viewers last week on WCBS/Channel 2 - down...

THEY CALL HIM FLIPPER ; PREZ HITS KERRY ON SWITCHES

WASHINGTON - Keeping up the pressure on John Kerry days before the first presidential debate, President Bush yesterday rolled out a new ad blasting his rival for shifting positions on...

BRONX 4TH-GRADERS STRIP-SEARCHED: SUIT

The mothers of four young schoolboys yesterday filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit - saying their kids were strip-searched by an aide at their Bronx school. The mothers say the aide,...

ISRAEL WARNS SYRIA ABOUT TERROR THUGS

JERUSALEM - Israel yesterday warned Syria that it could face pre-emptive strikes against militants on its territory, and accused its northern neighbor of "directing terrorism." The day after a Hamas...

TRIBUTE FOR FERRY NICE GUY

The first Staten Island Ferry named after a living person - Guy V. Molinari - made its debut yesterday in a ceremony at the St. George ferry terminal featuring the...

MTA TO ALBANY: $END HELP

The MTA could face skyrocketing deficits topping $3.5 billion in the next seven years if the state fails to help it fund its five-year capital program aimed at improving the...

REALITY IN IRAQ; CRITICS REFUSE TO SEE THE POLITICAL PROGRESS

JOHN Kerry has taken a new tack on Iraq. He accuses the president and Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi of refusing to face "reality" because they express an upbeat...

CNN'S MAN KIDNAPPED

An Arab-Israeli television producer for CNN was abducted at gunpoint by a group of Palestinians yesterday after being pulled from a network van in Gaza City. The gunmen, brandishing AK-47s...

SAMARITAN SUICIDE SHOCK

Residents in the Hunts Point section of The Bronx were stunned yesterday to learn that the generous good Samaritan who had always helped his neighbors in need had apparently committed...

FEDS TARGET QAEDA PLOTS VS. ELECTION

WASHINGTON - The FBI is spearheading a massive new nationwide offensive to disrupt plans by al Qaeda to launch a spectacular attack on the United States this fall to disrupt...

TWIN POLLS PUT DUBYA ATOP RIVAL

WASHINGTON -Heading into the first presidential debate, President Bush holds a 6- to 8-point lead in polls, and bests rival John Kerry on several critical issues, including Iraq, terrorism and...

KEEP JOHN'S KILLER IN JAIL: YOKO

ALBANY - Yoko Ono is pleading with state officials to keep John Lennon's killer behind bars, just days before his parole hearing. Ono, Lennon's widow, wrote the parole board saying...

HEALTH-INSURE MEASURE URGED

Companies in five major industries would have to provide health insurance for their employees under a far-reaching bill being introduced today at the City Council. "We're pushing the envelope here,"...

SLAY RAPS FOR DWI-CRASH DRIVER

Nassau cops yesterday charged an alleged drunken driver with four counts of second-degree manslaughter over a fiery Long Island car crash that killed four teens. Nassau County DA Denis Dillon...

OIL-FOR-FOOD PROBERS EYE FRENCH BANK

WASHINGTON -The prestigious French bank that handled transactions for the United Nations' scandal-scarred Iraq oil-for-food program is under investigation for allowing Saddam Hussein to launder money, it was revealed yesterday....

QUACK VICTIMS WANT $100M SLICE

Several women who claim their lives were ruined by a disgraced plastic surgeon have filed a $100 million suit against New York state, charging officials knew the deadly doctor was...

ALBANY EASES GYMS' 'HEART' TIME

ALBANY - A new law will require large health clubs to purchase heart defibrillators, but gives the gyms six months to comply. Under the law, gyms with 500 or more...

GAULING NEW REMARKS ON IRAQ

WASHINGTON - The French foreign minister yesterday revived France's bitter feud with the United States over Iraq - calling for negotiations with Ba'athist terrorists and declaring that a U.S. troop...

SPRAWL TO PIECES - MORE ILLNESS IN SUBURBS THAN CITIES

Living outside the city in the sprawling suburbs - where suburbanites walk mainly to get to their cars - could make you sick. Residents of spread-out 'burbs are likelier to...

COPS 'WIN' IN WTC BRAWL

Cops won a legal battle against firefighters yesterday in the Finest vs. Bravest brawl that occurred near Ground Zero three years ago. Manhattan federal Judge Richard Holwell said the NYPD...

PLANNERS PROPOSE STAGE PRODUCTION FOR W. SIDE

The Great White Way could go west under a proposal to develop new theaters along 42nd Street, between 10th Avenue and the Hudson River. City planners are looking at the...

GIFF EYES FAST GENTILE PROBE

The sexual harassment charges against City Councilman Vincent Gentile will be investigated fully and quickly, Council Speaker Gifford Miller said yesterday. "I think we have a very strong anti-harassment policy...

DNA TIES FIEND TO KID'S RAPE: DA

DNA has linked a parolee to the heinous 2003 rape of a 9-year-old Harlem girl, prosecutors said yesterday. The tall, lanky suspect, Ernest Jones, 27, pleaded not guilty to the...

AIRPORT ROBBER GRABS 6G AND FLIES

A gunman slipped into the JetBlue Terminal at JFK Airport early yesterday, tied up a restaurant employee in a "money room" and made off with about $6,000 from a safe,...

PENN STATION CHAOS :RUSH-HOUR BLAZE SNARLS EVENING COMMUTE

A transformer fire in an East River rail tunnel closed down Penn Station for hours yesterday and turned the evening rush hour into chaos for thousands of commuters. The blaze,...

PJ-TOT TRAGEDY; KILLED ON ROAD AFTERWANDERING FROM HOME

A pajama-clad toddler slipped out the door of her sitter's home yesterday and walked to a busy New Jersey highway, where she was struck by a car and killed, cops...

NBC YA LATER, JAY ; LENO TO LEAVE, MAKE WAY FOR CONAN

Jay it ain't so! Jay Leno is poised to give up his late-night TV crown in favor of Conan O'Brien, who'll become only the fifth host in the 50-year history...

GUNMAN'S GAMBLE - COPS KILL 'DUD' PISTOL PACKER

Police shot and killed a bike messenger at a busy Manhattan intersection yesterday after the man refused to drop his gun - an antique-style derringer that was probably inoperable. Boangeres...

'SORRY' GROUND ZERO GHOUL JAILED

Ground Zero's notorious "Fire Ghoul" apologized in court yesterday for swiping employee badges from the ashes, robbing two families of their loved ones' only remains. But a Manhattan judge threw...

MOB 'KILLERS' UNSPRUNG

A federal judge has backed down on his decision to free two accused mob killers whose racketeering murder convictions were tossed in a stunning appeals court decision. Brooklyn Judge Leo...

COUNCILMEN WANT KID CURFEW

City streets could become an adults-only zone late at night if two Big Apple lawmakers have their way. City Councilmen Dennis Gallagher (R-Queens) and James Oddo (R-S.I.) plan to introduce...

DAD'S STOLEN KISSES ; VISITS KIDNAPPED GIRL

She hadn't seen her father in a year and a half, but little Charlotte recognized him instantly: "Papa!" David Washington - the New York man who's been waging an international...

GRANDMA, BABY HURT IN FIRE

A woman and her infant grandson were seriously injured yesterday when fire roared through their Brooklyn apartment. Cops said the blaze broke out shortly before 2 p.m. in the top-floor...

TEEN RUNAWAY SAFE; TROUBLED BREANNE BACK WITH FAMILY

Breanne Greig, the troubled upstate teen who ran away from home to spend time with men she met on a telephone sex-chat line, was reunited with her family yesterday after...

'MOLL' ISN'T RAPPIN' ; CLAMS UP ON STAND

Testimony in the "Freaky Zeeky" trial got off to a creaky start in Manhattan yesterday when the first witness - the young girlfriend of one of the accused gunmen -...

WRITER SCRIPTS $5M SUIT OVER J. LO FLICK

A Brooklyn screenwriter has a message for Sony Pictures: Enough already! Allyson Turner yesterday slapped Sony with a $5 million copyright-infringement suit in Manhattan federal court for allegedly lifting elements...

SLAY RAP FOR CHAKA'S SON

LOS ANGELES - Cops busted the son of R&B icon Chaka Khan for allegedly killing a 17-year-old boy during a weekend argument, officials said yesterday. Damien Patrick Holland, 25, was...

MAWAE STREAK IN JEOPARDY ; MAY MISS FISH DUE TO HAND INJURY

If you don't think Kevin Mawae's ironman streak is important to him, go ask him about it. The Jets center, who has started 157 consecutive NFL games dating back to...

ELECTRIC FIRE SPARKS PENN STATION CHAOS

A transformer fire in an East River rail tunnel closed down Penn Station for hours yesterday and turned the evening rush hour into chaos for thousands of commuters. The blaze,...

FURY AT WAKE OF SLAIN TOT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A simmering family feud broke wide open at the wake of a Harlem boy last night when the tot's paternal grandmother started screaming at the woman...

SOCIAL-PROMOTION BAN OK'D FOR KIDS IN 5TH

The city's Panel for Education Policy yesterday approved Mayor Bloomberg's plan to end social promotion for fifth-graders. The vote, 12 to 0 with one abstention, failed to generate the kind...

PJ-TOT TRAGEDY ; KILLED ON ROAD AFTER WANDERING FROM HOME

A pajama-clad toddler slipped out the door of her sitter's home early yesterday morning and wandered unnoticed to a busy New Jersey highway, where she was fatally struck by a...

MTA'S PLEA TO ALBANY POLS: $END US HELP

The MTA could face skyrocketing deficits topping $3.5 billion in the next seven years if the state fails to help it fund its five-year capital program aimed at improving the...

HI-TECH TRACKDOWN ; SUV'S ONSTAR DEVICE BAGS SLAY SUSPECT

Staten Island cops used a satellite tracking device to nab a man setting fire to an SUV - after he might have killed its owner, authorities said. Stephen Fox, 38,...

TEEN RUNAWAY SAFE ; TROUBLED BREANNE BACK WITH FAMILY

Breanne Greig, the troubled upstate teen who ran away from home to spend time with men she met on a telephone sex-chat line, was reunited with her family yesterday after...

THEY CALL HIM FLIPPER ; KERRY IS DEBATING SELF: PREZ

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday continued his assault on John Kerry as someone who flip-flops on the issues, saying the Massachusetts senator "could probably spend 90 minutes debating himself." The...

'MOLL' ISN'T RAPPIN' ; ZEEKY WITNESS MUM

The trial of a Brooklyn man accused of shooting and robbing rapper Freaky Zeeky got under way yesterday - but the prosecution's lead witness developed "amnesia" on the stand. "I...

HAMMER HORROR; MOM OF 3 KIDSBASHED BY BEAU IN B'KLYN: COPS

A Brooklyn mom of three was clinging to life yesterday after being struck in the head with a hammer by her boyfriend, police said. Angela Hunt, a 34-year-old ex-model from...

SUBWAY VICTIM'S DREAMS

The man mysteriously killed on a subway train Sunday had hoped some day to reunite with his family in Mexico, his brother said yesterday. "It was his dream to go...

NBC YA LATER, JAY; LENO TO LEAVE, MAKE WAY FOR CONAN

Jay it ain't so! Jay Leno is poised to give up his late-night TV crown in favor of Conan O'Brien, who'll become only the fifth host in the 50-year history...

YOKO'S PLEA TO PAROLE BOARD

ALBANY - Yoko Ono is pleading with state officials to keep John Lennon's killer behind bars, just days before his parole hearing. Ono, Lennon's widow, wrote the parole board, saying...

'APT. CON MAN HAD 2ND SCAM'

Authorities are investigating complaints that the Long Island man charged yesterday with ripping off apartment-seekers also may have run a bogus flier service, The Post has learned. Three New York...

CLASSROOM EXTRA: CELEBRATE THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Classroom Extra continues its salute to Hispanic Heritage Month with a look at the history and culture of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is located on the island of...

DAD'S STOLEN KISSES: VISITS KIDNAPPED GIRL

She hadn't seen her father in a year and a half, but little Charlotte recognized him instantly: "Papa!" David Washington - the New York man who's been waging an international...

THE RIDE STUFF

Memo to Miss America: The race to represent the world's most famous transit system is no mere beauty contest. On the contrary, representing the subways these days requires poise, intelligence...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

STATEN ISLAND *** A Staten Island rug installer was brutally murdered Sunday night, but cops caught a man setting fire to the victim's car by tracking its location through the...

DRIVE BEGINS TO GET GUARD UP

The Army National Guard next month is kicking off an advertising campaign aimed at recruiting 5,000 more soldiers than it was able to attract in the 2004 fiscal year. The...

PAUL SCHWARTZ' GIANT REPORT CARD: WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?

QUARTERBACKS Just wait until he's completely in grained in the offense. For now, Kurt Warner (19 of 27, 286 yards) was cool and accurate and showed great touch on deep...

TRANSFER SURPRISES KEARNEY

James Kearney has been the coach for 34 years at August Martin and acknowledges that his days of contending for a PSAL championship are probably over. "We don't really compete...

ROBINSON: I WANT TO STAY A DEVIL

Acknowledging that he'd be subbing for Pat Burns as interim coach, Larry Robinson yesterday said he prefers remaining with the Devils even as a consultant than being head coach anywhere...

LINE OF CREDIT ; FRONT FIVE MAKING LIFE EASY FOR JINTS

Not long after the Giants had finished up their most thorough performance of the season, disposing of the Browns with ease on Sunday, Chris Snee turned to his wife, Katie,...

CALF DOUBT PUTS STRAIN ON DAYNE

GIANT NOTES This was a strange one. Ron Dayne practiced all week despite a strained left calf, but on Saturday night he was awakened by a throbbing in the calf....

MEL MULLS '05 RETURN

YANKEE NOTES It's that time of year when Mel Stottlemyre is asked what his plans are for next season. In his ninth year with the Yankees, the highly-respected pitching coach...

PINIELLA PURSUIT STILL ON HOLD

MET NOTES ATLANTA - The Mets will have to wait a little longer to find out what happens with Lou Piniella. The much-awaited meeting between Tampa Bay brass and Piniella's...

LIBERTY IN FAMILIAR POSITION

It all comes down to this, and for the Liberty, it always comes down to this. As is a tradition with this franchise, the Liberty will get a chance to...

FORGET SOX & HEAL THYSELF

THE Yankees have long insisted they aren't nearly as obsessed with the Red Sox as the Red Sox are with them. The Yankees always shake off the 24/7 Red Sox...

LEADER OF THE PACK

THERE is no frozen tundra at the moment at Lambeau Field, just the ghosts of Lombardi and Nitschke and a Hall-of-Fame caliber quarterback desperate to bring the Pack back. This...

ISLES HOPE TO RENOVATE COLISEUM

The NHL season may be paralyzed by a lockout right now, but the Islanders are very much in the process of planning a rebuilding of the archaic Nassau Coliseum as...

MAWAE STREAK IN JEOPARDY ; HAND MIGHT FORCE OUT VS. MIAMI

If you don't think Kevin Mawae's ironman streak is important to him, go ask him about it. The Jets center, who has started 157 consecutive NFL games dating back to...

DIAZ HITTING HIS WAY INTO METS' PLANS

ATLANTA - At some point soon, Mets fans are going to start sending letters to Jeromy Burnitz thanking him. Thanking him, that is, for Victor Diaz. Burnitz, you'll recall, was...

FOOLS ON THE HILL - YANKS MAY HAVE FITS WITH PLAYOFF STARTERS

The leader of the band understands the questions being asked in the final week of the season. However, Mike Mussina doesn't have the answers, nor does anyone else. With the...