February 14, 2002

GENEROSA WANTS OUT, AND $8.5M

WEALTHY newlywed Generosa Ammon appears to be closer to permanently extricating herself from the U.S. now that her unfinished townhouse on the Upper East Side is for sale. The place...

ADVERTISERS STAGE 'GORILLA' THEATER AT OLYMPIC GAMES

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - A streetsmart New Yorker is ticking off Olympic officials by beaming rogue advertisements onto Salt Lake City buildings to ambush Coca-Cola, the Games' biggest sponsor....

DOW SOARS NEAR 10,000

A powerful stock rally brought the Dow Jones industrial average within 11 points of the psychologically-important 10,000-point milestone. The most closely-watched indicator of U.S. stock market health hasn't topped the...

JPM/CHASE PURGE: BAD LOANS TO ARGENTINA, ENRON ARE BLAMED

Bonds are sinking and heads are ready to roll at J.P. Morgan Chase over its bungled loans to Enron and Argentina. Sources say that Marc Shapiro, the vice chairman and...

B&N CHIEF BOOKS; BRO TAKES OVER

Barnes & Noble Chief Exec Leonard Riggio has stepped down, handing the job over to his younger brother Stephen Riggio, former chief exec at BN.com, the company's online sister company....

KOMANSKY EXITING MERRILL CEO POST

After months of denials, Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive Officer David Komansky acknowledged he intends to relinquish the top post at the firm before his scheduled retirement in 2004....

FARKACTE FEKKAI RETURNING TO HIS ROOTS: HAIR & BEAUTY

Frederic Fekkai's eyes got too big for his wallet, and now he's closing down a bunch of new ventures to focus on his core hair and beauty products. The celeb...

H-P BOARD IS FEELING HURT

Ouch - now it's getting nasty. The six outside directors of Hewlett-Packard are protesting that they've been personally insulted by zingers from Walter Hewlett, heir of the co-founder, in his...

DIRECTORS GUILD TO BE LEVELED

The Directors Guild of America building is heading in a different direction: down. Sources say the building at 110 W. 57th St. will be sold to the Athena Group, a...

RJR LOOKS LIKE TARGET

BUY or be bought. Those are the choices that analysts believe face the board of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, now that the company made the odd decision last week to...

MARRIAGE AMERICAN-STYLE; TAKING MYSTERY OUT OF MATING

"Marriage: Just aPiece of Paper?" Tonight at 10 on Ch. 13 1/2 LET'S be honest. The only holiday worse than New Year's Eve for people without a love interest is...

STARR REPORT

'Life' going live in groundbreaking move "One Life to Live" is going where no soap has ever gone before - live, for an entire week. TV Guide reports in its...

MEN, HERE'S THE DRILL FOR VALENTINE'S

GUYS, it's not too late to get it right this time. We take Valentine's Day very seriously - it's make it or break (up) time. "Last year," winces Jessica, a...

J.LO REMIX LANDS HIGHEST ON CHARTS

POP star Jennifer Lopez's new "J to Tha Lo!: The Remixes" stole the No. 1 spot of the Top 200 Album Sales charts last week, pushing country crooner Alan Jackson's...

HBO 'WON'T SHOW PORNO' - BUT THERE ARE NO RULES, ADMITS HONCHO

HBO's top programming executive found himself on the defensive this week when he came face to face with Bill O'Reilly in Hollywood. The confrontation took place at a luncheon for...

WANTED: HOST FOR SEPT. 11 SPECIAL

CBS is looking for a big New York star to anchor its upcoming Sept. 11 documentary and downtown movie maestro Robert DeNiro tops the network's short list of potential hosts....

GRIPES VS. COPS ON THE RISE

Complaints against cops shot up 30 percent in January from the same period last year - a spike that brutality watchdogs say may mark the end of the honeymoon for...

PREZ VOWS, 'I'M SERIOUS'

President Bush issued his most direct warning yet to Iraq yesterday as he left the door wide open to military action and vowed that "Saddam Hussein needs to understand I'm...

COURT DUEL OVER AA SLAY CONFESSION

Confessions made during Alcoholics Anonymous meetings should be admissible in court, prosecutors told a three-judge appeals panel yesterday. Westchester DA Jeanine Pirro is trying to undo a recent federal court...

BALLOON BUDGET . . . IS IT DESIGNED TO RISE FROM HERE?

'THIS is not a budget, it's a trial balloon," said a serious student of the subject yesterday, right after Mayor Mike deftly delivered his first financial plan - a $41.4...

BAT THUGS ATTACK KIDS OUTSIDE SCHOOL

Three students were attacked by a pack of bat-wielding youths as they stood in front of their Brooklyn middle school yesterday morning, police said. Classmates of the victims at IS...

TERRORIST HACKERS

WASHINGTON - The nation's top cybersecurity sleuth said yesterday terrorists have hacked into government computers and may have left "trapdoors" so they can return and wreak havoc. Security expert Richard...

HIT-&-RUN DRIVER AN S&M PERV

The suspected hit-and-run driver who slashed a swath of destruction down Manhattan's Seventh Avenue Tuesday is an S&M fan with a criminal record - and is now wanted in New...

CRITICS CRYING BLOOM & DOOM: CAPITAL PROGRAMS

The city's ambitious capital construction program also fell victim yesterday to the budget ax. Mayor Bloomberg chopped 20 percent out of the capital budget, reducing it to $27.8 billion for...

CRITICS CRYING BLOOM & DOOM: BUT VOW TO WORK WITHIN NEW BUDGET

Elected officials, budget watchdogs and union leaders yesterday all said they were concerned about Mayor Bloomberg's budget proposal, but pledged to work with him to limit the damage. In fact,...

EMPLOYEES ON CITY PAYROLL

No one, it seems, knows precisely how many people are on the city payroll. But Mayor Bloomberg lifted the veil somewhat yesterday and came up with a stunning figure: 363,000....

MAYOR'S OFFICE

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday said he delivered the goods on his inaugural pledge to cut his office by 20 percent - and he wants to see other officials do the same....

CRITICS CYRING BLOOM & DOOM: FEES

Drivers who illegally park their cars are facing steep new fines - in some cases up to $100 - under Mayor Bloomberg's plan to plug the budget gap. The new...

'CEO' BLOOMBERG SHOWS HE'S ALL BUSINESS

ANALYSIS Mayor Bloomberg yesterday acted like he was back on Wall Street instead of City Hall, delivering a bad-news budget address with surprising flair. "What did you think of the...

ENRON BOSS SELLS HOME FOR $10M

Former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay has sold his secluded, mountain-view retreat in Aspen, Colo., for $10 million - reaping a windfall of more than $8 million. Lay, now crying poverty...

COMIC-BOOK PROPOSAL ONE FROM THE ART

Talk about a storybook romance. A comic-shop owner is tying the lasso with his own Wonder Woman after popping the question to his girlfriend in the superheroine's comic book. "She...

FEDS DENY TAKING LIBERTIES WITH TERROR-JAIL EAVESDROP

A top U.S. Justice Department official yesterday defended the feds for eavesdropping on some imprisoned terror suspects to prevent them from passing information to other conspirators. "Just because somebody is...

SENATE DEM TARGETED BY GOP EMBRACES PREZ

DEMOCRATIC strategists like James Carville can issue all the memos they like claiming President Bush is vulnerable on domestic policy despite his popularity as war leader - but Dem candidates...

FEWER FINEST, BUT MORE BRAVEST WILL PROTECT THE CITY

POLICE & FIRE The city's Bravest and Finest escaped massive budget cuts yesterday under Mayor Bloomberg's new plan, but the NYPD still will lose 1,600 slots from its all-time high....

MLK KIDS, PARENTS SUE ED BOARD FOR $100M

A group of parents and students are suing the Board of Education for alleged abuses at violence-plagued Martin Luther King HS, including misappropriation of funds and illegal denial of services....

IT MIGHT COST YOU TO SAY YES TO YANKS

Even non-Yankee fans might end up backing the team this year through a $2 hike in their monthly cable TV bills - and at least one local cable TV exec...

LAY WARNED: COME CLEAN: WHISTLEBLOWER TOLD HIM TO BLAME OTHERS

On the eve of Enron whistleblower Sherron Watkins' congressional testimony, a new memo revealed last night that she warned Chairman Ken Lay he should "come clean" about massive losses and...

SEX RAP FOR TEEN AT EMBATTLED CAMPUS

The Mount Pleasant campus already rocked by a counselor's torture and the attempted sexual assault of a boy was hit by more bad news yesterday when another youth was arrested....

AL QAEDA THUG BLOWS UP AS COPS CLOSE IN

WASHINGTON - An al Qaeda terrorist in Yemen yesterday blew himself up with a hand grenade in a dramatic standoff with local cops seeking to question him. A police statement...

CRITICS CYRING BLOOM & DOOM: EDUCATION

The beleaguered Board of Education got a double-whammy in Mayor Bloomberg's budget, which slashes spending by $354 million and cuts school construction by 20 percent. The mayor also cut City...

5 KILLED, 18 CAPTURED IN ISRAEL TERROR SWEEP

JERUSALEM - Israeli tanks and commandos killed five Palestinians and captured 18 suspected terrorists yesterday in the biggest sweep through the Gaza Strip in 17 months of violence, authorities said....

TOWERS FUND BACKS DOWN ON EXPENSES

Thirteen families of cops slain in the Sept. 11 attacks are protesting a proposed budget for the Twin Towers Fund - prompting charity officials to promise a far smaller operating...

DON'T SAY, 'NEW JERSEY' OR THIS MAN WILL SHOOT!

Most New Yorkers would rather be shot than live across the Hudson, but a Texas man took Jersey-loathing to a new extreme - he's on trial for shooting his girlfriend...

RAPE HORROR AT BROOKLYN HOSPITAL

Police arrested a worker at Brooklyn Hospital for allegedly raping a heavily sedated cancer patient - who could not speak or scream because of a tube in her throat. The...

DEATH, CHURCH & STATE

TO hear his critics tell it, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's insistence that judges who refuse to impose the death penalty should resign was the call of a 21st-century Torquemada....

SHOE DROPS FOR MARLA NEMESIS

ALBANY - The former manager of Marla Maples had yet another lawsuit against the busty blonde dismissed after the state's top court yesterday refused to hear the case. Chuck Jones...

HELPING TROUBLED KIDS STAY STRONG

He's a long way from the legacy of his grandfather, but troubled Malcolm Shabazz has friends in high places. The grandson of Malcolm X is locked behind bars in upstate...

WIFE MADE HIDDEN VIDEOS OF AMMON

Murdered millionaire Ted Ammon never knew he was under video surveillance in his Long Island mansion by his estranged wife and her electrician boyfriend, The Post has learned. "Ted was...

'SORRY' WON'T CUT IT: SPANN DAD TURNS BACK ON FATHER OF TRAITOR

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The father of slain CIA agent Johnny "Mike" Spann brusquely turned his back and refused to speak to the father of Taliban rat John Walker Lindh during...

DAD 'SOLD CRACK WITH BABE IN ARMS'

A crack dealer who peddled dope on a Long Island street while holding his 23-month-old daughter in his arms has been busted, cops said yesterday. Anthony Herbert, 31, and three...

BELOVED HOT DOG VENDOR MURDERED

A Greek immigrant hot dog vendor who always had a song in his heart and a smile on his face was gunned down by a robber while parking his cart...

BUSH OKS INTRICATE CIA PLANS TO OUST SADDAM

WASHINGTON - President Bush has given the CIA an initial OK to begin covert operations to destabilize Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein, in a prelude to a U.S. and allied campaign...

TRASHING BOTTLE PICKUPS MAY BE PAIN IN THE GLASS

- RECYCLING- Mayor Bloomberg yesterday proposed suspending the city's metal, glass and plastic recycling to save money - shocking environmentalists who fought for the program for years. Bloomberg argued the...

REEGE AND KELLY HOST ARRESTING CEREMONY

Love is on the air. When New York cops Zoraida Natal and David Zimmer tie the knot today, they'll share the special moment with family, friends - and Regis Philbin....

GAY SLAYER SENT TO CAN

A multimillionaire gay-bar baron who spent 13 years on the lam in Panama after killing his ex-boyfriend's lover can say goodbye to his freedom - and his tan - now...

REDISTRICT PLAN PITS DEMS VS. DEMS

EXCLUSIVE ALBANY - Three New York City Democrats have been targeted for extinction in a secret Senate Republican redistricting plan, The Post has learned. The plan, to be unveiled today,...

TRUMP DUMPS COURSES

A bitter Donald Trump has discarded plans to build two of the four posh golf courses he had proposed for Westchester County. And the frustrated developer is blaming his abrupt...

OH, WHAT A KNIGHT: QUEEN GIVES RUDY HIZZONERARY TITLE

It used to be His Honor, but it can never be Sir Rudy. No big deal, according to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who received his honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth...

JUDGE KEEPS 'CORPSE' ON ICE

A man who authorities say tried to fake his own death in the World Trade Center attacks now faces a long life - behind bars. Steven Leung, 27, was in...

CANCER LINK TO LATE CHILDBIRTH

Women who have their first child in their 30s or 40s run an increased risk of breast cancer, new research shows. The study reveals they are 63 percent more likely...

BELOVED HOT DOG MAN SLAIN

A Greek immigrant hot dog vendor who always had a song in his heart and a smile on his face was gunned down by a robber while parking his cart...

ALL FOR A GOOD KORS : PROOF DESIGNS CAN BE COMFY - WITHOUT BEING DULL

THE big trends at the Fall 2002 fashion shows don't have much to do with hemlines, color or place. Yes, calf-length skirts and pants cropped below the knee are everywhere;...

FISH & VEGGIES HELP HYPER KIDS SIMMER DOWN

Fatty acids in fish and vegetables may help treat kids with dyslexia and behavioral problems, scientists say. Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were found to improve significantly after...

TRUMP FORE-SAKE W'CHESTER COURSES

A bitter Donald Trump has dumped plans to build two of the four posh golf courses he had proposed for Westchester County. And the frustrated developer is blaming his abrupt...

LATE-NIGHT SNACKERS ARE REALLY SICK: DOCS

People who stage middle-of-the-night raids on their refrigerators may be suffering from an illness, not just hunger pangs. Scientists have found biochemical differences in the bodies of people who experience...

IT'S DEM VS. DEM IN GOP REDISTRICT PLAN FOR CITY

ALBANY - Three New York City Democrats have been targeted for extinction in a secret Senate Republican redistricting plan, The Post has learned. The plan, to be unveiled today, calls...

5 DEAD, 18 CAUGHT IN ISRAELI TERROR SWEEP

JERUSALEM -Israeli tanks and commandos killed five Palestinians and captured 18 suspected terrorists yesterday in the biggest sweep through the Gaza Strip in 17 months of violence, authorities said. The...

ONE RING CIRCUS ]]; TYSON-LEWIS MIGHT TAKE ACT TO GEORGIA

For the past month or so, the tumult surrounding Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis has taken on the atmosphere of a freak show and their proposed heavyweight title fight has...

NETS: TWO STRAIGHT IS ENOUGH

There were aches and pains: Kenyon Martin's bruised wrist, the plantar fasciaitis-ridden feet of Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch. But yesterday nothing on the Nets hurt more than their...

BRYANT, AGUIAR CRUNCH KENNEDY

PSAL PLAYOFFSBryant 81Kennedy 61 When Diego Aguiar arrived last year from Brazil, he spoke almost no English and was completely unaccustomed to the ways of New York City basketball. He's...

KNICKS SURVIVE RAPTORS' RALLY

Knicks 89 Raptors 82 With Don Chaney saying he believed a deal was a distinct possibility by next Thursday's trading deadline, his Knicks had a chance to disprove the prevailing...

DUQUE QUESTIONS ARE JUST BEGINNING

TAMPA - Orlando Hernandez became more clipped and perturbed as a 10-minute interview session about his status progressed. He often did not wait for a question to be translated to...

JETS MAY LOSE 3 STARTERS IN DRAFT

The Jets stand a realistic chance of losing three starters to the Houston Texans in Monday's NFL expansion draft, a possibility that could leave their roster significantly weakened, though their...

JUDGE: I WAS TOLD TO VOTE RUSSIAN - IOC DEMANDS QUICK RESOLUTION AFTER FRENCH OFFICIAL'S REVELATION

SALT LAKE CITY - In a shocking move that reflects the concern the International Olympic Committee has that the 2002 Winter Olympics will be forever tainted by the pairs figure-skating...

REPORTER CAUGHT IN COVERUP

SALT LAKE CITY - A Canadian reporter got a chilly reception when he tried to dart out of his hotel room to grab a newspaper in the hallway. He didn't...

ROG EYES 300TH (AND END?)

TAMPA - In preparation for what could be the final act of a Hall of Fame career, Roger Clemens spent part of the offseason working out with former heavyweight champion...

KNICKS' BRASS EXCITED ABOUT NUGGETS DEAL

Don Chaney expressed more optimism than ever yesterday that the Knicks would pull off a deal by next Thursday's trading deadline. Knicks GM Scott Layden spoke several times yesterday with...

GOEBEL'S GOLD RUSH IN TROUBLE

SALT LAKE CITY - Timothy Goebel has built a reputation as the "Quad King," but he'll need to become "The Ice King" if he's to land a medal in figure...

MO NOT HAUNTED BY GONZALEZ GHOST

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - His hair was a little thinner on top and his right arm displayed a fresh track from a blood test. However, regardless of how Game 7...

SUFFERING GARDEN FANS HAVE EMPTY FEELING

EMPTY seats and empty suits running the show: That's what the Garden has become in regards to the Knicks. The NBA's longest running consecutive sellout streak remains in full bloom...

HURRICANES BLOW PAST ICY STORM

Miami 79St. John's 56 MIAMI - St. John's needed a win to keep alive their slim NCAA hopes. But last night in one of their biggest games of the season,...

BODE-DACIOUS RUN EARNS MILLER SILVER

SNOWBASIN, Utah - Bode Miller went from near death to near gold in less than two minutes. Now that's an Olympic performance. Miller, the fearless flyer of U.S. skiing, recovered...

JUDGE: I WAS TOLD TO VOTE RUSSIAN - THIS SPORT'S IN A REAL FIX NOW

SALT LAKE CITY - Finally, figure skating may have had its epiphany. If NBC's source is right - that French judge Marie Reine Le Gougne told referee Ron Pfenning she...

RANGERS GO OUT WITH A WHIMPER

Stars 4Rangers 2 DALLAS - And that does it for the pre-Olympic portion of the Rangers' schedule. For sure, it was one they wish they could have back, falling to...

SKATING'S TOP COP NOT INSPIRING CONFIDENCE

SALT LAKE CITY - The referee of the pairs figure skating Monday, Ron Pfenning, thinks something fishy went down. So Ottavio Cinquanta, the president of the International Skating Union, went...

OHNO'S PAL LEAVING FOR JUNIOR MEET

WEST KEARNS, Utah -Apolo Ohno's best friend Shani Davis, who made the squad under controversial circumstances, was left off the final five-man roster. Davis will leave the Games next week...

GOEBEL GOLD RUSH FULL OF OBSTACLES

SALT LAKE CITY -Timothy Goebel has built a reputation as the "Quad King," but he'll need to become "The Ice King" if he's to land a medal in figure skating...

DEAL WITH NUGGETS STILL ON LAYDEN'S GARDEN WISH LIST

As the season falls apart at the seams, Knicks GM Scott Layden has one week left to make a blockbuster move. Layden spoke again with the Nuggets yesterday, trying to...

BODE-DACIOUS SILVER: MILLER STREAKS TO SECOND PLACE IN SLALOM

PARK CITY, Utah - Bode Miller was a speck in the rear-view mirror. Coming within a snowflake of wiping out on the first leg of the Alpine combined, Miller, the...

NO DEFENSE FOR KNICKS' EFFORT UNDER CHANEY

The defensive numbers are startling - the difference between the Don Chaney-led Knicks and the Jeff Van Gundy-led Knicks. Entering last night's game vs. Toronto in danger of falling into...

LAYDEN'S PERFORMANCE LEAVES EMPTY FEELING

EMPTY seats and empty suits running the show: That is what the Garden has become in regards to the Knicks. Yes, the NBA's longest running consecutive sellout streak of 416...

MESS TREATMENT REAL SHOCKER

DALLAS - While some Rangers are heading to tropical resorts and favorite fishing holes for the next two weeks, Mark Messier is spending his Olympic break in Toronto. The Captain...

JARVIS PUTS BANGURA ON SHELF

MIAMI - After last night's huge Big East showdown with Miami, St. John's has just five regular-season games to make its case for a NCAA bid. And the Red Storm...