March 15, 2002

AUDITOR COULD FACE SAME FATE AS LAVENTHOL HORWATH

Remember Laventhol & Horwath? If their sad fate is any guide, things look very grim for Andersen. Laventhol was the nation's seventh-largest accounting firm in 1990 when it folded -...

MARTHA CARVE-UP - DOMESTIC DIVA CUTS IN INTERNET, MAIL DIVISION

tha Stewart Living Omnimedia is a little less lively. The domestic doyenne's company, struggling with the likely loss of revenue from bankrupt Kmart and Internet division losses of $60 million...

ARTHUR ANDERSEN GETS 'DEATH PENALTY' - CRIMINAL CHARGES BY THE FEDS MAY BE END FOR FIRM

The Department of Justice signed what likely amounts to a death warrant for Arthur Andersen yesterday. The feds handed down a sweeping criminal indictment, accusing Andersen of shredding Enron-related documents...

CLIENTS JUMP SHIP AS VULTURES CIRCLE

Companies are yanking their books out of the hands of embattled Arthur Andersen. "Public companies are quickly distancing themselves from the taint of accounting fraud," said Allan Koltin, president of...

EMPLOYEES ARE FURIOUS, JOB HUNTING

Employees at Arthur Andersen, including many in New York, are heading for the hills. "I have to look out for myself. Who knows what's going to happen," said one employee...

'CHRISTMAS BOX' WRITER CANS SIMON & SCHUSTER

THE author of "The Christmas Box," Richard Paul Evans, has dumped longtime publisher Simon & Schuster and jumped to Penguin Putnam's Dutton imprint. The deal is believed to be around...

TOUGH PROSECUTOR DID THE COMPANY IN

Prosecutor Michael Chertoff - a rabbi's son - has stamped out vipers' nests even bigger than Arthur Andersen's crooked books crowd. He single-handedly brought down the underworld in his celebrated...

RYDER KO'S SHAREHOLDER COUP

The dissident stockholder group that had tried to block a bid by Reader's Digest Association to buy country publisher Reiman Publications has been sent packing. That clears the way for...

ARTHUR ANDERSEN GETS 'DEATH PENALTY' : CRIMINAL CHARGES BY FEDS COULD BE END FOR FIRM

The Department of Justice signed what likely amounts to a death warrant for Arthur Andersen yesterday. The feds handed down a sweeping criminal indictment, accusing Andersen of shredding Enron-related documents...

STARR REPORT

'Shield' law: FX series sets ratings record FX's "The Shield" notched record-setting numbers in its Tuesday night premiere (10 p.m.). The cop series, starring Michael Chiklis, averaged 4.8 million viewers...

BLOOM IS OFF THE PROSE IN 'FLOWERS'

HARRISON'S FLOWERS [] War story fails to blossom. Running time: 121 minutes. Rated R (extreme war violence, profanity, attempted rape). At the Empire, the Lincoln Square, the Angelika, others. ------------...

NEW LOOK AT YUGO WAR

YUGOSLAVIA, THE AVOIDABLE WAR [] -------------THIS documentary got a big thumbs-up from none other than Slobodan Milosevic, who introduced 45 of its 165 minutes as evidence at his war-crimes trial...

'PROMISES' FULFILLED

PROMISES [ 1/2] Keeps its word. In Arabic, English and Hebrew, with English subtitles. Running time: 116 minutes. Not rated (nothing objectionable). At the Quad Cinema, 13th Street, between Fifth...

SHLOCK COP FLOP

SHOWTIME [] Sloppy, half-baked mess. Running time: 95 minutes.Rated PG-13 (violence). At theEmpire, the Lincoln Square,others. ----------- 'SHOWTIME" is a fine illustration of the wizardry of star power: It's a...

TOUCHING BELGIAN SISTER ACT

PAULINE AND PAULETTE [] A charmer from Belgium. In Dutch and French, with English subtitles. Running time: 78 minutes. Rated: PG (language). At the Lincoln Plaza and the Quad. ------...

TOTALLY TOXIC

RESIDENT EVIL [] Boring gorefest. Running time: 100 minutes. Rated R (extreme gore, violence, profanity, sexual references). At the E Walk, the Chelsea, the 64th and Second. --------- OFFICIALLY based...

EARTHY MEXICAN 'MAMA'

Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN [] Beavis & Butthead meet Jules et Jim. Running time: 105 minutes. Not rated (sexuality, full frontal male nudity, partial female nudity). At the Lincoln Plaza,...

PBS HOT FOR TED

'NIGHTLINE' host Ted Koppel has a home at PBS - if he can't work things out at ABC. PBS president Pat Mitchell says Koppel would be welcomed with open arms...

'MATCH ME': STAGE VS. FILM NOIR

THE movie version of "Sweet Smell of Success" is beginning a two-week run at Film Forum today, giving New Yorkers a rare opportunity to see a Broadway musical and its...

'SMELL': SLEAZY DOES IT

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS []Martin Beck Theatre, 302 W. - 45th St., west of Ninth Avenue, (212) 239-6200. ------------- BLACK, black, black - "The Wizard of Oz," it is not,...

FOUR YEAR HITCH - NATALIE IMBRUGLIA'S BACK WITH NEW DISC

FAILURE isn't a word in Natalie Imbruglia's vocabulary. The 27-year-old Australian singer took a chance back in the late '90s and traded in her international stardom as the doe-eyed character...

$100 TIX? FOR THE 'LOVE' OF JANIS!

ON the menu today: News, gossip and a charming tidbit. Newsy Item One: "Love, Janis" - a little off-Broadway musical with a cast of two - will raise its top...

BLUE HOO! EX-ABC ACTRESS QUITS CNN JOB

EX-"NYPD Blue" star Andrea Thompson resigned yesterday from CNN Headline News - only seven months after the cable news network's controversial attempt to turn a prime-time actress into a top-rank...

LENO INSISTS: I'M NOT JEALOUS OF DAVE'S DEAL

JAY Leno has no intention of running to NBC brass for a raise to match the gigantic salary CBS is paying his rival, David Letterman. That's the word from Leno...

FIRED SALLY JESSY SAYS: I DID CRUDE SHOWS FOR THE MONEY

SALLY Jessy Raphael now says her bosses forced her to do a "coarser type of show" to pump up ratings just before canning her talk show. "They wanted me to...

'ICE' MELTS: PLOT, DIALOGUE EXTINCT IN THIS PREHISTORIC SNOOZER

ICE AGE ½ No "Shrek." Running time: 75 minutes. Rated PG (chases, deaths). At the Union Square, the AMC Empire, the Ziegfeld, others. THE computer-animated feature "Ice Age" was advertised...

LUCAS SENDS IN 'CLONES' FOR 2½ MINUTES

Trailer for STAR WARS EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES *** ½ BY far the best thing about the lukewarm "Ice Age" is the 2½-minute trailer preceding it -...

HEAVENS! PAROCHIAL KIDS FLOP IN TESTING

The city's eighth-grade parochial school students flunked last year's state math exam nearly as badly as public-school students, explosive results released by the state Education Department show. Sixty-two percent of...

LIBERALS FOR TERROR

ROBERT Kuttner is an important American liberal. He's the editor of The American Prospect, a fortnightly magazine supported by millions in foundation grants. He's a columnist for The Boston Globe,...

10G REWARD IN L.I. SLAYING

The family of a man murdered on Long Island five months ago is offering a $10,000 reward for the arrest of the killer. Dr. Raymond Wedderburn yesterday announced the reward...

GAEL STORM: CHURCH BARS GAY IRISH DANCE

ANOTHER St. Patrick's Day. Another clash between gay Catholics and the church. This one started when an Irish dance, featuring traditional music and corned beef and cabbage, was scheduled at...

$1B STINK: MASSIVE BUDGET OVERRUN AT B'KLYN SEWAGE PLANT

The cost of one of the city's largest construction projects has exploded in just three years by nearly a billion dollars - and the price is still ticking up, The...

'PARTRIDGE' BOXING DOPE: I'LL BUTT HEADS WITH BUTTAFUOCO

The next time, Fox's "Celebrity Boxing" could get personal. A grudge match is brewing between "Partridge Family" buffoon Danny Bonaduce and philandering Long Island auto-body worker Joey Buttafuoco. Moments after...

CHAPEL NEAR WTC CLOSING FOR CLEANUP

St. Paul's Chapel - the Ground Zero refuge for emergency workers - is closing for a haz-mat cleanup before opening to the public with services for the first time in...

14 MORE KILLED IN CLASHES

JERUSALEM - Fourteen more people died in West Bank and Gaza Strip violence yesterday despite an Israeli pullback in the embattled city of Ramallah and the arrival of President Bush's...

GOV, RIVALS CLASH OVER HOW TO FIX CITY SCHOOLS

The race for governor heated up yesterday - with Gov. Pataki demanding the Board of Regents be abolished, Andrew Cuomo calling for an end to the Board of Education, and...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A handicapped man was arrested after he whipped out a sword during a parking-space dispute when another disabled driver pulled a gun. Lee Damron and Richard Cavalier were arguing over...

NUKE FEARS KO 911 CENTER PLAN

Plans to build a backup 911 center adjacent to Police Headquarters in lower Manhattan have been abandoned, The Post has learned. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has decided to put the...

SENATE DEMS DASH DUBYA'S JUDGE PICK

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats ignored last-minute lobbying by President Bush yesterday and rejected his nomination of Charles Pickering to serve as a federal appeals court judge. The defeat - the...

SPLIT VERDICT IN TENANT-ACTIVIST SLAY

A Queens jury convicted one man yesterday and cleared another in the murder of a Far Rockaway tenant activist two years ago. Maria Medina, 45, was killed by stray bullets...

PREZ PLEDGES $5B AID 'PRO BONO'

WASHINGTON - Rock star Bono wore blue sunglasses into the Oval Office to see President Bush yesterday and found what he was looking for - a $5 billion pledge to...

RAKE-IT-IN RUDY NOW A $10M MAN

EXCLUSIVE Rudy Giuliani, in London with girlfriend Judi Nathan, is a hot commodity. Alpha Photo Press Agency Ltd. Rudy Giuliani - who never earned more than $195,000 a year at...

HERO SON ID'D 6 MOS. AFTER DAD

Joseph Angelini Jr. followed his father into the Fire Department, and both died heroes on Sept. 11. Now the 38-year-old son's remains have been identified and the family will finally...

GOP HAS NOTHING TO HIDE AT '$ECURITY BRIEFING'

WASHINGTON - If Republicans were looking for classified secrets at a GOP cash-bash billed as a "national security briefing," they didn't find any. It was a typical pep rally for...

DIRTY N.Y. COP GUILTY IN DRUG-$$ DELIVERY

A disgraced NYPD cop and his wife pleaded guilty yesterday in Central Islip federal court to trafficking $10 million in drug money across the East Coast. Homero Zapata, 38, and...

NYPD BIG QUITS FOR NASSAU JOB

One of the city's top cops - James Lawrence, the NYPD's highest-ranking black officer - is leaving One Police Plaza to take the reins of the Nassau County police force,...

HOW DO THESE SICKOS SLIP THROUGH?

THERE are deviants in any profession that demand disgust - including this one . . . my own. But most professions do not have in their trust and unsupervised control...

'DWI' COP'S DRINKING PAL LOSES BID TO GET JOB BACK

A probationary cop canned for boozing with a colleague who allegedly ran over a Brooklyn family can't have his job back, a judge ruled yesterday. Craig Hildebrand had argued that...

JACK'S DIVORCE ITALIAN-STYLE: EUROPEAN VACATION COULDN'T WIN BACK ANGRY WIFE

With the romance between Jack Welch and Harvard Business Review editor Suzy Wetlaufer about to hit the headlines, the tycoon took his angry wife on a getaway to Europe to...

BLIND-BOY SEX STUNNER: WOMAN SCHOOL AIDE BUSTED IN RAPE OF KID, 11, AT L.I. HOUSE

A trusted Long Island teacher's aide befriended an 11-year-old blind student - and then had sex with him at least three times at her home, police said yesterday. Kathy Tuifel,...

MIKE PUTS PRESSURE ON CHURCH TO AID DAS

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday called on Catholic Church officials to turn over the names of priests accused of molesting children to prosecutors. "I don't see any reason why anybody should withhold...

DELAY SOUGHT IN LOUIMA APPEAL

U.S. Attorney Alan Vinegrad has asked for an extra month to challenge an appeals-court decision tossing out the convictions of three ex-cops linked to the Abner Louima attack. A Feb....

MORE FOUL PLAY AT BX. STRIP CLUB

A notorious Bronx strip club that cops say hires underage nude dancers was the scene of two more crimes this week - the slashing of a 17-year-old girl and the...

DEATH-PENALTY RAP ON PEARL SLAY SUSPECT

WASHINGTON - The chief suspect in the brutal murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl faces the death penalty under a federal indictment handed up yesterday. Ahmed Omar Saeed...

BX. JUDGE SLAMS PERV TEACH IN MOM-DAUGHTER TRIANGLE

A two-timing Bronx high-school teacher was held on $20,000 bail yesterday on charges of having an affair with a 15-year-old student while dating her mom. In setting bail, Bronx Criminal...

BIZARRE LINK TO 'CHURCH' TARGETS

Long Island cops have located two dozen people whose first names and addresses were on a "death list" seized from accused Mass murderer Peter Troy - and the only link...

MT. SINAI FACES NEW DEATH PROBE

Two days after blasting Mount Sinai Medical Center for "woefully inadequate" care in the Jan. 13 death of a liver donor, the state said it will investigate the case of...

MIKE HITS LEVY, TEACHER UNION

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday rapped Schools Chancellor Harold Levy for threatening to sharply scale back the summer-school program, and the teachers union for talking up a strike. Bloomberg said the Board...

POLS FACES BIDDER END: PROBED WITH BX. JUDGE IN $1M RIGGED CONTRACT

A disgraced Bronx judge and an embattled assemblywoman allegedly rigged a $1 million contract to renovate a community center in her district - and they are suspected of fixing other...

NEW NYPD UNIT TO TACKLE ALARMING RAPE UPSURGE

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday he is setting up a task force to deal with a 9 percent increase in rape so far this year. He told a press...

REV. MOLESTED ME AND BROTHER AS KIDS: PRIEST

The Diocese of Brooklyn is being rocked by allegations that one of its priests in the 1970s molested two Queens brothers - one of whom became a Catholic priest. And...

SINS OF THE FATHERS MUST BE EXPOSED

THE encounter between the priest and the boy occurred on sacred church grounds on one of the church's holiest times - Christmas. It involved oral and anal sex. Disgusted? Good....

ACCOUNTANT'S WOES MAY TAX STAR SNIPES

Action-movie star Wesley Snipes' tax returns are getting bad reviews by the IRS. The Justice Department filed a civil suit yesterday against Snipes' tax preparer, who is allegedly involved in...

ASBESTOS $UITS LOOM: MIKE

The city had better brace for a wave of asbestos-related lawsuits in the next 10 to 15 years from workers at Ground Zero, Mayor Bloomberg warned yesterday. The federal government...

RENE'S REVELATION: LESBIANS HELPED SINGLE MOM RAISE ME

Teary-eyed Rene Russo revealed for the first time yesterday that she was raised by "loving, nurturing" lesbian friends of her mother after her dad walked out on the family. In...

COPS BUST S.I. TEACHER IN INTERNET PEDOPHILE STING

A private-school teacher was busted last night on the Staten Island Ferry, where cops say he was trying to meet a 14-year-old boy for sex. Albert Guasco was picked up...

ASPIRING ARTIST SHOT DEAD IN BOTCHED ROB

A young rock musician and artist who came to the Big Apple with dreams of making it was tragically shot to death yesterday during a stickup in his Brooklyn home,...

ASPIRING MALE MODEL SLAIN IN BOTCHED ROB

An aspiring artist and model was shot to death in his Brooklyn home yesterday in what police said was a robbery attempt gone bad. Jerry Bacasa, 25, who also worked...

TV'S 'WANTED' BAGS L.I. SLAY SUSPECT

A fugitive in the murder of an armored-car guard on Long Island three years ago was yesterday arraigned on the charges after being nabbed as a result of "America's Most...

GOOD IRISH YARNS ON THE SILVER SCREEN

If you can't get to the Parade and you're desperate for your annual Irish fix, you can always celebrate St. Patrick's Day by cooking the bacon and cabbage at home...

DAYS OF HEAVEN AND SHEEP: GO NATIVE - VENTURE OFF THE TOURIST ROUTES TO SEE THE BREATHTAKING SOUTH WEST THAT OTHERS MISS

We are driving, my wife Maya and I, on a narrow, twisting road, under arches of lush trees, green tangles of bushes beating the side of our car, on our...

THE BEST WATERING HOLES WHERE YOU CAN WET THE SHAMROCK

Irish bars have the ability to refresh parts of the mind and body other watering holes in New York can't reach, say patrons -especially on St. Patrick's Day. Here are...

CARDINAL WILL HONOR HEROES

New York will have its 241st St. Patrick's Day Parade this Saturday and the man at the center of this year's extravaganza of Irish pride and high spirits will be...

KNICKS ARE KINGS FOR A DAY - SPREE'S 43 TOO MUCH FOR WEBBER-LESS SAC

With Chris Webber sitting on the bench in a gray sports jacket, the Kings star must have wondered what it would have been like to be Latrell Sprewell's teammate again,...

FLORIDA DERBY DRAWS FIELD OF 11

In last year's Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, Monarchos' explosive run to daylight telegraphed his victory 10 weeks later in the Kentucky Derby. Tomorrow's Grade 1, $1M Florida Derby, at...

FORGET TYSON-LEWIS

IT is no surprise that Mike Tyson is now considered fit to fight in Washington, D.C., since the nation's capital has long been home to much more dangerous characters than...

MEMORABILIA BIZ REMAINS UGLY

AS Joe Torre explained, Ruben Rivera violated "the sanctity of the clubhouse." Perhaps Rivera has learned his lesson: Ripping off a teammate's gear is one of those unpardonable sports sins,...

ROLAIDS UPSETS BOBBY

Mets 6 - Indians 4 PORT ST. LUCIE - Armando Benitez received his Rolaids Relief Man Award yesterday, but a perceived slight by the company gave a few Mets acid...

HAMPTON MAKES HUSKIES NERVOUS

WASHINGTON - Fifty minutes. That is the sum total of UConn's collective experience in dealing with what arrives this afternoon. A paltry 50 minutes, unevenly distributed with 48 for Tony...

FROSH 'PACKS NY SPIRIT

WASHINGTON - Everyone inside the locker room was wearing something red, but no one quite displayed the bright color as stylishly as Julius Hodge. His head was covered by a...

ALABAMA SQUEAKS PAST STUBBORN FAU

SOUTHAlabama 86Fla. Atlantic 78 GREENVILLE, S.C. - In the NCAA Tournament, the name of the game is survive-and-advance. And in yesterday's South Region first round, it was Alabama that survived...

SATHER'S DILEMMA: DEAL FOR BURE OR POTI

PAY no attention to anything else you may read or anything at all that is being said on the record. Because the truth is this: Glen Sather last night was...

YANKS NOT UNHINGED 'BOUT ANDY - PETTITTE WILL TEST ELBOW TODAY

Yankees 2 - Reds 1 TAMPA - The concern level surrounding Andy Pettitte's left elbow isn't on the rise yet. However, when the veteran lefty steps on a minor-league complex...

TULSA KNOWS THE DRILL - DOWNS MARQUETTE IN FINAL SEQUENCE

EAST: Tulsa 71 - Marquette 69 ST. LOUIS - The polls and the power rankings, the seedings and the betting lines all can take a back seat to the most...

FLOUNDER POUNDERS SPRING INTO ACTION

THE winter flounder season begins tomorrow in the marine waters around New York and along with that other annual bustout to spring, St. Patrick's Day, the weekend should be fun-filled....

HOBBLED PANTHERS BRACE FOR BLUE DEVILS

SOUTH PITTSBURGH - The only Knight who will be scrutinized more today than Bobby is Pittsburgh's Brandin Knight. The eyes - along with NCAA Tournament hopes and dreams - of...

DONOVAN'S GATORS ARE FIGHTIN' MAD

MIDWEST CHICAGO - Their coach is Billy the Kid, the baby-faced gym rat out of St. Agnes High in Rockville Centre who learned at the feet of Rick Pitino and...

SJU BANS SHAW FOR TOURNAMENT - BACKUP GUARD BROKE TEAM RULES

EAST WASHINGTON - Willie Shaw, with tears in his eyes, walked into the weight room at Alumni Hall on Wednesday and tearfully told a teammate that he had made a...

LAYDEN HAS EYE ON MADNESS

KNICK NOTES Knicks GM Scott Layden began his NCAA Tournament binge yesterday at the St. Louis regional with heavy eyes on Western Kentucky's 7-1 senior center Chris Marcus and Kansas...

MO'S MOPING OVER LOSS OF RUBEN

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - Mariano Rivera cannot shake the saga of his cousin Ruben Rivera. He is very sad the Yankees had to let Ruben go for taking Derek Jeter's...

HEAT'S ON VAN HORN TO STEP THINGS UP

The game is tight. The Nets need a score. They need a go-to guy. It should be Keith Van Horn, the guy with the max-out contract. He should be the...

WINGS IS FLYING HIGH

-PSAL BOYS B: Wings 63 - Global 57 -PSAL GIRLS B: Bronx L. 53 - J. Adams 52 It's become a rite of passage. You win the PSAL B championship...

WEBBER KEEPS MIND OFF N.Y.

A smile swept across Chris Webber's face as he thought about being a Knick. While the glow remained, he quickly shut down his mind, switching to - as Clyde Frazier...

KNICKS TAKE IT TO SAD SAC - SPREE'S 43 TOO MUCH FOR WEBBER-LESS KINGS

Knicks 113 - Kings 96 With Chris Webber sitting on the bench in a charcoal-gray sports jacket, he may have wondered what it would have been like to be his...

GOODEN, KANSAS HOLD OFF CROSS

MIDWEST: Kansas 70 - Holy Cross 59 ST. LOUIS - The scene on the bench for top-seeded, perennial powerhouse Kansas: Second-leading scorer Kirk Hinrich was on crutches, his left ankle...

IRISH PROVE POINT ; SEASONED ND RIPS CHARLOTTE

SOUTHN. Dame 82Charlotte 63 GREENVILLE, S.C. - From the day Troy Murphy announced he was leaving Notre Dame early for the NBA, the Irish have been on a mission to...

HOUSTON: WAIT'LL NEXT YEAR

KNICK NOTES Perhaps to quell the fan venom directed at him recently, captain Allan Houston guaranteed the Knicks will be back in playoff contention next season. In a plea for...

FROSH MAKES THE IRISH TICK

GREENVILLE, S.C. - The afternoon before last night's NCAA South Regional began, as Notre Dame freshman guard Chris Thomas prepared for the first tournament game of his career, there was...

JOHNNIES WANT SOME RESPECT

WASHINGTON - There is one nasty common thread that ties St. John's and Wisconsin together. Disrespect. A season of disrespect. The Badgers (18-12) were picked ninth in a Big Ten...

HOUSTON: IT'S NOT A PROBLEM : SAYS NEXT YEAR WON'T BE LIKE THIS

Perhaps to quell the fan venom directed at him this season, captain Allan Houston guaranteed the Knicks will be back in playoff contention next season. In a plea for patience,...

LAYDEN KEEPING CLOSE EYE ON ALL THE MADNESS

Knicks GM Scott Layden began his NCAA Tournament binge yesterday at the St. Louis regional with heavy eyes on Western Kentucky's senior 7-1 center Chris Marcus and Kansas power forward...