October 9, 2002

WINNICK BLEW IT - EX-GLOBAL CROSSING CHIEF KO'D POSSIBLE $40B SALE

In what may have been one of the worst blunders of the telecom bust, financier Gary Winnick is said to have shot down a possible $40 billion acquisition of his...

AOL FOR $182.25M IN AD DEAL

At least one of the AOL advertising deals under investigation by regulators may now be on the scrap heap. Yesterday a bankruptcy judge in the WorldCom case ruled that the...

DOW'S SHIP COMES IN ON STRIKE TALKS

All the news points down and the outlook remains gray, but California dreaming saved the markets' day. U.S. stocks rallied on the news that the Bush administration would try to...

BUYERS A PUMPED UP TO BUY WEIDER MAGS

Weider Publications confirmed yesterday that it has retained Rothschild Group to explore "strategic alternatives" for its seven-title fitness magazine group, which includes Shape, Men's Fitness and Muscle & Fitness. The...

TYCO SEEKS EX-CFO'S $

Tyco International filed an arbitration claim to recover millions it shelled out in severance to its former high-flying finance chief - the recently indicted Mark Swartz. In a filing with...

WHO MOVED MY CHEESE? BALDUCCI'S FORCED OUT

New York's famed Balducci's is moving from its Greenwich Village location, The Post has learned. The venerable gourmet grocery - founded by Italian immigrants Louis and Maria Balducci in 1916...

BERTELSMANN STEPS PAST P.R. LAND MINE

Bertelsmann was hit with what could have been a public relations black eye yesterday, with the release of a report concluding that the company had strong Nazi ties that were...

PUTNAM FUNDS HIRES INVESTMENT CHIEF

Putnam Investments, the beleaguered mutual fund firm that had such lousy performance that it had to shut 11 of its 66 funds earlier this year, hired a new head of...

KNIVES OUT AT RODALE

JUST before jetting off for the Frankfurt Book Fair, Steve Murphy - onetime maitre d' of Maxwell's Plum turned Rodale CEO - whacked another longtime company executive at the Emmaus,...

LAP OF DRUDGERY - STRAPPED WALL STREETERS ARE CUTTING BACK

The sweet life of luxury here is getting a bitter taste in the rising toll of Wall Street firings. With the city's huge economy holding on by its nails, purveyors...

SOFT AROUND THE MIDDLE - MID-RANGE COMMERCIAL SALES NOT MEETING PRICE TARGETS

THE investment property balloon is deflating around the second tier of the city's office buildings. Despite the hot air emanating from every other segment of the real estate market, these...

SOFT AROUND THE MIDDLE: MID-RANGE COMMERCIAL SALES NOT MEETING PRICE TARGETS

THE investment property balloon is deflating around the Class A minus and B+ commercial office buildings. Despite the hot air emanating from every other segment of the real estate market,...

BUYERS CIRCLING WEIDER FAMILY PUBS

Weider Publications confirmed yesterday that it has retained Rothschild Group to explore "strategic options" for its seven-title fitness magazine group, which includes Shape, Men's Fitness and Muscle & Fitness. The...

MUTTON PLACE

KEENS STEAKHOUSE [] 72 W. 36TH ST. (212) 947-3636 ------ MAYOR Mike, interviewed by the BBC last year, offered this advice for a long life: "If you want to stay...

OCEANA'S SUDDEN SQUALL

OCEANA, which had the same executive chef for 10 years, now has its third one in five months. Michael Schenk, the former chef de cuisine who took over when Rick...

'BUNNY' PAINTS ODD PIC

HOW TO DRAW A BUNNY []Running time: 90 minutes. Not rated (suicide). At Film Forum, Houston Street, west of Sixth Avenue, through Oct. 22. --------- CULT artist Ray Johnson was...

GOOD NEIGHBOR CROW IN MOVING SHOW

COUNTING CROWSAt Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 W. 34th St., through tonight. --------- FROM the stage of the Hammerstein Ballroom, Adam Duritz, the voice of the Counting Crows, told the hometown crowd...

SWORDFISH, EN GARDE!

IT'S finally time to throw swordfish on the barby, rather than back into the sea - now that the species is officially off the endangered list. According to the International...

'OSBOURNES II' DEBUT UP TO SHARON'S DOCS

MTV is keeping January open for the debut of the new season of "The Osbournes" - just in case Sharon Osbourne's battle with cancer knocks the show's planned return next...

STARR REPORT

Milian, Walsh rate - Dave narrows the gap Ch. 4 started off the week with a strong showing in the ratings department. Monday's "People's Court," hosted by Judge Marilyn Milian,...

'RAISIN' HOPES - B'WAY GRAPEVINE ABUZZ ON REVIVAL

FINALLY, a revival to get excited about: Lorraine Hansbury's "A Raisin in the Sun," starring Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett. This being Broadway, nothing's set in stone yet. But there's...

ARE YOU SKINNY ENOUGH FOR CHANEL? IF NOT . . . KARL SAYS: DIET!

HEY, ladies - if you want to fit into Chanel's new line of barely-there clothes this spring, start starving. Meat-deficient models in undersized micro-minis, skinny-cropped tops and short-shorts sauntered down...

LEAPING LEATHER PANTS! SUPER-HERO LOVE CHILD... BATGIRL!

"Birds of Prey" [ ] Tonight at 9 on the WB -------- SINCE I know as much about comic books as I do about tent making among the Berbers, I...

HIGH-END NEW YORK CHEFS JUMP ON THE ... PATTY WAGON

FORGET about having it your way. These days, Gotham's top chefs are having their way with hamburgers, creating some very upscale signature sandwiches. Daniel Boulud's db Bistro Moderne started the...

'SURVIVOR' ALUM SURVIVES BEATING

A "Survivor" contestant used his skills to become a real-life survivor after four bar flies savagely beat him with broken beer bottles in a Toronto tavern. Former Army intelligence officer...

SAILORS RAN UP OCEAN OF DEBT: REPORT

WASHINGTON - Navy seamen used government-issued credit cards to hire hookers, buy jewelry - and go to Yankee games, a new congressional probe yesterday found. The sailors devised dozens of...

NYPD DAILY CRIME BLOTTER

Here's a roundup of crime in the five boroughs yesterday: MANHATTAN * Three suspects are charged with last month's bizarre robbery at an Upper West Side Blockbuster video store, where...

TRIPLE-SLAY FIEND CONFESSED: JAILMATE

A Brooklyn man accused of fatally slashing his 7-month-old daughter, her mother and the woman's 2-year-old son in a fit of jealousy confessed in jail, saying he "just lost it,"...

BOMBER'S DAD RIPS TERROR LEADERS

The distraught father of a young homicide bomber complained to an Arab newspaper that terrorists are trying to recruit his other son to blow himself up - while their leaders...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Score one for the 30-foot rat. A judge has ruled that members of the Laborers' International Union can display a huge, inflatable rodent and three coffins on their picket line...

FLAP'S OVER: HUGE HERON STATUE OK'D

A 40-foot-tall steel sculpture of a heron, which angry neighbors claimed was strictly for the birds, won a victory yesterday after a five-year legal battle to remove it. Southold, L.I.,...

OKIE DOPEY'S LONG-DISTANCE DRIVE TO JAIL

If there were a "Guinness Book of World Records" category for dumb crooks, a Midwestern mental midget would be at the top of the list by now. Jeremy Manchester, 22,...

SNUBBED 9/11 MAN MAY GET PLAQUE

The World Trade Center victim who was ignored during a recent memorial in his Missouri hometown because he once ignited a political scandal may finally get a plaque in his...

LETTERMAN CREW 'SHAKEN' BY INSIDE JOB

No joke - funnyman David Letterman's office was grim yesterday as staffers wondered which of their colleagues played cat burglar over the weekend, stealing $4,000 from a locked desk drawer....

PATAKI AD HAMMERS MCCALL ON TAXES

Gov. Pataki yesterday painted Carl McCall as a tax-loving liberal in a tough new ad, while McCall moved to blunt the governor's expected endorsement today by the teachers union. Picturing...

REESE'S BRO BUSTED - MOLESTED SLEEPING WOMAN: TENN. COPS

The black-sheep brother of Hollywood sweetheart Reese Witherspoon has been charged with barging into a young woman's home in Tennessee and sexually attacking her as she lay sleeping on a...

QUIT PUTTERING AROUND, FEMINISTS

NO WONDER feminism is dead. Ladies, if you want to protect yourself from a wife beater, buy a large dog. If you need help with child care, call Mom. Somewhere...

'COCAINE COUCH' DUO TAKE JAIL SEAT

Cops have tracked down the suspected owners of New York's infamous cocaine couch - a pair of empty-headed Texans who left it abandoned on an Upper East Side street for...

PREZ: WAR 'IS MY LAST CHOICE'

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday said military force is his "last choice" for dealing with Iraq - but if he has to, he'll unleash "the full force and fury of...

SHE GETS PINNED - LADY WRESTLER LOSES SEX CASE

One! Two! Three! Nicole Bass is out. A Brooklyn federal jury delivered a choke slam to the woman bodybuilder, returning a verdict that trashed her sexual-harassment suit against her former...

GUN STANDS DRAW FIRE IN N.J. SENATE RACE

WASHINGTON - The rivals in the supertight New Jersey Senate race yesterday tangled sharply over gun control as fallout from the terrifying sniper shootings in the Washington area spilled over...

SISTER CAN'T ESCAPE PAIN OF BROTHER'S DEATH

WASHINGTON. MONDAY morning, Victoria Snider was saying a last goodbye to her brother James L. "Sonny" Buchanan, the second human massacred by the Montgomery Monster. "I was praying over his...

GOP: 3,500 VOTED TWICE IN '00

WASHINGTON - At least 3,500 people double-voted nationwide in the 2000 presidential election - including 415 New Yorkers, according to the final results of a Republican National Committee study. The...

KLEIN BRINGS BACK AXED HS PRINCIPAL

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein yesterday reinstated a popular Brooklyn high-school principal who was unexpectedly bounced from his job by the superintendent last month. Klein put Michael Wiltshire back in charge...

'HOLY WAR' HITS CITY SCHOOLS

A religious war has erupted in the city's public schools. The Anti-Defamation League charged yesterday a private youth "anti-violence" band that has performed in schools is a front for a...

TEACHER IN PERV BUST

A 47-year-old math teacher at the Tito Puente School of Performing Arts was arrested yesterday for sodomizing a 13-year-old male student, police said. José Segarra, of Jackson Heights, a tenured...

BLOOMY'S BEEFY TAB AIDS STEAKHOUSE

When the owner of a famous steakhouse complained to City Hall that Midtown street closings were killing his business, Mayor Bloomberg formulated an unusual - and tasty - solution. Bloomberg...

MAYOR MIKE SPLITS WITH CANDIDATE MIKE ON GAYS

When he was running for mayor last year, Mike Bloomberg backed legislation to force companies doing business with the city to provide domestic-partnership benefits to employees - a measure he...

IRISH RIVALS BURY THE SHILLELAGH ON PARADE

Two Irish-American groups who once fought over jurisdiction of the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade have buried the hatchet, officials from both groups said yesterday. St. Patrick's Day Parade Inc.,...

COP KILLS HERSELF AT STATION IN B'KLYN

A Coney Island housing cop shot herself to death inside her station-house locker room yesterday, police said. The four-year veteran, whose name was withheld pending notification of her family, seemed...

DEALER IN 'ART' OF THE STEAL: COPS

A Manhattan art collector who thought he was getting ancient African statues for a steal ended up getting fleeced instead, authorities said. The statues were fakes, and the art dealer...

TERI GARR BARES HER MS SECRET

Oscar-nominated actress Teri Garr admitted last night that she's had multiple sclerosis for nearly 20 years. "I really didn't think there was any reason to come out and say anything...

THE DECISION BY THREE BROADCAST NETWORKS NOT TO CARRY MONDAY'S IRAQ SPEECH BY PRESIDENT BUSH'S PROVED TO BE A BOON

The decision by three broadcast networks not to carry Monday's Iraq speech by President Bush's proved to be a boon to cable news channels, particularly the Fox News Channel. About...

GEM ARTIST'S 650G FLAW - PLEADS GUILTY TO SALES-TAX SCAM

A world-renowned gem sculptor who's the self-proclaimed "true heir to Faberge" admitted he's a bad egg yesterday - pleading guilty to evading more than $650,000 in taxes. Baron Andreas von...

FLEEING CROOK FIRES INTO CROWD, WOUNDING 8-YEAR-OLD & AUNT

An 8-year-old boy and his aunt were wounded in Washington Heights when a robber fired two shots into a crowd of good Samaritans chasing him, police said. Mikey Vega was...

MADMAN TO COPS: I AM GOD

The sniper terrorizing the Washington, D.C. area reportedly has left a sickening message for cops - the words "Dear Policeman, I am God" written on the "death card" from a...

'SURVIVOR' SKILLS SERVE TV CONTESTANT WELL IN BRAWL

A "Survivor" contestant used his skills to become a real-life survivor after four bar flies savagely beat him with broken beer bottles in a Toronto tavern. Former Army intelligence officer...

QNS. TEEN: PARENTS HELD ME CAPTIVE

A 15-year-old Queens girl's home became her jail for nine months after her parents yanked her out of school and kept her inside until she escaped, police said yesterday. The...

'HOLE' LOTTA LOOT IN ATM HEIST

Long Island cops say some wily thieves made off with $57,000 from an ATM yesterday after they cut a hole in the bank's roof and snipped the wires to the...

SPITZER ZAPS LASER LOUSE

Phony physician Dean Faiello was arrested yesterday - and faces up to 12 years in the slammer - for performing cosmetic laser surgery illegally at his swank Gramercy Park clinic....

JEWEL EXPERT ADMITS 650G TAX FLOW

A world-renowned gem sculptor who's the self-proclaimed "true heir to Faberge" admitted he's a bad egg yesterday - pleading guilty to evading over $650,000 in taxes. Baron Andreas von Zadora-Gerlof,...

COP KILLS HERSELF AT STATION

A Coney Island housing cop shot herself to death inside her station-house locker room yesterday, cops said. The four-year veteran, whose name was not released pending notification of her family,...

APPLE SCORES WITH NFL PROMOS

Between touchdowns and punt returns this Sunday, millions of football fans will be treated to a new TV commercial promoting New York City as a great place to visit. The...

TRANSIT $$ WAR ROLLS DOWNTOWN

A battle over federal funds for downtown transportation projects has broken out among City Hall, the Port Authority and the MTA - stalling key decisions on transit issues considered central...

ART DEALER NABBED OVER STATUE 'SCAM'

A Manhattan art collector who thought he was getting ancient African statues for a steal ended up getting fleeced instead. The statues were fakes and the art dealer who sold...

IRAN IN ON '96 ATTACK: FREEH

WASHINGTON - Former FBI Director Louis Freeh charged yesterday that "senior officials of the government of Iran" plotted the 1996 Khobar Towers bombings that killed 19 U.S. airmen - and...

JUDGE TOSSES COP'S POT PINCH

Prosecutors want to give an appeals court an earful about a Manhattan judge's decision to disallow a mouthful of marijuana as evidence against a drug suspect. "It was a lawful...

1ST VICTIM RELIVES HORROR

Cops yesterday said they're increasingly confident that the mysterious Sept. 14 shooting of a man in suburban Maryland was the first in a string of sniper attacks that began terrorizing...

FIRST VICTIM TALKS: 'SUDDENLY, I WASN'T ABLE TO BREATHE'

Cops said yesterday they're increasingly confident that the mysterious Sept. 14 shooting of a man in suburban Maryland was the first in a string of murderous sniper attacks that began...

MAYOR BACKS AWAY FROM BID TO REQUIRE GAY BENEFITS

When he was running for mayor last year, Mike Bloomberg backed legislation to force companies doing business with the city to provide domestic-partnership benefits to employees - a measure he...

GOP: 3,500 WENT TO POLLS TWICE IN 2000

WASHINGTON - At least 3,500 people double-voted nationwide in the 2000 presidential election - including 415 New Yorkers, according to the final results from a Republican National Committee study. The...

A-MAYS-ING OPENER - RIGHTY CARRIES TWINS IN GAME 1

MINNEAPOLIS - Too late to be of any consolation to Yankee fans, but those rats from Anaheim were completely befuddled by a Mays. Joe Mays, the Twins right-hander who didn't...

BLUESHIRTS OPEN WITH HIGH HOPES

RALEIGH - And so the season opener will feature an immediate confrontation between the NHL's Haves and Have-Nots: the Hurricanes, who have a conference championship banner to raise before tonight's...

WOO SHOWS HE'S STILL KING OF THE BASS

LONGTIME pro and 2000 BASSMASTERS Classic champion Woo Daves reminded the sport of professional bass fishing that he is still around, bringing in 32 pounds, five ounces of Hudson River...

MCCARTHY LIKELY TO SIT IT OUT

RALEIGH - Sandy McCarthy is likely to be a healthy scratch from the Rangers' lineup as they open tonight against the Hurricanes. If so, it will be a Blueshirt first...

AMAZIN'S JOINING LINE FOR A'S MACHA

A's GM Billy Beane thinks so much of Ken Macha that he prefers not to compliment him. "I'm tempted not to say anything good because I don't want to lose...

PLAYOFFS PROVE CASH ISN'T KING

THE commissioner wins. There are a lot of folks wondering how silly Bud Selig would feel if he had to hand the World Series trophy to Twins owner Carl Pohlad,...

CARDS PLAY WITH KILE IN HEARTS

ST. LOUIS - Inspiration is what this game is all about. Look no further than the NLCS and tonight's opening matchup between the Cardinals and Giants at Busch Stadium. Talent...

SELIG HAS RAVES FOR RANDOLPH

Willie Randolph, hours after interviewing for the Mets' managerial vacancy, received a glowing recommendation from the highest level of the game as Bud Selig offered a ringing endorsement of the...

DEVILS WORKING ON ZYUZIN DEAL

While there were suggestions that they were caught off-guard by yesterday's cutdown deadline, the Devils are said to have been doing more than just confirming that both Mike Danton and...

ALOMAR SET FOR RETURN

As expected, the Mets exercised an $8 million option on Roberto Alomar for the 2003 season. GM Steve Phillips had until mid-November to pull the trigger, but decided no additional...

NETS LOOK TO GET REALLY MIXED UP

Kenyon Martin grabbed a seat after yesterday's practice and pulled a towel over his head. The 6-9 forward was staring at the ground until he heard the words "preseason game."...

VICK BRUISE IS BREAK FOR JINTS

CERTAIN players are the identity of their team. The Giants lack such an all-encompassing figure, but when it comes to the Falcons, the start, the finish and everything in between...

BIG BLUE MAKES MOVES

The Giants yesterday waived receiver Jonathan Carter and signed cornerback Reggie Stephens - addressing their surplus at one position and their deficit at the other. Stephens, who logged three interceptions...

TWINS REST THEIR ACE - RADKE GETS ONLY GAME 4

MINNEAPOLIS - How did Twins manager Ron Gardenhire get so smart so fast? In his rookie season as a major league manager, he began his second playoff series last night...

DEREK THE DREAD - YANKS' EARLY OUSTER TAKES TOLL ON JETER

Derek Jeter's flat eyes said a whole lot more than his words. Three days after the Yankees' stunning ALDS loss to the Angels the agony of defeat was etched all...

BOSS: I'M NOT LETTING CHIN DOWN

Through his public-relations people George Steinbrenner had this to say yesterday, three days after his high-priced club was eliminated from the postseason by the Angels: "My chin is not on...

GATORS, OKLA. GET NO KICKS FROM LOSING

COLLEGE GRID NOTES How does this happen? How do three of the elite college programs in the nation fail to have a reliable field-goal kicker? We're not talking about someone...

GIAMBI SEES TIME ON HIS SIDE

YANKEE NOTES One item followed another into a box that was headed for California. Dressed in jeans and T-shirt and sporting several days of stubble on his rugged face, Jason...

ROCKET LEANS TO PINSTRIPE REPLAY

Roger Clemens chatted with Joe Torre at Yankee Stadium yesterday and came away knowing the manager wants the Hall of Fame lock back next year. While Clemens seriously indicated he...

IT'S TIME TO SHIP HIM OUT

WHY does the Knicks' latest spat with Latrell Sprewell remind me of a parent who failed to discipline a child when he was young, trying to show some tough love...

JETS BACK TO BABY STEPS

INEVITABLE words of concession began to rain down in the frustrating moments following the Chiefs' comeback win on Sunday over the demoralized Jets. "At least we kept it close, kept...

TWINS FIND PERCIVAL TOUGH NUT TO CRACK

ALCS NOTEBOOK MINNEAPOLIS - Going into last night, Angels closer Troy Percival had never given up an earned run to the Twins. Not one, in 35 innings pitched over eight...

ATLANTIC TITLE'S WITHIN REACH

ISLANDERS SEASON PREVIEW Eighty-two games from now, the Islanders will be the Atlantic Division champs. You heard it here first. Taking a quick glance at the rest of the division,...

LEFT BANK DIES AFTER SURGERY

Multiple Grade 1 stakes winner Left Bank died Monday in Lexington, Ky., from complications after colic surgery. Colic plagued the five-year-old son of French Deputy throughout his career, with Left...

SPREE COMEBACK IN KNICKS' PLANS - SCOTT, DON TALK OF PEACE

Knicks GM Scott Layden said he's "anxious" to have him back, vowing he'll be part of this season's team. Don Chaney said he's ready to forgive and forget. Antonio McDyess...

MCDYESS' DEBUT DRAWS APPLAUSE FROM CHANEY

KNICK NOTES Othella Harrington's brick hung in the air and Antonio McDyess skied well above the rim and rammed home a dunk. There was 4:10 left in the third quarter,...

REED WONDERS WHY METS WERE BIG BUST

ALCS NOTEBOOK MINNEAPOLIS - Was Rick Reed, who left his heart with the Mets - but upon further reflection might wonder why - surprised to see his old team implode?...

SHOCKEY'S 'VERY IFFY'

If the Giants are going to beat the Falcons on Sunday at Giants Stadium, they are going to have to do it without Jeremy Shockey. The gifted rookie tight end,...

A-MAYS-ING OPENER: RIGHTY CARRIES TWINS IN GAME 1

ALCS/GAME 1 Twins 2 Angels 1 MINNEAPOLIS - It might be too late to be of consolation to Yankee fans, but in Game 1 of the ALCS last night ,...

CHANEY'S STILL GOT BIG PLANS FOR BACKCOURT

KNICK NOTES Neither Allan Houston (ankle) nor Latrell Sprewell (finger, etc.) were available for last night's exhibition opener against the Celtics at Nassau Coliseum, but coach Don Chaney said he...

SPREE COMEBACK IN KNICKS' PLANS: SCOTT, DON TALK OF PEACE

Knick GM Scott Layden said yesterday he's "anxious" to have Latrell Sprewell back, claiming he'll be part of these Knicks. Coach Don Chaney said he's ready to forgive and forget....