August 7, 2003
MAN-MADE DIAMONDS ARE A STEAL AT $5/CARAT
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amThe cost of buying an engagement ring - or any type of diamond - may soon get a lot cheaper. Two companies have developed methods to make synthetic diamonds that...
LEHMAN HEIRESS SELLS PARK AVE. PAD
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amTHE Post gets action. In a rare acknowledgement of the good the press can ocasionally do, Lady Sharon Sondes recognized us for helping her sell her prewar co-op at 555...
CLEANING OUT THE FRIDGE: THE FEDERAL RESERVE AND SIX FLAGS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amI WILL be taking a week off, so what you see below contains a lot of short items that might spoil while I'm away. Consider this my pre-vacation refrigerator cleaning....
CABLEVISION FIRES TOTAL STAFF AT UNIT
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amCablevision's pioneering on-demand service Mag Rack fired its entire production staff this week, The Post has learned. The number of employees let go is roughly a dozen, and the decision...
CALLEY EXIT TIGHTENS STRINGER GRIP AT SONY
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amSony's U.S. chief Sir Howard Stringer has tightened his control over the company's Hollywood movie studio. Sony Pictures Entertainment chief John Calley is in discussions to exit his post and...
O'NEAL PUSHES ZAKARIA TO EXIT
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amMerrill Lynch & Co.'s Stan O'Neal is cleaning house. The chief executive of the nation's biggest brokerage shook up the firm's ranks yesterday by replacing Arshad Zakaria, its global markets...
JONES CEO TESTED - BONEPARTH'S REIGN SEES DEFECTIONS, SALES DROP
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amPeter Boneparth's honeymoon as the chief executive of Jones Apparel Group was short-lived. Just over a year into the job, Boneparth is facing management defections, slowing sales, and - most...
ICE CAPADES: THESE GEMS FOOLED THE EXPERTS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amYellow diamonds are rare, expensive and sought after - so when seeing them dealers and gem experts in New York's diamond district were baffled, suspicious and dismayed yesterday. When confronted...
MORE SHAKE-UPS LIKELY AT MERRILL
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amStan O'Neal is cleaning house at Merrill - and now there's talk that the purge is likely to start going deeper into the organization. Within the next few weeks there...
PERIL AT MERRILL - FIRM HIRES LAWYERS TO STUDY BOARD TIES TO EXECS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amMerrill Lynch's board has hired lawyers to look into the relationship between compensation committee chair Robert Luciano and the upper echelon of the firm's management, The Post has learned. Luciano...
STARR REPORT
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amKing slips his audience a Mickey Interesting exchange on Tuesday's "Larry King Live" - with Marilyn Monroe's first husband, Jim Dougherty, basically calling Mickey Rooney a liar. It all started...
THIS CIRCLE STAYS UNBROKEN
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA PERFECT CIRCLE --- PERFORMING on a backlit stage - visible only as shadows or silhouettes, indisguishable except for their instruments - A Perfect Circle hardly seems like a supergroup....
SON AND SURF - CHILD OF 'SUMMER' BACK AT THE BEACH
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amFILMMAKER Bruce Brown created an entire genre of movies with his legendary 1966 surfer documentary, "The Endless Summer" - and at the same time, dug a huge hole for his...
SCARY GIRL TO PLAY JESSICA
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amNBC has chosen horror-movie actress Laura Regan to play Pvt. Jessica Lynch in its TV movie about the newly minted folk hero, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Regan made her...
VIDEO GAMES, MOVIES CAN MAKE A BAND
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amTHE next time you pick up your game controller or catch a flick, listen closely - you might discover some new music. Movies and video game soundtracks are the latest...
'JAG' STAR WITH SECRET PAST DIED OF OVERDOSE
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA Los Angeles coroner has ruled that "JAG" co-star Trevor Goddard died of a drug overdose, but a secret the actor took to his grave has been exposed - he...
THE REEL WHITE HOUSE
August 7, 2003 | 4:00am"All the Presidents' Movies" [ ] Tonight at 7 on Bravo ---- WHILE there are some really fun moments in tonight's Bravo special, "All the Presidents' Movies," there aren't enough...
EBERT HAS CANCER AGAIN
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amFILM critic Roger Ebert, who also co- hosts "Ebert & Roeper," will undergo radiation treatments for a malignant tumor on his salivary gland. Ebert told his newspaper, The Chicago Sun-Times,...
FISH AND CLIPS: N.Y. FILMMAKER HOPES TO SAVE KITSCHY FLORIDA MERMAID THEATER
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amQUEENS filmmaker Sarah Dionne is the kind of girl who carries a mermaid tail around with her. It was a gift from a mermaid named Dolly, who had a spare....
HELL'S KITCHEN IS REALLY COOKIN'
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amWhen it was ruled by the hard-core Irish gang the Westies, the strip of Hell's Kitchen along Ninth Avenue between 44th and 49th streets was considered one of the most...
GUILTY: I PUT MOB $QUEEZE ON STAR
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amSteven Seagal has brought a real-life enemy to his knees - a former movie producer has 'fessed up to using mob muscle to try to squeeze millions from the martial-arts...
GUARD HAS COLD COURAGE
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amJARRITT SCOTTI - Courage Medal nominee --- Jarrit Scotti was having a routine afternoon as a security guard at the Reliant Energy Plant in Queens when a couple of kids...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA lot of people say the new brochure about the pros and cons of living in Michigan's Ottawa County really stinks - and they're right. It includes a scratch-and-sniff section...
'HARD LABOR' FOR ROAD-SLAY CHEAT
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amThe young Brooklyn man who served jail time for mowing down two young sisters with a Porsche two years ago got slammed yesterday with 280 hours of menial labor after...
DEMS NEED GORE TO RUN, SAYS MARIO
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amAs Al Gore revved up for a big speech blasting President Bush on Iraq today, former Gov. Mario Cuomo called on the former vice president to jump into the 2004...
JOE LIEBERMAN'S PANDERFEST
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amTHOUGH the rest of the Democratic presidential field has been aching to do so, only Joe Lieberman thus far has directly confronted Howard Dean, portraying him as a guaranteed loser...
FAITHFUL PROTEST CHURCH CLOSING
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amParishioners of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church gathered outside New York Archdiocese headquarters yesterday to protest the closing of the landmark. Julienne Jack, one of 15 protesters, said the...
UPSTATE BAR SMOKED OUT OF BUSINESS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amALBANY - The state's new smoking ban has claimed its first victim. Greg McEuen said he will close his bar, The Stumble Inn, in upstate Champlain after one last bash...
LEATHERNECKS LAND IN LIBERIA
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - The Marines have landed in Liberia. A seven-man team arrived on military helicopters in the war-ravaged African nation yesterday to give limited support to a peacekeeping force of...
'IDOL' RUBEN IN JERSEY $CANDAL
August 7, 2003 | 4:00am"American Idol 2" champ Ruben Studdard has been accused of accepting at least $10,000 in kickbacks to wear his signature 205 jerseys on national TV last spring. The owners of...
MORE FAT-ALITIES FOR HEAVY DRIVERS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amFat motorists are more than twice as likely to be killed or seriously hurt in road accidents than people of normal weight, a new study reveals. Researchers at the University...
POLS RAISE A STINK - B'KLYN BLAZE BECOMES A SEWER POINT
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amCall it Stinkhead Bay. The foul smell of human waste could soon return to the air around the Brooklyn community after a fire destroyed the deodorizers in one of the...
SLEAZY WAY OUT FOR SPRINGER
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Tacky talk-show host Jerry Springer yesterday said he won't try to get back into politics with a run for Ohio senator because he knows the taint of his...
TWU FIGHTS 'BOOTH' AND NAIL
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amThe transit union is taking the MTA to court in a bid to stop the agency from closing 45 subway booths this month, officials said. Transport Workers Union Local 100...
CITY HALL 'COHORT' IN B'KLYN MALL-ING
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA Department of City Planning employee has quit and turned whistleblower - charging that the city helped a giant developer keep a Brooklyn community from having a say in plans...
TROOPS IN MAJOR IRAQ MISSILE FIND
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - U.S. forces yesterday captured 19 guerrilla fighters and uncovered a stash of ammunition, rockets and two 20-foot long missiles hidden in northern Iraq. Raids by Iraqi police and...
BRIBE & GROOMS - WOMAN LOSES TRACK OF 26 MARRIAGES-FOR-MONEY
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amProsecutors say she's been married 26 times, but Dezerrie Cortes has apparently lost count. "I did 10 fake marriages in the 1980s," Cortes told investigators shortly after she was arrested...
HOT SHOT'S JERSEY STILL A BIG SELLER FOR N.Y. FANS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amKobe Bryant may have fouled out off the court, but his famous yellow and purple Lakers jersey is still a slam-dunk with his faithful fans. At the NBA Store on...
WHOOPI: MIKE CAN'T SNUFF MY ON-SCREEN CIGS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amMayor Bloomberg may have finally met his match in smoker Whoopi Goldberg. The comedy star, filming a new sitcom at Kaufman Studios in Queens, told the mayor yesterday her character...
A FAMILY AGAIN - KERRY CUOMO'S EX-LOVER AND WIFE BACK TOGETHER
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amPolitical scions Andrew Cuomo and Kerry Kennedy are separating after 13 years.AP The other man in the Cuomo-Kennedy-Colley love triangle has literally returned home - as an exclusive photo of...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amBROOKLYN * Detectives yesterday asked for the public's help in tracking down this man (left), wanted in connection with a June shooting in which three people - including an innocent...
N.J. 'AMNESIA' INSURANCE TWIST
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amCops in New Jersey are investigating the "amnesia" victim who turned up in Manhattan nine days after he disappeared from a Long Branch beach. Derek Nicholson, 30, vanished on July...
NYPD POLISHES NEW BRASS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amThe NYPD is adding two captains to help oversee the Emergency Service Unit, doubling its complement. The unit also has an inspector at the helm and a deputy inspector as...
BLOOMY TEASES AT TAX RELIEF
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amLet the good times roll. Mayor Bloomberg made his strongest declaration yet in favor of lowering taxes once the economy comes around. "The public should not have to pay in...
RELEASED PRISONERS REJOICING
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - There were joyful reunions in the West Bank and Gaza yesterday as Israel released 336 Palestinian prisons in a gesture of peace - which Palestinian officials immediately dismissed...
11 YRS. FOR PSYCHO FACE-BITER
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA mentally ill Queens man who bit off chunks of his girlfriend's face was sentenced to 11 years in prison yesterday. Felix Rondon, 32 - who has been diagnosed as...
DOUBLE-SLAY POINTBLANK: COP
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA Queens man on trial for a 1997 double-murder told cops that when he stood at the foot of his former lover's bed and fired at the woman and her...
IS DEAN BEING HONEST? WELL, DEFINE 'HONEST'
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amSURPRISE! Democratic 2004 front-runner Howard Dean is starting to sound like Bill Clinton in a very un-good way: playing word games and waltzing with the truth. Which doesn't quite suit...
HYNES HINTS AT MORE JUDGE RAPS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amBrooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes yesterday said he expected more indictments out of the special grand jury probing judicial misconduct, as he announced one for bribe-taking against embattled Judge Gerald...
JURY MULLS: IS 'WILFRED' REAL?
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA Manhattan jury starts Day 2 of deliberations today on a bizarre Sept. 11 charity-fraud case and it's pivotal question: Where's Wilfred? Defendant Cyril Kendall, a Guyanian citizen and Queens...
SEAGAL KOS MOB MUSCLE
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amSteven Seagal has knocked a real-life enemy to his knees - a former movie producer accused of using mob muscle in trying to squeeze millions from the aging martial-arts star...
ELEX-BOARD WRIST-SLAP OVER SLUR
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA veteran worker at the city's Board of Elections called the agency's top African-American official a "n- - - - - bitch" - but his only punishment was a two-week...
BROADWAY TIX NIX - FANS OF ORIGINAL 'PRODUCERS' WAIT IN VAIN
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amHundreds of theatergoers eager to see Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in "The Producers" swarmed the box office of the St. James Theatre yesterday, only to be told that tickets...
CABBY TELLS BIKER-DEATH HORROR STORY
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amWhen motorcyclist Salah Belkhaouas lost control of his bike and fatally wrecked at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, cabby Yousif Ibrahim could only look on helplessly in horror. "I'm...
FEDS SPEAR FIVE FISHY SUSPECTS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amFish smugglers reeled in $11.5 million selling rock lobsters and Chilean sea bass illegally caught in South Africa and shipped into New York, the feds charged yesterday. Alleged mastermind Arnold...
STATE NIXES BOND BAILOUT
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA board controlled by Gov. Pataki and Comptroller Alan Hevesi yesterday voted to block a city bailout package that Mayor Bloomberg counted on to save the city $500 million a...
BIN LADEN OK'D MOUSSAOUI: FEDS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden personally gave the go-ahead for Zacarias Moussaoui to take part in the 9/11 terror plan to fly planes into buildings, the feds charged in court...
LACI HUBBY NIXED DEAL THAT WOULD SPARE HIS LIFE
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amAccused California wife and baby killer Scott Peterson was offered a plea bargain that would have kept prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against him, according to new reports. Under...
THE CIRCUS COMES TO TINY TOWN, USA
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amEAGLE, Colo. - Senior citizens Richard and Ruth Loring admit they were trying to be slick. Several hours before Kobe Bryant was to appear before a judge on sexual-assault charges,...
SHIRT MAY HOLD CLUE TO '91 SLAY
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA distinctive T-shirt worn by a woman murdered a dozen years ago - emblazoned with the words "Where The Wild Things Are" and a children's book cartoon character - could...
COP'S ROAD RAGE - CHARGED IN ARMED HEIST OF BRONX TOW DRIVER
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA Westchester police officer is facing felony charges of robbery, criminal weapons possession and grand larceny after a bizarre Bronx incident in which he's accused of waving a gun at...
LAPTOP MAY HAVE AMMON SLAY CLUES
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amAuthorities on Long Island are looking for a laptop computer that may contain surveillance images that could help nail millionaire Ted Ammon's murderer. The grand jury looking into the murder...
NOW BALL'S IN KOBE'S COURT - NBA STAR FLIES IN FOR QUICK HEARING
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amNBA superstar Kobe Bryant yesterday began the fight of his life to stay out of prison, appearing calm, cool and collected at his first hearing on a charge of raping...
STATE NIXES CITY BOND BAILOUT
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA board controlled by Gov. Pataki and state Comptroller Alan Hevesi yesterday voted to block a city bailout package that Mayor Bloomberg counted on to save the city $500 million...
UNION GOT JOBBED - EMBEZZLE ACCOUNTANT SPENT 170G ON ORAL SEX: DA
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amCall it an open-and-shut zipper case. An accountant from Staten Island faces up to 15 years in prison on charges of embezzling $170,000 - money investigators say he spent almost...
'VAULT' FALLS AT GRAND CENTRAL
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA large concrete fixture fell from the ceiling of Grand Central Terminal last night and crashed onto a platform, authorities said. No one was injured. The fixture, called a vault,...
TWU FIGHTS MTA 'BOOTH' AND NAIL
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amThe transit union is taking the MTA to court in a bid to stop the agency from closing 45 subway booths this month, officials said yesterday. Transport Workers Union Local...
FEDS SPEAR FISHY QUINTET
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amFish smugglers reeled in $11.5 million selling rock lobsters and Chilean sea bass illegally caught in South Africa and shipped into New York, the feds charged yesterday. Alleged mastermind Arnold...
JURY MULLS: IS 'WILFRED' FOR REAL?
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA Manhattan jury starts Day 2 of deliberations today on a bizarre Sept. 11 charity fraud case and it's pivotal question: Where's Wilfred? Defendant Cyril Kendall, a Guyanian citizen and...
FACE-CHOMPER GETS 11 YEARS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA mentally ill Queens man who bit off chunks of his girlfriend's face was sentenced to just over 11 years in prison yesterday. Felix Rondon, 32 - who has been...
U.S. GRABS SADDAM'S MILITIA BIG
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - U.S. forces today captured a suspected leader of Saddam Hussein's loyalist militia during a predawn raid in Tikrit, the fallen dictator's hometown. The captive had allegedly armed guerrilla...
'AMNESIA' INSURANCE TWIST EYED
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amCops in New Jersey are investigating the "amnesia" victim who turned up in Manhattan nine days after he disappeared from a Long Branch beach. Derek Nicholson, 30, vanished from Long...
MARIO URGES AL TO RUN
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amAs Al Gore revved up for a big speech blasting President Bush on Iraq today, former Gov. Mario Cuomo called on the former vice president to jump into the 2004...
GOOD BYE-NITEZ, HELLO, NELSON - YANKS SHIP ARMANDO TO M'S BRING JEFF BACK TO BRONX
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amThe Armando Benitez era in The Bronx lasted exactly 21 days. In a stunning move, the Yankees shipped the hard-throwing reliever they acquired from the Mets July 16 to Seattle,...
JEFF MAKES A BEELINE TO BRONX
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amThink Jeff Nelson was anxious to rejoin the Yankees? Just hours after being traded from the Mariners for Armando Benitez and cash, Nelson made a surprise visit to the Yankee...
HEILMAN FLUNKS ANOTHER TEST
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amAstros 11 - Mets 1 HOUSTON - Maybe Lastings Milledge isn't the first-round pick the Mets should have concerns about. Aaron Heilman, the club's 2001 top selection, has shown virtually...
BENITEZ RUES QUICK HOOK
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amArmando Benitez' glassy eyes awaited the media horde. He wouldn't admit it, but Benitez was visibly upset by news the Yankees had shipped him and cash to Seattle for Jeff...
FRIGHT TO THE FINISH - RIVERA FAILS IN NINTH
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amSuddenly, the Yankees are faced with an unfamiliar nightmare. Mariano Rivera is human. Rivera blew his third straight save last night, and fourth in his last six chances - serving...
GIANTS NEED BACKUP PLAN - HAVE TO DETERMINE PALMER'S POTENTIAL
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amALBANY - During a seven-on-seven passing drill a few days ago, the coverage was solid and Jesse Palmer could not locate anyone or anyplace to send the ball to. So...
MONUMENTAL DAY FOR MARIS - GRANDSON MAKES FIRST VISIT TO YANKEE STADIUM
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amTHE 13-year-old made his way through the halls of Yankee Stadium early yesterday morning with eyes aglow and a baseball glove on his left hand. This wasn't just any young...
JIM WANTS 'SPECIAL' EFFORT FROM TYREE
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amGIANT NOTES ALBANY - Before leaving training camp for the first preseason game, Giant coach Jim Fassel yesterday made sure to issue the following challenge to David Tyree, a rookie...
VICTIM CALLS FOUL ON REYNOLDS' DEAL
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amA St. John's University swimmer who was assaulted by Grady Reynolds lashed out at what she called an insulting plea deal the rising hoops star was given instead of jail...
THUMB'S DOWN FOR SORIANO
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES Alfonso Soriano's bruised right thumb was hurting him enough to keep him out of last night's game and possibly today's against the Rangers. Soriano, who was drilled by...
ARMANDO WILL MISS NEW YORK
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amSitting next to two boxes, one empty, the other holding only a pair of black high-tops with No. 49 stitched in (left over from his Mets days), Armando Benitez's glassy...
MILLEDGE MULLS LAWSUIT
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amMET NOTES HOUSTON - Indications are that the Mets and their first-round pick, Lastings Milledge, remain on the verge of signing a deal later this week. But if for some...
SZOTT: O-LINE WILL BE SOLID
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amAt this point last year, David Szott was hobbling, a 34-year-old still recovering from knee surgery and very much in doubt for the rest of his season. He began to...
NELSON NEWS MET WITH OPEN ARMS
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amYankees fans aren't quick to forget the clutch performances Jeff Nelson provided from his sidearm delivery. Neither are the Yankees, who yesterday sent Armando Benitez and cash to the Mariners...
EDWARDS VS. LEWIS A SPECIAL MATCHUP
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amJET NOTES The Jets' Sunday preseason game against Cincinnati, the debut of Bengal coach Marvin Lewis, isn't quite history-making. There've been 18 regular-season meetings between black coaches, and Herm Edwards'...
JEFF TIPS HIS CAP TO COACH
August 7, 2003 | 4:00am"Jeff [Duncan] was a great talent here, and it was a matter of time until it all came out." -PAT MURPHY --- HOUSTON - Jeff Duncan experienced a love-hate relationship...
YANKS WELCOME NELLIE'S RETURN
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amYankee fans aren't quick to forget the clutch performances Jeff Nelson provided from his sidearm delivery. Neither are the Yankees, who yesterday sent Armando Benitez and cash to the Mariners...
AFTER THREE YEARS, RELIEF IS ON THE WAY
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amIT took the Yankees three years to figure out they should never have let Jeff Nelson go. It took them only three weeks to recognize they had to let Armando...
RED-HOT BOOMER LASHES OUT AT UMP, QUESTEC
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amDavid Wells grimaced, shook his head and muttered words of the four-letter variety. In the eight inning, Wells saw Joe Torre lumbering toward the mound, meaning his night was done....
MILLEDGE MULLS SUIT
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amHOUSTON - Indications are that the Mets and their first-round pick, Lastings Milledge, remain on the verge of signing a deal that could be completed by the weekend. But if...
DUNCAN TIPS CAP TO ASU COACH
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amMET NOTES HOUSTON - Jeff Duncan experienced a love/hate relationship in college with Arizona State's Pat Murphy, one that has now developed into mutual respect and admiration. The Met rookie...
THUMB'S DOWN FOR INJURED SORIANO
August 7, 2003 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES Alfonso Soriano's bruised right thumb was hurting him enough to keep him out of last night's game and possibly today's as well. Soriano, who was drilled by Texas'...