January 8, 2004
DONALDSON RIPS MUTUAL FUND BOARDS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amSEC chief William Donaldson publicly spanked the boards of mutual funds for allowing trading scandals to spread, and vowed to prosecute guilty directors. In speech last night to the Mutual...
AG BLASTS FEDS FOR CURBING STATE BANKING OVERSIGHT
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amNew York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and state lawmakers condemned the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for passing rules that will limit states' power in going after predatory...
SPITZER COULD GO AFTER $200M FROM GRASSO
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amThe New York Stock Exchange board today will ask Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and the Securities and Exchange Commission to reclaim millions raked in by its former chief, Dick Grasso....
NYSE PAY DEALS: SECRETARY MADE 250G, DRIVERS 125G: REPORT
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amDick Grasso's secretary made a whopping $250,000 a year, and his two drivers made $125,000 apiece, according to a 127-page report being circulated about Grasso's own outrageous pay package. The...
CEO ADMITS FRAUD OVER $12.8M IPO
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amThe ex-CEO of Barron Chase Securities has admitted he tried to defraud investors in the $12.8 million initial public offering of now-defunct Internet start-up busybox.com, the feds said yesterday. Robert...
MARTHA PROSECUTORS NEARLY RUINED THE CASE
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amTHE rest of the criminal case against Martha Stewart had better not be as sloppy as what I am about to tell you. Stewart, of course, is charged with telling...
PITTMAN, ZELNICK BUY MEDIA FIRM
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amFormer AOL Time Warner bigwig Bob Pittman and media veteran Strauss Zelnick are teaming up to buy market research group OTX, The Post has learned. The deal is worth close...
PALM BEACH BUM: BLACK SELLING A 2ND SPREAD TO PAY HOLLINGER TAB
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amEmbattled newspaper baron Conrad Black is looking to bolt the plush surroundings of Palm Beach and raise some cash. The cash-strapped mogul has put his extravagant Palm Beach mansion on...
CANADIAN FASHIONISTA TO BE ALL THAT
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amThe hottest editor in Canada is about to land in New York City. Suzanne Boyd, a surfer girl who rose to become the editor-in-chief of Canadian fashion bible Flare, is...
BEAUTY BRAND FACE-LIFT: RELAUNCHED LASZLO SPA MOVES IN AT BERGDORF
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amThe Erno Laszlo Institute, an exclusive treatment center that once pampered the faces of Jacqueline Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and Greta Garbo, is returning to New York after a four-decade hiatus....
'I DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT WITHOUT HIM' ; 'RULES' STAR WANTED SHOW TO END
January 8, 2004 | 5:00am'8Simple Rules" star Kaley Cuoco was initially outraged that ABC brass decided to continue the show after its star, John Ritter died last year. "When I heard that the show...
PARIS BACK ON THE FARM
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amPARIS Hilton and Nicole Richie have given up Beverly Hills for Arkansas - again. The stars of Fox's "The Simple Life" will reunite with the Ledings, their adopted Arkansas family,...
'ALTOGETHER' ENCHANTING
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amALTOGETHER DIFFERENT Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave., at 19th Street; (212) 242-0800. Through Jan. 18. EVERY year around this time, the Joyce Theater offers two weeks of programming it calls...
SURVIVETHIS, KID; TRUMP IN CONTROL OF 'APPRENTICE'
January 8, 2004 | 5:00am"The Apprentice" Tonight at 8:30 on NBC/4 (three stars) HERE'S something I never knew before: Donald Trump's home is decorated just like the lobbies of his apartment buildings and casinos....
OUTKAST OUTLASTS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amOUTKAST has now sold 31/4 million copies of "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," adding another 151,000 copies to the tally the first week of year, as the double-disc set crowned the top...
LIFE ON CRUISE CONTROL
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amTOM Cruise might sound like a name invented in Hollywood, but it wasn't. "Cruise" is actually the actor's middle name, and he's the one who decided to make it his...
WHO'S IN FIRST? HARDLY HEARD HERE, U.S. DUO TOPS U.K. CHARTS; HARDLY HEARD HERE, U.S. DUO TOPS U.K. CHARTS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amIT'S a mad world - in Britain at least. A cover of "Mad World," a 1983 Tears for Fears tune, has made stars in London out of two Los Angeles...
STARR REPORT
January 8, 2004 | 5:00am'Development' slate Actress Heather Graham ("Austin Powers") will guest star on "Ar rested De velopment" in an epi sode revolv ing around confused Bluth Family teen George Michael (Michael Cera)....
BRITNEY'S WEDDING LOOK: $100 - EXPERT ADVICE: DON'T DO IT ON YOUR BIG DAY
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amCINDY Crawford went barefoot, Gwen Stefani did pink and Martha Stewart's daughter Alexis wore a gray pinstripe suit. But Britney Spears broke every wedding rule in the book, by wearing...
HANDBOOK FOR HOSTING: ENTERTAINING BASICS YOU NEED TO KNOW
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amWHEN it comes to throwing a party, we'd all like to be coolly stirring the perfect martini while our guests get ready to tuck into superbly grilled steak. But are...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amThree fugitives who had barricaded themselves in a Florida attic ran out of their hiding hole and straight into the arms of cops - after they found a human skeleton...
HIP-HOP HONCHOS 'DIALING' FOR VOTERS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amHip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and WBLS radio personality Doug Banks are hoping to use music to recruit 20 million new voters by 2009, they announced yesterday. "We're going to be...
MOM: SLAIN SON NO PARTY-CRASHER
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amThe grieving mom of a teenage boy shot to death outside a Far Rockaway party heatedly disputed the police account of the deadly attack yesterday. Wendi Peppers, the mother of...
EX-BOMBER: NETS MOVE A BIG ERROR
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amFormer Yankee hurler Jim Bouton hopes a real estate mogul strikes out with his pitch to bring the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn. The Jersey-born Bouton, 64, a key cog...
PATAKI SEEKS FISCAL FIX FOR ED. AND MED
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - Gov. Pataki called for a sweeping series of education and Medicaid reforms yesterday in his annual State of the State Address - but put off providing most details...
EX-YANKEES PLEAD IN BOSTON BRAWL
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amTwo former Yankees began a battle to prevent an unwelcome return to a striped uniform by pleading not guilty to assault charges that could net them each as much as...
HILLARY'S GAS GAFFE NOXIOUS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amBEFORE a roomful of fans and fat-wallet Democrats, a presumably sober Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton last weekend performed an act more tasteless, offensive - and potentially hurtful - than anything...
MIKE LIKES BUSH PLAN ON VISAS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg yesterday gave a thumbs-up, while Hispanic leaders reacted cautiously, to President Bush's landmark immigration proposal, which would allow undocumented workers to gain legal status if they have jobs....
TRANSVESTITE SLAYS 'MUGGER'
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amA homeless man was stabbed to death by a transvestite in a Manhattan subway station early yesterday morning, cops said. Cops were questioning the accused killer late yesterday but had...
TAXI TERROR FOR QNS. WOMAN
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amA man used a taxi to kidnap his ex-girlfriend, police said yesterday. Latasha Scott, 20, of Far Rockaway, Queens, was spirited away in the 1996 Ford Crown Victoria taxi by...
BIGAMY BRIDE A '$INGLE MOTHER'
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amA brazen bigamist has told a judge why she married 27 times - without ever divorcing - in a lucrative immigration scam: because she was a single mom. "I was...
SCHOOL SECURITY FEELS LIKE 'SITTING DUCKS'
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amSchool safety officers are holding a protest today, charging that Mayor Bloomberg's safety plan ignores their concerns. "My members are sitting ducks," griped Carl Haynes, head of Teamsters Local 237,...
3 PUPILS BUSTED IN BRUTAL FIGHTS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amTwo days after Mayor Bloomberg named the city's dozen most dangerous schools, cops yesterday arrested a 12-year-old student at a Brooklyn school that didn't make the list - and two...
DRUG-AD DUO FACING EIGHT YEARS IN JAIL
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amAfter being marched into court in handcuffs yesterday, two senior Manhattan advertising execs accused of ripping off the feds by almost $1 million were told they could wind up in...
TYCO BOSS MEETS $20M KOZ OF ALL HIS WOES
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amTarnished Tyco head Dennis Kozlowski came face-to-face in a Manhattan court yesterday with the ex-colleague whose outlandish $20 million bonus led to his downfall. But the tycoon's face revealed no...
COPS HUNT HARLEM HEIST HOODS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amThis dramatic picture was captured by a surveillance camera at a Harlem jewelry store just before four bandits walked out with $300,000 in gems last year. The heist took place...
GROUND ZERO MEMORIAL WINS FANS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amVisitors to Ground Zero yesterday voiced approval of the minimalist memorial design chosen for the tragic site. "They went out of their way to make sure that the right memorial...
MODEL EXEC EYED IN JURY MAKE-UP FIX
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amProsecutors are investigating allegations that an executive at Elite Model Management tried to tamper with the jury during a sensational case where one of their employees complained she'd been smoked...
BESIEGED BEATLE DOC EYES CHARITY RX
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amThe Staten Island doctor accused of forcing George Harrison to autograph a guitar as the Beatle lay on his deathbed has offered to donate the instrument to charity, his lawyer...
BUBBA'S GOAL: STAY ABOVE THE CAMPAIGN
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amDES MOINES, Iowa - Suddenly it seems the Democratic presidential primaries could turn into a war over whether Bill Clinton's team keeps control of the party. Polls now hint the...
WOMAN KILLED BY VAN WAS NEW MOM
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amA senior research analyst at Sanford Bernstein and the mother of a 10-month-old son was identified as the woman killed by a van while walking to work in Midtown early...
'MAFIA BOSS FRAMED IN SLAY'
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amA jailed mobster yesterday claimed his late capo father and a crooked FBI agent framed Colombo acting chief Victor Orena for a 1989 murder. During a hearing to determine if...
PETE THE CHEAT ; ROSE TELLS OF FLINGS AND LOVE-CHILD LAWSUIT
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amBaseball legend Pete Rose played the field in more ways than one - he admits cheating on his first wife even as he gambled hundreds of thousands of dollars on...
SCHOOL DEFIBRILLATOR PLAN A WRECK
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amA year after the city was required to have lifesaving defibrillators in schools, more than 1,500 of the devices are collecting dust in a warehouse, waiting for officials to finish...
BEATEN FIREMAN SAYS FIRST WORDS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amFirefighter Robert Walsh, in a medically induced coma since a colleague allegedly attacked him last week, had his breathing tube removed yesterday as doctors prepared to transfer him to another...
'BOOB IMPLANTS AND VACATIONS? I'D LIKE TO KNOCK ; IN HER 40G TEETH'
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amThe heartbroken brother of fallen 9/11 firefighter James Amato lashed out at his sister-in-law yesterday, accusing her of using her dead husband's "blood money" to finance a lavish lifestyle that...
CLARK CROWS AS POLLS CLIMB
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amDES MOINES, Iowa - Wesley Clark's team yesterday claimed he's the "one and only" Democrat who can stop front-runner Howard Dean after a new poll showed the retired general surging...
NO GEST STAR; LIZA'S 'HURTING' HUBBY BLOWS OFF COURT DATE
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amLiza Minnelli was in a New York, New York divorce court yesterday, but her estranged hubby, David Gest, couldn't make it here or anywhere - he's still in too much...
MIKE OFFERS $400 ANNUAL TAX REFUND
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg today will propose a property-tax rebate for all homeowners - moving to soothe voter anger by sending them a $400 check in advance of his 2005 re-election campaign,...
PARKING-TIX BS GETS BX. COP BUSTED
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amConsistency brought trouble to a Bronx cop - he was indicted yesterday on charges of telling the same story over and over to get out of several parking tickets. Six...
CHOIR-SEX BOMBSHELL; PROBER: FIRE HARLEM BOSS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amAn explosive report by the city's schools investigator says the head of the world-famous Boys Choir of Harlem should be fired for ignoring molestation accusations against a top employee who...
JUDGE DENTS BUTTAFUOCO BODY SHOP
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amLOS ANGELES - Joey Buttafuoco pleaded not guilty yesterday to a string of insurance-fraud charges, and a judge ordered the former Long Island lothario to steer clear of running his...
CLASSROOM EXTRA: A FAIR GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amPicture phones, lasers and Belgian waffles. These were just some of the amazing things at the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadow, Queens. If you wanted to see the latest...
W'S IMMIGRATION PLAN: A NEW GOP
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amYESTERDAY, President Bush proposed a far-reaching, innovative and compassionate revision of American immigration policy. It instantly drew predictable howls from those who fear the economic and social costs of immigration,...
GRILL & BARE IT: 'JURORS' QUESTIONED ABOUT EVERYTHING MARTHA
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amPotential Martha Stewart jurors were thoroughly grilled on their knowledge of the domestic diva and her recipes, sources said yesterday. Five pages at the back of the 35-page questionnaire given...
DELIGHTFUL DI WENT DITZY WITH 'DEATH CONSPIRACY' TALK
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amWHEN Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, said this week her sister-in-law "was the most beautiful, wonderful woman in the world," who could say nay? She was talking about that...
SLAY MOBSTER'S MAMMA WAILS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amA Bonanno underling who murdered a Staten Island housewife during a botched robbery was sentenced to 42 years yesterday - prompting his mother to wail, "Nobody cares about me." "That's...
TAXI TERROR FOR KIDNAPPED QNS. WOMAN
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amA man used a taxi to kidnap his ex-girlfriend, police said yesterday. Latasha Scott, 20, of Far Rockaway, Queens, was spirited away in the 1996 Ford Crown Victoria taxi by...
$20 MIL KOZ OF ALL HIS WOES
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amTarnished Tyco head Dennis Kozlowski came face-to-face in a Manhattan court yesterday with the ex-colleague whose outlandish $20 million bonus led to his downfall. But the tycoon's face revealed no...
STICKY SUIT VS. MCD'S
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amAn upstate man says he got needled in supersized fashion when he sunk his teeth into a McDonald's Chicken McGrill sandwich - and he's not lovin' it anymore. Now Daniel...
'SITTING DUCKS' AT SCHOOLS
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amSchool safety officers are holding a protest today, charging that Mayor Bloomberg's safety plan ignores their concerns. "My members are sitting ducks," griped Carl Haynes, head of Teamsters Local 237,...
EX-YANKS PLEAD IN BOSTON BRAWL
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amTwo former Yankees began a battle to prevent an unwelcome return to a striped uniform by pleading not guilty to assault charges that could net them each as much as...
COPS NAB HIT-AND-RUN 'KILLER' OF L.I. BICYCLIST
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amA hit-and-run driver killed a bicyclist on Long Island, but later returned to the scene, where police arrested him and charged him with DWI and leaving the scene of an...
DRUG-AD DUO FACE EIGHT YEARS IN JAIL
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amAfter being marched into court in handcuffs yesterday, two senior Manhattan advertising execs accused of ripping off the feds by almost $1 million were told they could wind up in...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amTHE BRONX A second man has been arrested in a gunpoint robbery of two Verizon workers in Mott Haven last year, authorities said yesterday. Jason Oatman, 19, was busted Tuesday...
NOW HE'S BEVERLY HILLS JACKO
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amLOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson and his three kids have moved from Neverland to Beverly Hills, prompting a possible change of venue for child-welfare investigators' probe of how Jackson treats...
SLAY RAP FOR TRANSVESTITE
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amA homeless transvestite stabbed a man to death in a Manhattan subway station early yesterday, cops said. Lloyd Koulen, 28, who was charged with murder, claimed he was acting in...
BABY JESUS SWIPED FROM LITTLE ITALY CRECHE
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amA daring hoodlum swiped a miniature Baby Jesus from the nativity scene of a Little Italy church, cops said yesterday - the second such theft reported in the city in...
NO GEST STAR: LIZA'S 'HURTING' HUBBY BLOWS OFF COURT DATE
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amLiza Minnelli was in a New York, New York, divorce court yesterday, but her estranged hubby, David Gest, couldn't make it here or anywhere - he's still in too much...
EX-ISLE TORRES GETS A CHANCE
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amWhen Islanders GM Mike Milbury traded Brad Isbister and Raffi Torres to Edmonton last spring for Janne Niinimaa, the fear was that Isbister would turn into an elite power forward...
RANGERS EMBARK ON KEY STRETCH
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amAbout an hour after the Rangers left the practice ice yesterday, a loud thud and a couple of grunts could be heard outside their locker room. The commotion came from...
'WHY DIDN'T HE GET HELP?' NEW HALL OF FAMERS DOUBT ROSE'S EXCUSE
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amPETE ROSE writes that baseball had only a lifetime punishment for gambling, no "fancy treatment" like for drugs and alcohol, virtually forcing him to stonewall his problem. So now we...
COUGHLIN ROCKS BIG BLUE YACHT ; NO-NONSENSE JINTS COACH VOWS HE'LL RUN TIGHT SHIP
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amThe Giants yesterday called a press conference and a fiery team meeting broke out. And there was no doubt who was in charge. "What we must all be about right...
'SKINS STICK IT TO JETS AGAIN
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amFirst Laveranues Coles, Randy Thomas, John Hall and Chad Morton. Now Gregg Williams. Those Redskins are at it again. They trumped the Jets with yet another offseason maneuver yesterday when...
METS OK WITH ABSENT REYES
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amPORT ST. LUCIE - The Mets can only hope that Jose Reyes' transition to second base goes a lot smoother than his application for a work visa. The 20-year-old prodigy...
STEPH BACK WHERE IT ALL BEGAN ; MARBURY READY FOR HERO'S WELCOME TONIGHT AT GARDEN
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amStephon Marbury comes home tonight, bringing his often-turbulent journey full circle as the Knicks face the Rockets at Madison Square Garden. Marbury, nine years after lifting Lincoln to the PSAL...
FORMER LINCOLN COACH REMEMBERS MAGIC 'BURY
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amHe's been out of Lincoln for eight years and his name still comes up constantly, particularly with his cousin, Sebastian Telfair, starring for the Railsplitters. While many of the memories...
TOM VOWS NOT TO MAKE WAVES FOR FRONT OFFICE
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amIt did not take long, back on Dec. 22, when Giants GM Ernie Accorsi and John Mara, the executive vice president, met with Tom Coughlin, to broach a subject that...
REED: HE CAN BE NEXT CLYDE
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amIT takes some doing to get Willis Reed excited these days. When you've seen as many changes in the NBA as he has, it usually takes more than a new...
BARBER COMES TO GRIPS WITH COUGHLIN MEETING
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES Tiki Barber has spoken to friends who've played for Tom Coughlin and he knows what to expect the first time they sit down together. "I was told he's...
FRANKLY, WILLIAMS MIGHT BE A GONER
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amIn one week, Frank Williams went from starting for the Knicks, looking like a potential point guard of the future, to being a hot trade rumor. While Williams put on...
JEFF BACK ON B'WAY ; VG'S EXIT BOTHERED HOUSTON
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Allan Houston appreciates ex-Knick coach Jeff Van Gundy making him a "better, tougher" player. But for the first time yesterday the Knick captain admitted he still hasn't come...
JEFF BACK ON B'WAY: BUT VAN GUNDY HAPPY TO BE SIDE SHOW
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amAUBURN HILLS - Everyman returns from exile tonight, and he walks in the door as a footnote, an afterthought, a sidebar. Jeff Van Gundy wouldn't have it any other way,...
KENYON DRAWS TWO-GAME BAN
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amTwo punches equal two games without pay. That's justice, NBA-style. The Nets' Kenyon Martin and the Clippers' Corey Maggette both drew those penalties yesterday from NBA Senior VP Stu Jackson,...
NETS KEEP EYE ON WARD
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amByron Scott likes Charlie Ward's "edge." But the Net coach may have to get in line with a bigger check to obtain the services of the ex-Knick point guard. While...
FASSEL'S HOPES ARE SINKING FAST
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amA week ago, it appeared as if Jim Fassel, coming off a 4-12 season with the Giants, was the hottest coaching candidate in the NFL. At the moment, Fassel's options...
BURNS RAISES HELL ; COACH SAYS DEVILS 'JUST WEREN'T READY'
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amPenguins 4Devils 2 This loss was so galling, the coach questioned the very hearts of his Stanley Cup champs. "I'm going to have to check their hearts, check their heads,...
MCDYESS GLAD HE'S EX-KNICK
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amAntonio McDyess is relieved to be out of New York, where his forgettable 18-game stint ended Monday. Before scoring four points for the Suns last night in a 95-87 loss...
FRIESEN ICE COLD: PLAYOFF STAR STRUGGLES
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amOne of Pat Burns' Go-To Guys wonders where it went. The very night the Devils coach took Jeff Friesen off the first line, Burns later declared Friesen, Scott Gomez and...
ST. JOHN'S COUNTS ON CUFFE, INGRAM
January 8, 2004 | 5:00amSt. John's had a chance to make a statement last night, and it didn't have to come in the form of a win. The Red Storm - particularly Kyle Cuffe...