July 16, 2004

SO-FA SO GOOD: FURNITURE MAKER HIRES FASHIONISTA

Mitchell Gold, a furniture maker that did for the sofa what Gap did for the T-shirt, has named a longtime executive of Seventh Avenue as its new president, part of...

CIRC WOES GROW - MORE NEWSDAY MISSTATEMENTS FOUND: TRIBUNE

Newsday's circulation woes deepened yesterday after an internal probe uncovered more misstatements, as well as problems spanning additional years. The scandal at the Long Island paper overshadowed second-quarter results for...

SEX-TOY FIRM TAKES $38M P'HOUSE STAKE

Europe's leading sex-toy maker is buying a major stake in the Penthouse empire to help the magazine group emerge from bankruptcy. German-based Beate Uhse AG, Europe's largest maker and seller...

HEDGE FUNDS MARCH ON D.C.

Hedge fund bigwigs descended on Washington yesterday to protest the Securities and Exchange Commission's bid to regulate their mysterious corner of Wall Street. Executives from massive funds, including Citadel Investment...

HARLEM HIGH-RISE PLANNED

Central Park North could become the next Fifth Avenue - or at least Central Park South - with the arrival of a new luxury high-rise building planned for the long-neglected...

WOLFE IN CO-ED'S CLOTHING

A highly anticipated novel from one of this country's most respected journalist authors is shocking in its salaciousness and vulgarity. Tom Wolfe's "I Am Charlotte Simmons" depicts elite college athletes...

$91M SALE ON 31ST ST.

In the latest deal to hit the frothy Manhattan real estate market, Tribeca Associates pocketed a $30 million profit yesterday on the $91 million sale of its Midtown office building,...

STRIKE TWO ON TYCO: BELNICK IS CLEARED BY JURY

Mark Belnick, Tyco International's former top lawyer, was overcome with joy yesterday when he was acquitted of charges that he took $32 million in unauthorized loans and bonuses from the...

BIG 2 CASINOS STILL WAIT FOR WYNN

The fabled Las Vegas Strip is getting a new power structure - with just two giant outfits ready to rule the desert - but it may only be for a...

IN IM-PORTANT DEAL, 3 RIVALS TO PLAY BALL

Software giant Microsoft signed a deal that will allow businesses that use its instant-message software to exchange e-mails with services from rivals America Online and Yahoo! The agreement among the...

DESIGNING WOMAN IS AXED - BOARD BOOTS SPD'S WHELAN, ORDERS BOOKS AUDITED

THE Society of Publication Designers has booted its longtime executive director, Bride Whelan, citing "financial irregularities." Her ouster sent shock waves through the close-knit world of magazine designers and art...

NEW CONDE JOB FOR BECKMAN

Erase the question mark over the head of Richard "Mad Dog" Beckman in the new Conde Nast lineup. Beckman, executive vice president in charge of group sales for the company,...

DANCE PICK

CINDERELLA STORY:The revelatory riches of the Frederick Ashton Centenary Celebration dwindle down to final three performances at the Metropolitan Opera House tonight, and tomorrow afternoon and evening. Four ballet companies...

ALI RIGHT BY ME - 'YOU ONLY STOP LAUGHING OUT LOUD LONG ENOUGH TO HIDE YOUR EYES AND CRINGE'

I SUGGEST YOU SET YOUR TIVO AND WATCH "DA ALI G SHOW" IMMEDIATELY AFTER IT'S FINISHED BECAUSE YOU WON'T GET IT ALL THE FIRST TIME."Da Ali G Show" [] (Four...

KIDS' PICK

GIRLS CLUB FARMERS MARKET: You wont be buying cookies from members of the Lower East Side Girls Club. The second annual community farmers market, offering locally grown vegetables, fruits, herbs...

FILM PICK

THE ASIAN PERSUASION: The 27th edition of the Asian American International Film Festival - which calls itself "the nation's oldest and longest running festival devoted to works by filmmakers of...

INDIE PICK

CLEARED FOR A LANDING: The Waxwings fly into the Apple to put their modern take on '60s pop a la The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, Sunday at the Knitting...

ROCK PICK

. . . AND PARTY EVERY NIGHT: Grab your love gun because the KISS Army is getting ready to land at Jones Beach and the PNC Bank Arts Center for...

DIM-DERELLA

A CINDERELLA STORY [ 1/2] (One and one-half stars) Needs fairy dust. Running time: 97 minutes. Rated PG (mild language and innuendo). At AMC Empire, Loews Lincoln Square, Kips Bay,...

WE'RE TICKLED 'PINK'

TOUCH OF PINK[] (Three stars) Think pink. Running time: 92 minutes. Rated R (sex, profanity). At the Chelsea, the Quad. THE title of "Touch of Pink," a clever and big-hearted...

GONG WITH THE WIND

ZHOU YU'S TRAIN[] (Three stars) All aboard! In Mandarin, with English subtitles. Running time: 96 minutes. Not rated (sexuality). At the Lincoln Plaza and the Quad. IT'S been years since...

AMAZING 'GRACE'

MARIA FULL

STARR REPORT

What's in a phrase? Memo to "Jeopardy!" announcer Johnny Gilbert: You've become the center of a (good-natured) disagreement between Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa, who've quibbled over how you deliver...

FOX TAKES SWING AT COPY-CAT CLAIMS

FOX shot back yesterday at TV rivals who've accused the network of unethically ripping off their reality shows. In her first public comments about the red-hot feud, Fox entertainment president...

'HUNGER' FOR DVD

THE world's weirdest and most popular animated happy meal - "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" - is bracing for the release of its second DVD next Tuesday. The show - about...

WIZARDS OF OZZFEST

OZZFEST DESPITE their nihilistic T- shirts - which read, "I Don't f - - - ing care," and "Die Scum" - the nearly sold-out house at Ozzfest, which played the...

WILL KICKS 'BOT - SMITH DELIVERS A THRILL RIDE IN 'I,ROBOT'

I, ROBOT (three stars) Futuristic crowd pleaser. Running time: 115 minutes. Rated PG-13 (stylized violence, brief partial nudity). At the Ziegfeld, the Empire, the Loews 34th Street. 'I, Robot" may...

SIREN FEST GETS EXTENDED PLAY

IF you're not too beat post Siren Fest at Coney Island tomorrow, here are two rock-filled after-parties. Rothko (116 Suffolk St.; no phone) features the Fatales, La Laque and Levy,...

CHITA, CHITA, BANG, BANG - SINGER TO RE-CREATE HER LIFE ONSTAGE

BROADWAY legend Chita Rivera, following a path blazed a few seasons back by Elaine Stritch, is putting together an autobiographical show of her own. Called "A Dancer's Life," it charts...

Correction Date: 07/24/2004

Correction: A July 16 story about the murder of Stacy-Ann Sappleton, the Canadian woman killed in Queens, incorrectly reported that investigators asked her fiancé's New York relatives to take a...

GOP LOSING ITS SWING

THE gay-marriage amendment that failed Wednesday was never meant to win votes in the Senate - its target was always swing states with large Catholic populations such as Ohio and...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A man with a hair fetish has been busted for creeping up on little girls visiting cemeteries with their families and cutting off their ponytails, cops say. Even more bizarre,...

DA: RAISE BAIL FOR FREE LOVE

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Prosecutors slammed rock bad girl Courtney Love as a violent flight risk yesterday, and asked a judge to make her pay for freedom. Love, 40, is...

L.I. DRIVER IN CARJACK RAPE

A Long Island woman was sexually abused by a man with a gun who jumped into her car in broad daylight when she stopped at a traffic light, police said....

'ANGELS' & DEMONS - HBO'S AIDS FILM, 'SOPRANOS' LEAD PACK

Angels and gangsters helped HBO steamroll the competition in yesterday's Emmy race as the premium channel bagged a whopping 124 nominations - more than double its closest rival, NBC. Leading...

CONVICTED STEWART COULD STILL VOTE

Homemaking maven Martha Stewart's status as a convicted felon will cost her many rights, but voting might not be one of them. Thanks to a 2001 law passed in her...

FANS: W.'S PEN CAN SPARE HER FROM FEDS' PEN

Thousands of Martha Stewart supporters are petitioning President Bush to pardon the domestic diva for her crimes, saying it's a waste of taxpayer money and of her many talents to...

MTA NEEDS $26B TO STAY ON TRACK: STUDY

The region's transportation system needs an infusion of $26.5 billion over the next five years in order to maintain and expand service, a new report says. The Regional Plan Association,...

EDWARDS GOES FLAT IN BEERY QUERY

WASHINGTON - Democrat John Edwards - who hopes to woo "Joe Six-pack" voters to back John Kerry for president - yesterday 'fessed up that he has no idea what a...

PRINCIPALS BASHING BUDGET SLASHING

School principals across the city are protesting unexpected budget cuts they say will force them to slash programs and staff for the new school year. Last month, the Bloomberg administration...

A BUSH LEAGUE NAACP MOVE

SPEAKING yesterday at the 95th annual NAACP convention, Sen. John Kerry took a jab at President Bush for declining the convention's invitation: Kerry stated that he wouldn't be afraid to...

SUBWAY CLERK SURVIVES ARSON ATTACK

A 70-year-old clerk at a Manhattan subway station said he escaped his worst nightmare yesterday when a MetroCard swiper torched his booth after he stopped the man from trying to...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * A man has been arrested for beating and robbing a teenager at gunpoint in a Bushwick apartment building in May, law-enforcement sources said yesterday. The trouble began at...

JEWELRY JURY GETS EYEFUL OF ICE

Jurors yesterday got to ogle and caress $500,000 worth of diamonds - seized from the father of a jeweler gunned down on Sixth Avenue - as courtroom officials stood on...

CITY PROBES PLUNGE BOY'S FAMILY

The Administration for Children's Services is investigating the family of the 3-year-old boy who fell to his death while home alone at the Unification Church's Midtown headquarters, the Post has...

HAMPTONS DIARY

SOUTHAMPTON Village's quaint and stately store, BookHampton, has become a hotbed of petty political activism. Customers have been disrupting the store's displays - moving and hiding left-wing books and covering...

NEW ZEALAND BLASTS ISRAEL SPY BLUNDER

New Zealand suspended diplomatic relations with Israel yesterday after a pair of bumbling spies were sentenced to six months in prison in a bogus try to get a Kiwi passport....

SPITZER BEATING GOV IN WAR-CHEST WAR

ALBANY - State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer raised a hefty $2.5 million in campaign contributions during the past six months, nearly twice as much as Gov. Pataki, his possible rival...

LA GUARDIA GUARD IN SCAM

A La Guardia Airport security agent was busted yesterday in an airline ticket-selling scam that earned her $55,000, prosecutors said. Laura Chico-Moreira, 37, of Ozone Park, was charged with grand...

INDICT IN N.J. BRIBES - GOV PAL PLEADS NOT GUILTY

A childhood friend and top fund-raiser for New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey yesterday pleaded not guilty to extorting $40,000 from a farmer in return for a sweet land-preservation deal. The...

20 YEARS FOR TORTURER - 'RELUCTANT' JUDGE GETS TOUGH

A Queens judge who tossed the guilty verdict of a pair of thugs convicted of torturing a drug associate was forced to hand down a sentence yesterday after an appeals...

DOCKING THE MAFIA - FEDS BID TO WREST WATERFRONT FROM MOB GRIP

The feds are preparing a massive civil racketeering case to seize control of the nation's longshoremen's union after 50 years of failed attempts to break the Mafia's lucrative stranglehold on...

TYISHA SLAY SUSPECT'S JAIL TERROR

One of two men accused of strangling a 13-year-old Harlem girl to death told The Post yesterday he feared he would be killed in prison before he had a chance...

THE DATE OF SEPT. 11, 2002, WAS MISTAKENLY PUT ON A PLAQUE ...

The date of Sept. 11, 2002, was mistakenly put on a plaque attached to a fence at Ground Zero, officials admitted yesterday. The incorrect date remained on one of the...

JUDGE NIXES $112M IN MALPRACTICE

A Supreme Court judge has overturned a $112 million jury award - the third-highest in a medical malpractice action in New York state history - to the family of a...

SLAY 'LIE' TEST - DUMPSTER BEAU PASSES

The grieving fiancé of a young Canadian woman found dead in a Queens Dumpster has passed a polygraph test in connection with the investigation into her gory murder, police sources...

TERROR 'BANKERS' - DA & STATE TARGET CHECK-LAUNDERING OUTLAWS

They're the racketeer and terrorist "banks" of choice, and Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau and state banking superintendent Diana Taylor are joining forces against them. The "banks" Morgenthau and Taylor railed...

KERRY 'SWEARS' VICTORY TO NAACP

WASHINGTON - John Kerry yesterday evoked Vice President Dick Cheney's use of the F-word, telling the NAACP that he intends to make the Bush-Cheney team want to cuss on Election...

JETS: NO $TADIUM REQUESTS SO FAR

The owner of the New York Jets said yesterday that he's not seeking taxpayer money to pay for a $1.4 billion stadium on the West Side - but he wouldn't...

POOR BLACKS, HISPANICS MORE OBESE: CITY

Poor blacks and Hispanic New Yorkers are more likely to be obese than poor whites, a new city study found. One in four Hispanics who earn less than $25,000 a...

JURY $LAPS HYNES - 30G FOR AXED WRITER

A jury awarded a prosecutor-turned-author $30,000 for the shame he suffered after Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes demoted him for making controversial statements to a magazine in order to sell more...

ALTERNATIVE-SCHOOL TEST BREAK

State Education Commissioner Richard Mills yesterday backed off his edict requiring students in the city's 40 alternative schools to pass five Regents exams next year - like other high schools....

WALL ST. BETTING ON LIGHT SENTENCE

Much like they'd gobble up one of her plum puddings, investors were snapping up shares in Martha Stewart's company yesterday, the day before her sentencing for obstructing justice and other...

SOTHEBY'S LOCKOUT DUE

Sotheby's will lock out 55 union employees today, nearly three weeks after their contract expired. The East Side trading post had allowed the workers - who handle the auction house's...

BRITNEY'S $6M APT. ON MARKET

Engaged pop princess Britney Spears is dumping her downtown digs. The 22-year-old music mogul just listed her 4,400-square-foot quadruplex loft on East Fourth Street - located on the top four...

CRUSADER SLAMS 'GOUGING' LOCAL HOSP IN LAWSUIT

The lawyer who brought down the tobacco giants and helped inspire the flick "The Insider" is gunning for acclaimed New York Presbyterian Hospital, claiming it gouges poor patients and cheats...

CHURCH LOU$E - 'FLEECE' PRIEST SCANDAL WIDENS

The moneyed monsignor accused of bilking an elderly parishioner out of $500,000 might have some hell to pay - hundreds of thousands of dollars are missing from his church, sources...

INGRATE: IRAQ DIPLO AXED FOR DISSING GIS

WASHINGTON - Rend al-Rahim Francke (right), Iraq's ambassador-designate to the United States, is being dumped after a string of political blunders - including her refusal to lead a delegation on...

KENNEDY KIN LET CROOK GET OFF

A warehouse worker who swiped priceless Kennedy heirlooms avoided jail time - and won't even do community service - in a surprising plea deal approved by the Kennedy family. Yesterday's...

LAST SHOT FOR DESPERATE DIVA - PRISON LOOMING AS TEAM PLOTS APPEALS

Martha Stewart will slip from the sauté pan into the fire today when a judge slaps her with a federal sentence - but her lawyers say they'll fight fiercely to...

'SOPRANO' MAKES A KILLING FOR BUSH

Sopranos gangster "Paulie Walnuts" joined a mob of diehard Republicans yesterday at a Queens fund-raiser that pumped more cash into President Bush's campaign. Actor Tony Sirico, who plays the mobster...

GAGGED HILL SET FREE TO GAB AT GALA

WASHINGTON - John Kerry, in an about-face, has invited Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to address the Democratic convention in Boston - by introducing her husband, officials said. Kerry personally called...

K-MART CLOSES : NETS DEAL HIM TO DENVER FOR DRAFT PICKS

The Nets lost their best rebounder, best defender and second best scorer. But they saved money and now might even buy some marginal players. In the end, the luxury tax...

ART APPRECIATION - MUCH-MALIGNED MET MANAGER DESERVES BETTER, SAYS ESPN VOICE

Friday Phillies at Mets 7 p.m., WPIX-11 Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! The New York media. The New York fans. Everybody. ESPN's lead radio baseball analyst, Dave Campbell, thinks they all have...

5 QUESTIONS FOR PATRICK MCENROE

This week, NYP TV Sports' Andrew Marchand spoke with ESPN and CBS tennis analyst Patrick McEnroe. The 38-year-old McEnroe is the U.S. Olympic and Davis Cup captain. Q: Why is...

RANGERS MAKING LINE CHANGE - PARK, ANDERSON, MALONEY IN MIX FOR RADIO COLOR JOB

Former Ranger players Brad Park, Glenn Anderson and Dave Maloney are on the list as possible replacements for analyst Brian Mullen on Ranger radio broadcasts, NYP TV Sports has learned....

MARCHAND'S MATCHUP OF THE WEEK

Jeanne Zelasko vs. Karl Ravech (Who is a better baseball host?) During the fourth inning of the All-Star Game, Fox Sports' Joe Buck looked as if he were a game-show...

HAPPY LANDING FOR JONES

SACRAMENTO - Marion Jones jumped last night into a pit containing shards of her glass house and stones that had bloodied her reputation. She still landed safely, 23 feet and...

TY'S STOCK RISES AGAIN WITH BULLET

It seems every morning Ty Wigginton is removed as the Mets' starting third baseman, either supplanted by David Wright or traded for Kris Benson. Or both. Then it seems every...

ERICKSON FINALLY WILL GET STARTED

MET NOTES It's long overdue, but Scott Erickson's first Met start comes tonight. Erickson, who strained his left hamstring in the bullpen before a scheduled start in early April, will...

METS FIND A WAY TO FOIL PHILLIES - WIGGINTON WINS IT WITH SINGLE IN 11TH

11 INNINGS: Mets 3 - Phillies 2 Thanks to Ty Wigginton, the Mets are again one step from the NL East summit. And by the end of tonight, they could...

PORGIES, BLUEFISH TOP THIS WEEK'S FARE

SALTWATER fishing has turned the corner and we now face a sort of midsummer lull for certain species like striped bass, but the ubiquitous porgy and bluefish take up the...

ESPN: BAD TO 'WORST'

ESPN'S "Worst 25 Teams," shown this week, unfortunately (but not unexpectedly) was too often more needlessly and mindlessly cruel than clever. Game-fixers, as opposed to innocent unfortunates, would be afforded...

DEAL INFURIATES FANS

The timing of the Nets' Kenyon Martin trade could have been better. News of the club's no-turning-back intention to trade Martin for draft picks broke yesterday, which happened to be...

LIBS' COYLE SETTLES IN

Liberty interim coach Pat Coyle is getting used to her new role, her new fame and the perks that come with such a position. For example, she got to see...

TOM TO CHECK CAMP

Tom Coughlin will soon make his first trip to the University at Albany to familiarize himself with the training-camp facility the Giants have used since 1996, as the first summer...

METS GM: BIG UNIT DEAL A 'LONGSHOT' - DUQUETTE HAS EYE ON FUTURE

Jim Duquette yesterday acknowledged what most Mets fans already knew and feared: Randy Johnson is not likely to land in Flushing. "I think that's more of a longshot," Duquette said...

AT FIRST, IT'S SPENCER

Despite the Mets' apparent glut of first basemen, they added another to the mix last night. It wasn't a trade or a callup; it was outfielder Shane Spencer starting at...

REPLACING MARTIN NO EASY TASK

With the trade of Kenyon Martin, the Nets' Big Three is no more (and how happy can the remaining two be?), so the club immediately looked into ways to replace...

JONES HAS NO EXCUSES

SACRAMENTO - The Olympic qualifying standard already obtained, the chances of not getting to Athens seemingly remote, Marion Jones nevertheless was jumping last night into shards of her good name,...

A COMPELLING CASEY - PHIL'S PROTEGE SHARES TOP SPOT

TROON, Scotland - An Arizona State product with a creative game raced to the lead of the 133rd British Open yesterday. No, not Phil Mickelson. Paul Casey. Casey, like Mickelson...

ELS HAS HIS HIGHS AND LOWS

TROON, Scotland - No one had the kind of roller-coaster day that Ernie Els endured in yesterday's first round of the British Open. Els finished with a 2-under-par 69, but...

TIGER'S FEELING 'POSITIVE'

TROON, Scotland - While the world continued to hold its breath waiting for his old perfection to resurface, Tiger Woods still sent his share of tee shots errant into the...

NIEDERMAYER, OLIWA RETURNING TO NEW JERSEY

The Norris Trophy winner will be back in New Jersey next season, whenever that is, and so, too, will former Devil enforcer Krzystof Oliwa. Scott Niedermayer filed for salary arbitration...

MOOSE: ELBOW'S 'OK' - ALONG WITH BROWN, YANKEES SHOULD GET SHOT IN ARMS

DETROIT - Randy Johnson's name dominated the Yankees' universe prior to last night's game against the Tigers, but he wasn't the only pitcher being talked about. One day after being...

DUVAL QUIETLY PULLS OUT

OPEN NOTES TROON, Scotland - In the this-comes-as-no-shock category, David Duval withdrew from the British Open yesterday and was nowhere to be found for his 7:36 a.m. tee time in...

ARIZA LIKELY WILL STICK WITH KNICKS

Kobe Bryant will not be a Knick. Jamal Crawford, Erick Dampier and Antoine Walker are still not Knicks. But July has proven one thing: Trevor Ariza, Isiah Thomas' first draft...

TEAM BELIEVES PLAYOFF DREAM IS WITHIN REACH

THE standings said the Mets are in the thick of a pennant race, something that hasn't been said around Flushing after an All-Star break in quite some time. And while...

RANGERS HOLD FAST ON MONTOYA OFFER

Now that the Rangers have taken the progressive step of hiring the acclaimed Benoit Allaire as their full-time goaltending coach, one would hope they would get serious about getting Al...

U.S. SPRINTER FACES BAN

SACRAMENTO - USA Track & Field faces its first major headache of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and it didn't come from one of the BALCO Four. According to published...

K-MART SHOPPED - NETS TRADE KENYON FOR 3 DRAFT PICKS

One of the most fiery players in Nets history is bringing his act to Denver. In the end, the luxury tax and the bottom line were the major culprits, dealing...

GM: UNIT 'LONGSHOT'

Jim Duquette yesterday acknowledged what most Mets fans already knew and feared: Randy Johnson is not likely to land in Flushing. "I think that's more of a longshot," Duquette said...

BOMBERS ARE HAVING 2ND THOUGHTS

YANKEE NOTES DETROIT - Just because GM Brian Cashman isn't actively searching for a second base upgrade over Miguel Cairo and Enrique Wilson, that doesn't mean the Yankees aren't monitoring...

MOOSE: ELBOW OK

DETROIT - Randy Johnson's name dominated the Yankees' universe prior to last night's 5-1 victory over the Tigers, but he wasn't the only pitcher being talked about. One day after...

FACING BAN, JACOBS CALLS IT A CAREER

TRACK NOTES SACRAMENTO - Faced with the prospect of facing a drug arbitration panel on Sunday, the same day she was scheduled to run in the 1,500 meters, Regina Jacobs...

U.S. SPRINTER TESTS POSITIVE

SACRAMENTO - USA Track & Field faces its first major headache of the U.S. Olympic team trials and it didn't come from one of the "BALCO Four." Torri Edwards, who...

K-MART CLOSES: NETS DEAL HIM TO DENVER FOR DRAFT PICKS

The Nets lost their best rebounder, best defender and second best scorer. But they saved money and now might even buy some marginal players. In the end, the luxury tax...

BAD CALL BUMS OUT LIBERTY

Lynx 69 - Liberty 66 How fitting it was that on Fleece Blanket Night. The Liberty were 69-66 losers last night because they were fleeced by the officials. With 4.7...

HOORAY FOR JOSE - BACKED BY 5 HRS, CONTRERAS TOPS TIGERS

Yankees 5 - Tigers 1 DETROIT - Was it the latest Great Tease, or did Jose Contreras take the first step toward being a dominant big league pitcher, a chucker...