July 19, 2004
LBO FIRM CLOSE TO BUYING TOTES FOR $100M+
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amBuyout firm Bruckmann, Rosser Sherrill & Co. is nearing a deal to buy umbrella maker Totes-Isotoner Corp. for more than $100 million, The Post has learned. The New York firm...
GRASSO'S DEFENSE: 'LOOK AT VALENTI!'
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amDick Grasso has a novel strategy in his legal fight over his bloated pay at the not-for-profit New York Stock Exchange: The place is so big and profitable that he...
SECOND MORTGAGE - COUNTRYWIDE, CENDANT UNIT IN DEAL TALKS AGAIN
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amCendant Corp. , the New York real estate and travel services giant, has rekindled talks to sell its mortgage lending unit to Countrywide Financial Corp. in a deal worth more...
TERROR-IFIC - 'PRACTICE' SHOOTING ON SUSPENSEFUL 'GRID'
July 19, 2004 | 4:00am"The Grid" [** 1/2] (Two and one-half stars) Tonight at 9 on TNT AMERICAN and British intelligence agents are too headstrong, uncooperative and territorial to win the War on Terror,...
'JEOPARDY' JAMMIN'
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amKEN Jennings' mindboggling, six-week run on "Jeopardy" is the answer to a whole new question: Whose ratings are through the roof? "Jeopardy" is now tying "Wheel of Fortune" - the...
CRYING GAME - NY1 ANCHOR DROPS INTO GAME SHOW 'STUDIO 7'
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amIN a Manhattan TV studio, under the glare of intense lights casting deep shadows, a quiz show contestant is finally about to crack. On the quiz show - the WB's...
AMERICAN BEAUTIES - BUSH AND KERRY DAUGHTERS VIE FOR STYLE VICTORY; CAMPAIGNING IN STYLE
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTHE Bush twins should make the most of their fashion moment while it lasts. Barbara and Jenna, 22, make a stylish splash in the new issue of Vogue - sprawled...
LONE STAR GLAMOUR FOR THE BUSH TWINS
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amIN a behind-the-seams exclusive, designer Lela Rose gave The Post a sneak peek at two of the looks selected by Jenna and Barbara Bush to wear during their appearance at...
CASTING CALL - 'CSI' RACING TO FILL FIRED ACTORS' ROLES
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amLOS ANGELES - "CSI" producers are moving fast to replace two fired stars, CBS boss Les Moonves said yesterday, promising that the show will go on - on schedule, even...
FLOCK & ROLL - RUNNERS IN PARK WILL GET A BIG LIFT FROM '80S BANDS
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amNO iPods are necessary for Nike's "Run Hit Wonder" race in Central Park on Thursday. Instead, live music from six '80s flash-in-the-pan bands will blast runners into full speed as...
U.S. FIGHTER JETS KILL 14 IN RAID ON FALLUJAH
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amU.S. jets struck back at Iraqi rebels again yesterday, killing 14 people in an air attack on a Fallujah site linked to foreign militants, officials said. The air strike, the...
MYSTERY OF PASTOR AT MARTYR
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amCongregants of St. John the Martyr said they were confused yesterday over who's in charge of the Upper East Side parish after popular pastor John Woolsey was accused of embezzling...
U.N. FULL OF SCANDAL CULT FOLLOWERS
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amA Queens guru who's been accused of seducing women despite his vow of chastity has stacked U.N. headquarters with scores of loyal followers in a bid to promote himself as...
TEENS' BEER & SHOTS - CENTS-LESS ATTACK
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTwo Queens teenagers were shot several times after asking a stranger for change to buy a beer. Fortunately, the injuries were minor enough that Edgar Gomez and Charles Davis, both...
VEGAS GETTING XXX-TRAVAGANT
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amIf Las Vegas' mayor has his way, The Strip may soon be truer to its name. Mayor Oscar Goodman told Time magazine, "It's just a matter of when" casinos will...
NEW TWIST IN SILVER'S GOLD-PLATED LAS VEGAS JUNKET
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amSTATE Lobbying Commission investigators have found new evidence that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver received special favors during a controversial stay at a Las Vegas hotel, The Post has learned. Silver,...
IMPORT LIFEGUARDS GONE TO WASTE
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amSeven lifeguards from Poland hired to work city beaches and pools spent thousands of dollars on visas and airfare only to learn they were out of a job. The foreign...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amA prankster wound clear plastic wrap around traffic poles across a two-lane road in Wisconsin, and unsuspecting motorists crashed into it. Daniel Buckel, and his girlfriend, Theresa Brzykcy, were on...
CIA BOSS RIPS 9/11 REPORT
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - The acting CIA chief yesterday dismissed reports that Iran helped the 9/11 hijackers and scoffed at a proposal expected this week from the commission investigating the attacks calling...
TRAGIC BEAUTY - EX-CON HELD IN 'SLAY' OF GIRL, 16
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amAn apple-cheeked New Jersey teen who mysteriously vanished from her home last week is now feared dead - and cops say they've nabbed the fiendish family friend who killed her....
JAIL DEADBEATS: NEW BILL
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amDeadbeat spouses who bolt to duck divorce payments could land in federal prison under a new bill to be introduced today in the U.S. House. Husbands or wives who cross...
MCCAIN A MAN IN THE 'NO' - SPURNS ALL OFFERS
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - No matter which political party is courting him, maverick Sen. John McCain is taking Nancy Reagan's advice: Just say no. The popular Arizonan says he would rebuff any...
THE TOP TITLE WAVES - BEST BEACH MOMENTS IN MOVIES
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amSplash yourself with cold water: Blockbuster has named its best beach moments in movie history and two red-hot Bond girls lead the pack. The No. 1 choice as selected by...
B'KLYN SLAY VICTIM'S IDENTITY A MYSTERY
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amCops are seeking the public's help in identifying a woman found beaten to death in Crown Heights. Police released a reconstructed image of the woman yesterday. The victim is described...
'ROBOT' PROVES ITS METAL - SCI-FI FLICK BOOTS 'SPIDER-MAN 2' FROM TOP SPOT
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amThe web-spinning wonder got whacked by an army of mechanical monsters over the weekend as "I, Robot" knocked "Spider-Man 2" out of first place at the box office. Will Smith's...
QNS. TEENS GET SHOTS WITH BEER
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTwo Queens teenagers were shot several times after asking a stranger for change to buy a beer. Fortunately, the injuries were minor enough that Edgar Gomez and Charles Davis, both...
FOUND MEMORIES - RETURNING BELONGINGS TO WTC KIN
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amMichael Henley performs his saintly mission in a small room in the basement of Police Headquarters - reuniting grieving families of 9/11 victims with the belongings of their lost loved...
TYCOON'S SON LETS GUESTS BE 'KINK' FOR A DAY
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTHE scion of one of the country's richest families is running a secret sex vault where gay men live out their S&M fantasies - atop a ritzy family-friendly building in...
WEB NOTE CALLS CONDO 'PLAY SPACE' FOR GAYS
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amAn Internet message allegedly posted by H. Richard Quadracci on his Web site describes The Winter Palace as a "play space, guest house, and sanctuary" for gay men. "I run...
HEIST RUSSIAN MOB JOB: COPS
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amA $1 million jewel heist on the Upper East Side last week was likely the work of the Russian Mafia, police said. The robbers, who burst into Michael Ashton Fine...
HAMPTONS DIARY
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amACTRESS Jessica Alba is mum on whether she's dating Yankee captain Derek Jeter. "I don't talk about who I'm dating," she pointedly told Diary before adding that in her business,...
FOES SACK 2ND ARAFAT HQ IN GAZA
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - A vicious battle between Palestinian chief Yasser Arafat and his top aides raged furiously yesterday, as startling details surfaced about an aborted bombing at an Israeli café. The...
FIRETRUCK IN B'KLYN SMASHUP
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amA fire engine responding to a call with sirens blazing smashed into a car attempting to beat it through a Brooklyn intersection yesterday, witnesses said. Engine 250 was heading west...
50G FOR '03 SLAY CLUES
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amThe father of a young man gunned down in front of his college buddy's Lower East Side apartment nearly two years ago has launched a Web site and upped the...
BEAUTY & BEAST - EX-CON HELD IN LIKELY SLAY OF HS GIRL, 16
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amAn apple-cheeked New Jersey teen who suddenly vanished from her home last week is now feared dead - and cops say they've nabbed the 38-year-old fiend who killed her. Stunning...
EARLY GOP CONVENTION PROTEST
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amThe Republican National Convention doesn't begin for six weeks, but starting today, hundreds of cops, firefighters and teachers are expected to surround Madison Square Garden in a round-the-clock informational picket...
U.N. OIL $$ LINKED TO IRAQI TERRORISTS
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - American officials believe that millions of dollars Saddam Hussein skimmed from the scandal-plagued U.N. oil-for-food program are now being used to help fund the bloody rebel campaign against...
CRANKS USE 311 TO DO A NUMBER
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amReport a pothole. Get the trash schedule. Exact revenge. Officials say the city's 311 nonemergency information and services system is being used by some New Yorkers to settle personal scores...
IRAQI LEADER ALREADY HAS BLOOD ON HIS HANDS: FOES
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amAmerican officials are reportedly growing concerned about allegations that the leader of Iraq's new government is following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein. The allegations, cited by Newsweek magazine, include...
GURU STOCKS U.N.: EX-CULTISTS
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amA Queens guru who's been accused of seducing women despite his vow of chastity has stacked U.N. headquarters with scores of followers in a bid to promote himself as an...
311 PLAGUED BY PHONE-Y CALLS
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amReport a pothole. Get the trash schedule. Exact revenge. Officials say the city's 311 nonemergency information and services system is being used by some New Yorkers to settle personal scores...
AIRLINE PROFIT 'SCAM' - TICKET-FEE LAWSUIT
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amA Manhattan attorney has filed a class-action lawsuit against American Airlines, claiming the carrier is pocketing what could amount to millions in unused ticket surcharges meant for capital improvements and...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amMANHATTAN * A young man was shot dead yesterday by a teenage assailant in a Harlem alleyway, police said. Robert Maybank (above), 25, was in the alley near the building...
BEAUTY & BEAST - EX-CON HELD IN 'SLAY' OF GIRL, 16
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amAn apple-cheeked New Jersey teen who vanished from her home last week is now feared dead - and cops say they've nabbed the 38-year-old ex-con fiend who killed her. Stunning...
GIRL, 10, DIES IN L.I. CAR SMASH
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amA 10-year-old girl was killed in a horrific car crash on Long Island last night, police said. The child, whose name was withheld, was riding in a black Saturn driven...
BIG APPLE FANS SHORT IN SUPPORT - SURVEY
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amIs there any question that New Yorkers are the most passionate sports fans in the nation? Believe it or not, there is. A new survey by DirecTV says four other...
MOZAMBIQUE BEATS ALL
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amWHAT do you call an African country that suffered under one of the most vicious colonial regimes, was attacked by a powerful neighbor at independence, fought a brutal civil war...
'FATHER-SON' REUNION - STOLEN KID AWAITING 'DAD'S' HOMECOMING
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amWHEN he steps out of an upstate prison Friday, Barry Smiley will walk into the loving embrace of his "son," Matthew - a child Smiley stole from his real parents...
UFT PAYROLL A DUES-Y - SIX-FIGURE UNION JOBS ON THE RISE
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTeachers who complain that they're underpaid are financing a growing number of six-figure union jobs with dues collected from their paychecks, The Post has learned. The United Federation of Teachers'...
SLAY RAPS VS. IRAQI LEADER
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amAmerican officials reportedly are growing concerned about allegations that the leader of Iraq's new government is beginning to follow in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein. The allegations, cited by Newsweek...
TEXAS MIGHT LURE NEWMAN
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES DETROIT - With John Hart's days as the Rangers' GM dwindling, there is speculation out of Texas that Rangers owner Tom Hicks will make a play to lure...
KNOW WHEN TO SHUT UP
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amIT'S an epidemic. With dramatic moments before them, sportscasters now needlessly try to enhance the moment by putting their stamp on the scene. They try to attach themselves to the...
BROWN UPBEAT AFTER WORKOUT
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amDETROIT - Kevin Brown threw in a bullpen, showered and left for New York yesterday before the Yankees' 4-2 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park. "I am going to...
HAMILTON HUMS A HAPPY TROON - SIGNS POINTED TO PLAYOFF WIN
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTROON, Scotland - The late afternoon rain was spitting sideways with the wind off the Firth of Clyde on Wednesday, presenting a perfect Scottish July day, completely befitting of summer...
THE BATS GO SOFT - YANKS' OFFENSE SPUTTERS IN MOTOWN
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTigers 4 - Yankees 2 DETROIT - Randy Johnson couldn't have helped the Yankees yesterday. While the baseball world awaits The Big Unit possibly donning Pinstripes before the July 31...
WEBB SAYS THERE'S NO PRESSURE
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amSACRAMENTO - His appendix burst, after his bubble, boy wonder Alan Webb by then so completely tangled up in his extraordinary promise that emergency surgery turned into his only vacation...
MICK'S PHIL-GOOD STORY
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTROON, Scotland - Phil Mickelson didn't fly back to the States with the Claret Jug adorning his private jet last night, but he didn't leave Scotland empty-handed. In many ways,...
ELS GETS BURNED YET AGAIN
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTROON, Scotland - The "Big Easy" fell hard in a major championship yet again yesterday. Ernie Els, the bookmakers' favorite to win the 133rd British Open, seemed poised at times...
DEVERS FACES FINAL HURDLE
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTwenty-year-old Lauryn Williams, the 5-foot-3 fireball sprinter from Miami who's probably a year or two away from being the world's fastest woman, was asked if while growing up she had...
METS CATCH FIRE WITH PIAZZA OUT - CAMERON, WILSON, LEITER GRAB VICTORY OVER PHILS
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amMets 6 - Phillies 1 Mike Cameron didn't have a chance. Not on this ball. Not from where he started. On this play? Come on. No matter how many Gold...
ELENA HAS LIBS THINKING BIG
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amLiberty 75 - Sting 58 It was just one win and left the team still a game under .500, but the Liberty's 75-58 blowout over the Charlotte Sting yesterday got...
STACY'S ON A MISSION
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTRACK NOTES SACRAMENTO - Stacy Dragila was on a hotel elevator yesterday when an excited fan couldn't help himself. "All you need is three more [inches]," the fan blurted out....
WATTS TOASTS HAMILTON
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTROON, Scotland - It was as if Brian Watts was staring into a mirror this weekend as he sat at home in Texas and watched his good friend of more...
MIKE SHOULD BE ON FIELD, NOT BENCH
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amHERE is what Mets fans wanted to see from Mike Piazza when Art Howe posted the lineup card yesterday: Piazza: "Got a minute, Skip?" Howe: "Come on into my office,...
TIGER CAN BARELY MEOW
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amOPEN NOTES TROON, Scotland - At each major championship, the management company that represents Tiger Woods hands out a comprehensive booklet outlining his career accomplishments. The title reads: "Tiger Woods:...
THIRD-STRING BLUES - WILSON'S BIG DAY COULD BE HIS BIG BREAK
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amVance Wilson ripped his team before yesterday's game. He ripped the ball during the game. And now, he might be the starting catcher for a lot more games. Let us...
LEITER'S AT HOME AT SHEA
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amTo twist a phrase from Al Leiter's likely future employer, Fox Sports: This time they count. That is the difference for Leiter between July 2004 and July 2003. These games...
RAIN PUTS DAMPER ON S.I.'S STREAK
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amFor sure, things are a little better here on Staten Island. The Staten Island Yankees arrived for work yesterday owners of a three-game winning streak. The pitching staff, pitiful early...
WEIGHING OPTIONS - KNICKS EYE DAMPIER, CRAWFORD
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amKNICK NOTEBOOK It's clear Isiah Thomas is either going to land Erick Dampier or Bulls combo guard Jamal Crawford. And with the Knicks inching closer to Dampier, Crawford agent Aaron...
ERICKSON RETURNS TO MOUND TONIGHT
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amMET NOTES For the first time in almost two years, Scott Erickson will pitch in a major league game tonight. Erickson was slated to start the Mets' third game of...
DEVERS CLEARS HER FINAL HURDLE
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amSACRAMENTO - Gail Devers said she got about 15,000 phones calls on the night of July 10 after she finished fourth in the 100 meters, one one-hundredths of a second...
ICY ATLANTIC BUMPED TO 2ND ON DQ
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amDead-game efforts by Icy Atlantic and Mustanfar, who finished noses apart after a hard-fought stretch duel in yesterday's Grade 3, $100,000 Lexington Stakes at Belmont Park, were overshadowed by a...
PARAGALLO PLANS TO SELL OFF STOCK
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amErnie Paragallo, one of New York's most high-profile thoroughbred owner-breeders over the past decade, plans to disperse his extensive racing stable and broodmare band, according to an internet report. "I...
HEELED BY A CORPSE
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amOLYMPIC TRIALS NOTEBOOK SACRAMENTO - Former Villanova star Carrie Tollefson, who was devastated after not placing in the women's 5,000 meters here at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials,...
NYRA EYES SMITH AS NEW PREZ, CEO
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amThe beleaguered New York Racing Association, a rudderless ship since president Terry Meyocks resigned under pressure last September, soon could have a new captain after NYRA and the National Thoroughbred...
IT'S UP TO ERICK - DAMPIER MUST DECIDE: KNICKS OR HAWKS
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amIt's D-Day for Erick Dampier. The Warriors have accepted the Knicks' sign-and-trade offer of Nazr Mohammed and Othella Harrington, but before agreeing to sign with the Knicks, Dampier, the 7-foot...
WEBB HAS WILL TO WIN IN ATHENS
July 19, 2004 | 4:00amSACRAMENTO - By the time his appendix burst, a couple of years after his bubble, boy wonder Alan Webb was so tangled up in his promise that emergency surgery turned...