November 16, 2004

FORMER PROSECUTOR SAYS FEDS FOCUS ON BIG GAME HUNTS

THE top government attorney who made the initial decision to prosecute Martha Stewart ended up getting a high-powered job at the Justice Department. And the lead prosecutor of Stewart just...

TIME OUT CALLED - RADIO WAVES DELAYING ALLEN'S SPORTING NEWS SALE

The sale process for The Sporting News has been put on hold after the company found inaccuracies in the audience numbers at its radio business, The Post has learned. The...

MONDAY MONIKER FOR MAX CAP

Anthony Westreich completed his $26 million buyout of Max Capital Management Corp. from former partner Adam Hochfelder and renamed the firm Monday Properties. He said the firm expects to focus...

RED BULL PUTS JAG IN F-ONE

High-octane energy drink Red Bull thinks it can go faster on the racetrack than Jaguar. The beverage in the tiny can bought Jaguar's celebrated Grad Prix team from Jaguar's parent...

SEC SEEKS BIZ BAR ON BLACK

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges yesterday against disgraced newspaper baron Conrad Black and is asking a court to bar him from ever serving again as an officer...

DEAL AT 425 LEX. MAKES FULL HOUSE

IN a complex, three-way deal that reflects the vitality of the Midtown leasing market, a law firm and a financial giant have shuffled their decks at 425 Lexington Ave. near...

EXECS MAY LIFT YAHOO!

Moves by Yahoo! to stockpile entertainment and news execs are likely aimed at bringing more original tie-in content, such as a cross-promotion with "The Apprentice" reality-television show, media consultants say....

TRUMP BUYS FLORIDA MANSION

Billionaire Donald J. Trump has added a $41 million mansion to his Florida holdings. "This is the most amazing land and house in America," said Trump with a characteristic hyperbole....

ABBOUD SIGNS NEW AGENCY FOR EDGIER ADS

Designer Joseph Abboud, seeking to skew to a younger clientele, is bringing a new, edgier marketing touch to the traditional men's label. Abboud has signed a new creative ad agency...

THE GLOVES ARE OFF: HOME WARS GET UGLY

Over three decades, Gracious Home has become a fixture of New York by catering to the needs of finicky shoppers in search of that ultra-soft bath towel or the perfect...

MEN'S FITNESS NAMES 3RD EDITOR IN 18 MOS.

American Media is shaking up Men's Fitness magazine, bouncing its publisher and its editor in chief - installing the third in 18 months - while chopping another half dozen staffers....

TIMES' SAFIRE TO QUIT

Thoughtful hair-splitter William Safire is giving up his political column at The New York Times after 31 years, saying it was time "to hang up his hatchet." Safire, 74, will...

FRIEND IN NEED - OVITZ ONLY THINKS WE'RE CLOSE: EISNER

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Michael Eisner said former company president Michael Ovitz was overstating the case when he described the two men as "best friends." Eisner testified that Ovitz,...

WEIGHTY MATTERS

THE GOOD BODY[ 1/2] (Two and one-half stars)Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St., (212) 239-6200. THERE were approximately 20 women to every man at the performance I attended of Eve...

BIG BARGAINS ON DESIGNER BRANDS

Looking for a good deal? Here are some of the week's best sales and bargains. Lucky Shops Gotham Hall, 1356 Broadway at 36th Street; (800) 304-5815 Sale: Nov. 19. 11...

ANOTHER 'APPRENTICE' AT CNN

FIRED by Donald Trump, hired by . . . CNN. Kwame Jackson, the runner-up from the first season of "The Apprentice," has been offered a job as the host of...

FCC 'MARRIED' COMPLAINTS OVERSTATED

A blogger has discovered that only three people were responsible for the FCC complaints that sparked the commission's whopping $1.2 million fine against Fox. Jeff Jarvis, the author of a...

MOMA: YES, IT'S WORTH $20!; IT'S THE NEW THOROUGHLY MODERN MOMA

IT'S big, it's gorgeous - and it's worth every penny. That much was clear at yesterday's sneak preview of the sleekly supersized Museum of Modern Art, where admission, after Saturday's...

GET HER OFF! - WHO LET ANNA NICOLE GO ON TV LIKE THAT?

A day after the Anna Nicole Smith disaster, no one involved on Sunday's "American Music Awards," was talking. Why was the former Playboy model slurring her speech as if under...

STARR REPORT

On the streets of NYC The last time the cast of "CSI: NY" was here was a memorable one, since there was a torrential downpour while filming was underway. On...

[FOUR STAR] SHOW IN DA 'HOUSE'

What would you get if you combined the brains behind "The Usual Suspects" and "The X-Men" with the writer of "Quiz Show" and "Homicide: Life On the Streets"? Aside from...

'WIVES' CREEPS UP ON NO. 1

'Desperate Housewives" is the most talked-about new show of the season, but can it overtake "CSI" as TV's highest-rated show? The answer: Not this season. While ABC's Sunday-night sex-and-the-suburbs series...

BE FUR WARNED! - THE REAL SKINNY ON SKINS

THIS season, fur is a huge outerwear trend, so it was no surprise to see the crowd at Star Jones' wedding on Saturday looking like a class trip to the...

EXPRESS CHECK-IN - GOSSIP, HOT TOPICS AND OTHER NEWS YOU'LL USE

"TREASURE" HUNT DIANE Kruger (below right) - otherwise known as Helen of Troy, in "Troy" - is not risking any Fat Actress-like tranformations. Contributor Gretchen Kelly reveals that the svelte...

A HACK OF A GUY: CABBY TURNS IN 6G

An honest cabby yesterday turned in more than $6,500 that two passengers had left in the back seat of his taxi. Benjamin Adjepong, 54, who has driven a taxi for...

AWARD-SHOW STABBING

Pandemonium broke out during the taping of Vibe magazine's award show last night, when a man was stabbed during the ceremony, sending stars fleeing from the mayhem in their limos....

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Crafty beavers discovered a bag containing tens of thousands of dollars in stolen cash, ripped it open and used the bills to reinforce their dam. Cops who spotted the green...

NUMBER'S UP FOR ID THIEVES

Identity theft is on the rise, and the NYPD is creating a squad to hunt the bandits. "Identity theft is a national problem, and since New York is the financial...

CALIFORNIA GOLDEN FOR CAR THIEVES

Dude, where's my car? California is the nation's car-theft capital, with six of the top 10 cities for thieves to steal vehicles located in the Golden State, a new study...

RENT BARGAIN 'DEAD' WRONG: CITY

A subway worker hit the jackpot four years ago by landing a one-bedroom Bronx apartment for an unheard-of $170 a month - but the lucky tenant isn't so fortunate today....

DEMS AVERT DISASTER AS PATH IS CLEARED FOR ELIOT

ALBANY - State Democrats breathed a collective sigh of relief yesterday as Sen. Charles Schumer all but anointed Attorney General Eliot Spitzer as the Democratic candidate for governor by taking...

PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS TO SHUN VOTE

Two Palestinian terrorist groups said yesterday they would cease attacks inside Israel during the two months before elections for Yasser Arafat's successor - but vowed to boycott the vote. The...

GOV BID CHUCKED - SCHUMER ENTICED BY TOP SEN. POSTS

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Schumer announced yesterday that he won't run for governor in 2006, after Democratic leaders made him an offer he couldn't refuse. For agreeing to stay in...

STARVE-DAD COMA - HAS STROKE AS EXPOSÉ ON FAMILY HITS STREETS

The strange case of the New Jersey couple accused of starving their four adopted sons took a bizarre twist when the embattled dad suffered a "massive stroke" as a sensational...

GOV NIXES PROPOSAL FOR BUDGET REFORM

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki yesterday vetoed the Legislature's plan to end 20 years of late state budgets, claiming the lawmakers' "reform" proposal would just make matters worse. Pataki also complained...

MTA'S 'BEAT' COPS - SUBWAY ATTACKS SOAR

Call it NYPD black and blue. Assaults on cops working in the subway have skyrocketed 60 percent this year because of the NYPD's massive crackdown on "swipers" who are caught...

THIS 'WISEGUY' IS A DUMB-AS-WOODFELLA

PETER GOTTI, who turned 65 yesterday, may not have been the loneliest guy in New York, but he certainly was the loneliest wiseguy in town. "When he's not in court,...

SLAIN PAINTER 'A PAL TO ALL'

Grieving kin and pals of a Queens dad of three who was shot by a homeless man he befriended, gathered yesterday to remember the victim as a devoted friend to...

COPS SLAM TRUNK ON 'HOAX' PUNKS

Four twisted pals faked a car abduction in which one of them, pretending to be trapped in the trunk, held up a "Help Me, Please" sign as they drove around...

QUEENS FUNERAL FOR MARINE HERO

A young Marine's widow - mother of a 3-month-old girl - clutched a photo of her hero husband yesterday as his flag-draped casket was carried past her. Lance Cpl. Jeffrey...

NEW STATE GOP BOSS TALKS TOUGH

ALBANY - The new head of the state Republican Party yesterday promised a more aggressive approach in the wake of GOP election losses and complaints the party has lost its...

TIME RUNNING OUT FOR FREE BIRD GUY

Will he or won't he? Today is the deadline for former state Sen. Guy Velella to make a final plea to stop a city panel from sending him back to...

30 YRS. FOR CAMPUS GUNMAN

A former St. John's linebacker paralyzed from the waist down after a 2001 shooting in a campus parking lot lashed out at his attacker yesterday as a Queens judge sent...

CITY: MSG PLOT TO KILL OLYMPICS

Madison Square Garden is trying to destroy the city's chances of hosting the 2012 Olympics through a high-stakes campaign to block a West Side stadium, Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff fumed...

SADDAM BAGGED $21B IN OIL SCAM

WASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein illegally pocketed a staggering $21 billion from the scandal-scarred U.N. oil-for-food program - more than twice the previous estimate, congressional investigators said yesterday. The new estimate...

TRUCK RUNS DOWN NUN - DEATH AT CHELSEA CROSSING

An 80-year-old Roman Catholic nun died tragically yesterday when she was struck and run over by a 22 1/2-ton flatbed truck while walking with the help of her cane across...

RIGHT WRONG TO GLOAT AS MR. CAUTION EXITS, STAGE LEFT

THE coverage of Colin Powell's resignation as secretary of state has been uniformly celebratory, which is appropriate. Powell is one of the great public servants of our time, a man...

POL'S NIECE DIES FROM INJURIES IN BETHPAGE CAR CRASH

The teenage niece of a Long Island politician died yesterday of injuries from a crash in Bethpage which killed the driver of the car. Nassau County Legislator Edward Mangano (R-Bethpage)...

SCHOOL CAROLS BOOTED IN THE BRASS

The high school students in Maplewood, N.J., can forget about a "White Christmas." After complaints that kids in the brass ensemble at Columbia HS in Maplewood played Christmas carols during...

SLAY TRIAL GRIEF - 'I'M DYING! HELP ME!'

Choking sobs filled a courtroom yesterday when Manhattan prosecutors relayed the last words of an innocent young man who plummeted to his death last year in a fatal lover's triangle....

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN * Two fast-acting cops nabbed a bank robber red handed yesterday moments after he held up a Midtown bank, police said. Joseph Hanks, 56, had just robbed a Commerce...

DAUNTING TO-DO LIST LOOMS FOR SUCCESSOR

WASHINGTON - The next secretary of state will need a cool head and quick feet to urgently stamp out hot spots around the globe. Condoleezza Rice will be steering new...

DANNY'S 'PHONE-Y' EXCUSES UNDER FIRE

Danny Pelosi's cellphone records on the morning of Ted Ammon's murder prove he had seven hours in which to kill the Long Island multimillionaire, the prosecutor charged yesterday. "There is...

NYC'S SECRET GUIDE ON FIRING TEACHERS

It's the secret manual the city Department of Education wants no teacher to see - a 61-page blueprint for how to keep New York's Brightest in line without violating union...

W. PICKS CONDI TO TAKE OVER FOR COLIN

WASHINGTON - White House National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice - one of President Bush's most trusted advisers - will become the nation's new chief diplomat, officials said yesterday. Bush has...

NYERS SAVING PETS' LIVES

Thousands of loveable pooches and kitties avoided death this year after the city doubled adoptions from its shelters - resulting in the lowest number of animals killed at any time...

OL' DIRTY PAID FOR '7 KIDS' - MANAGER'S BOMBSHELL FOR WIDOW

Rapper ODB's manager yesterday disputed his widow's claims that he fathered only three children - insisting the philandering pop star was paying child support for at least seven. Russell Jones,...

GOTTI B'DAY D-DAY - HIS TRIAL STARTS AS MOBSTER TURNS 65

Peter Gotti marked his 65th birthday on the day his conspiracy trial began yesterday, but it was federal prosecutors who celebrated the chance to put the reputed Gambino mob boss...

MERCER OUT 6-8 WEEKS

NET NOTES Ron Mercer could be out twice as long as the Nets feared. Still, that was good news. Mercer underwent what the team called "successful" arthroscopic surgery on his...

QNS. RESTAURANT RAIDERS GRAB 6G

Five armed bandits entered a restaurant in Queens early yesterday, handcuffed its owner to a chair and made off with about $6,000. The crooks - several armed with knives -...

SECRET PAIN OF VICTIM'S GIRL

The teenage daughter of a Queens dad brutally gunned down on a highway by a homeless man he befriended revealed yesterday her secret heartache over the slaying. Danielle Gaviglia, 16,...

MEET THE NEW BOSS - NOT LIKE OLD BOSS

WASHINGTON -For the first time since taking office, President Bush will have his global vision championed by a diplomat who sees the world through the same lens. As secretary of...

ST. JOHN'S HAZING PUT PLEDGE IN HOSPITAL

Three fraternity brothers told their St. John's pledges to "assume the position" in a Queens park, then brutally beat one to the point of kidney failure as part of a...

WITNESS RELIVES HORROR OF B'KLYN TRIPLE MURDER

A witness to a bloody Brooklyn rampage testified yesterday that he watched as a gunman mercilessly killed two young men and one of their mothers - allegedly after a dispute...

VID BAGS SUSPECT IN WOLFPACK SLAY

A security camera outside a sprawling Queens apartment complex yesterday led to the arrest of a 16-year-old suspected of being part of a gang of toughs who killed a hard-working...

S.I. FIREBOMB VICTIM IN MOB PROBE

A man whose home was firebombed twice - and who was the victim of a brutal assault - is being probed for reputed ties to the Colombo crime family, The...

DEATH LEAP IN MIDTOWN

A man fell 26 floors to his death down a shaft at a Midtown office building yesterday, in what police believe was a suicide. Cops said Stephen MacDowell, 50, worked...

3 HURT IN RUSH-HOUR SUBWAY STABBING

Three men were stabbed after arguing with three others in a Brooklyn subway station during the evening rush last night, police said. The violence took place on the mezzanine level...

MANAGER'S BOMBSHELL: OL' DIRTY PAID FOR 7 KIDS

Rapper ODB's manager yesterday disputed his widow's claims that he fathered only three children - insisting the philandering pop star was paying child support for at least seven. Russell Jones,...

RENT BREAK WAS 'DEAD' WRONG: CITY

A subway worker hit the jackpot four years ago by landing a one-bedroom apartment in The Bronx for an unheard-of $170 a month. But the lucky tenant isn't so fortunate...

CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD

Its not even Thanksgiving and holiday decorations are everywhere. Today's page takes a look at how other countries celebrate the holiday. We all love snow during holiday time, but some...

BLAZE OF GORY - MAN SETS SELF AFIRE AT WHITE HOUSE

A man shouting, "Allah, Allah" set himself afire outside a White House gate yesterday and was quickly wrestled to the ground by uniformed Secret Service agents. The incident took place...

FIREBOMB VICTIM IN MOB PROBE

A man whose Staten Island home has twice been firebombed - and who was the victim of a brutal assault - is being probed by the FBI for reputed ties...

ST. JOHN'S HAZING PUT MAN IN HOSP

Three fraternity brothers told their St. John's pledges to "assume the position" in a Queens park, then brutally clubbed one to the point of kidney failure as part of the...

WITNESS RELIVES TRIPLE MURDER

A witness to a bloody Brooklyn rampage testified yesterday that he watched as a gunman mercilessly killed two young men and one of their mothers - allegedly after a dispute...

MEDIC ROCKS WITH DOCS - DAVID LEE ROTH'S NEW GIG

Legendary Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth has stopped "runnin' with the devil" to do God's work - riding ambulances in gritty neighborhoods throughout the city to become a paramedic....

ALFONSO NOT KEEN ON SWITCH TO RF

One of the juicier rumors on baseball's hot-stove circuit has Alfonso Soriano returning to New York. As a Met. Playing right field. But that's looking more like a longshot, with...

DESERT DOLDRUMS

GIANT REPORT CARDQUARTERBACKS: C- The numbers (19 of 30, 193 yards, 1 TD) look better than the performance by Kurt Warner, who did not turn the ball over, threw it...

ONE THAT GOT AWAY

QUARTERBACKS: C- Quincy Carter (13-of-22, 175 yards, 84.5 rating) played well enough to win, especially in the first half. But he has to take some blame for the end-game clock...

EW, MUTOMBO WORRIED ABOUT 'ZO COMEBACK

Ask Patrick Ewing and Dikembe Mutombo what they think of Alonzo Mourning's comeback after a kidney transplant - and playing a combined 77 minutes on back-to-back-nights - and you get...

GOING, GOING, GHANA: AHAMED'S LONG ROAD TO MLK SOCCER TITLE

As Mohammed Ahamed helped his team to the PSAL soccer title on Sunday night on the pristine field at St. John's, he couldn't help but recall the places where he...

ELI'S IN COMMAND - MANNING WILL START SUNDAY

The Eli Manning Era officially began yesterday. Giants coach Tom Coughlin made the monumental decision to remove Kurt Warner as the team's starting quarterback and insert Manning, the No. 1...

VITALI'S FOE ROCKETING TO FAME

Thanks to his knockout victory over Mike Tyson last July, Danny Williams has gone from being a virtual unknown to fighting Vitali Klitschko for the WBC heavyweight title Dec. 11...

ELI'S COMING; SO IS ARCHIE

Archie Manning had already heard the news that the Eli Manning Era had started in New York. So when his youngest boy returned his call yesterday afternoon, Archie Manning had...

BONDS' MVP OLD HAT

It was less an announcement than simply a confirmation of an already-existing fact. Of course, Barry Bonds won the National League MVP. Who else would have? Bonds, the Giants' incomparable...

JINTS' 'O': WE'RE TO BLAME

In Eli they trust. The Giants don't have any other choice, as Eli Manning was named the team's starting quarterback yesterday by head coach Tom Coughlin. But for the most...

ERR APPARENT - TURNOVERS PLAGUE NETS' JEFFERSON

The Nets' Richard Jefferson was 13th in the league in scoring at 23.0 points, 13th in the league in rebounding at 9.8 boards. But his unlucky number entering last night...

TIME IS RIGHT FOR KID TO PUT HIS HELMET ON

ELI Manning's quicker release is at least worth a shot before the 2004 Giants are taken out and shot, not that the next six defenses the Giants face will need...

STEPHON 'BIG SHOT' IN TEXAS

KNICK NOTES SAN ANTONIO - Knick fans pray Stephon Marbury will have many more important playoff buckets in coming years. But when the Knicks face the Spurs tonight at SBC...

TOM SAYS LINE SHARES BLAME

GIANT NOTES Tom Coughlin took away Kurt Warner's starting job yesterday and handed it to rookie Eli Manning because it's easier to replace one man instead of all 11 on...

SONICS MAKING NOISE - BUT GRIZZLIES' START REALLY UN-BEAR-ABLE

WITH one quarter left in Sunday's game I was all set to diss Danny (The Flagrant Vagrant) Fortson, Seattle's solo paint presence, for drawing a one-game suspension and sullying the...

HERMING & HAWING

IT WAS nice of Herman Edwards to reach beneath the bus and drag Quincy Carter out from under. Nice of the Jets coach to go back a second time and...

THE BLAME GAME - EDWARDS, CARTER TAKE DIFFERENT TACKS

Herman Edwards did the only thing he could do yesterday to quell the fallout from the calamity that was the Jets' inexplicable 20-17 overtime giveaway loss to the Ravens on...

JETS QB NOT ABLE TO BEAT THE CLOCK

What should the Jets have done in that end-game situation they bungled so badly during Sunday's 20-17 overtime loss to the Ravens? Here's a look at what they did in...

METS NIX LEITER'S OPTION

At exactly midnight last night, Al Leiter became a free man. Yesterday was the Mets' deadline to decide whether to exercise Leiter's $10 million option for 2005, and in the...

MILTON STORY PURE FICTION

Former Yankee prospect Eric Milton still sports an "NY" tattoo on his back, but don't brand him a member of the 2005 Bombers just yet. The Yankees desperately need left-handed...

KURT TARGETS DUNCAN

SAN ANTONIO - Tonight, it's the Knicks who plan to be a pain in someone's neck - Tim Duncan's. While sore-necked Jamal Crawford returns to the lineup tonight against San...

MANNING SET TO GET HIS PHIL

A quarter-century ago, a 23-year-old rookie named Phil Simms received his first start for an 0-5 Giants team. Facing the undefeated Buccaneers, Simms was just 6-for-12 for 37 yards, but...

CHAD STILL NOT READY TO THROW

JET NOTES There's no indication as of yesterday that Chad Pennington will be returning to the lineup any sooner than the two-to-four-week prognosis initially given for his strained right rotator...

MUTOMBO GETS PHYSICAL VERSUS OLD BUDDY 'ZO

Dikembe Mutombo and Patrick Ewing - both of whom had volunteered to give Alonzo Mourning a kidney - advised their longtime friend against attempting an NBA comeback. They advised, they...

SWAMP STENCH - IT'S LIKE OLD TIMES FOR WRETCHED NETS

Rockets 80 - Nets 69 The Nets scored the game's first 11 points. If you're waiting for any other highlights, don't bother. Because after that 11-0 opening, the Nets were...

CLASSIC MOMENTS IN NEW YORK SPORTS HISTORY - VOLUME 2

AFFIRMED NIPS ALYDAR FOR TRIPLE CROWN Six inches of separation The 110th running of the Belmont Stakes was the finest contested horse race most of us have ever been privileged...