October 1, 2005

$500M 'FESS UP BY AD GIANT

There was tax evasion in Turkey, improper gift-giving in Greece, bad accounting in Bulgaria and undisclosed payments in Ukraine as ad giant Interpublic Group lost control of its sprawling empire....

LANGONE RIPS INTO CANDIDATE SPITZER

Billionaire investor Ken Langone is urging voters to reject Eliot Spitzer's bid for New York governor next year, claiming the avenging prosecutor has become a vengeful persecutor. In an Op-Ed...

UPPER IS LOWER - RENTERS HEAD UPTOWN TO FIND THE BEST BARGAINS

Upper Least Side - Renters head uptown to find the best bargains WHEN Jamie Dulduchetto began her apartment hunt, she was open to hood except the Upper East Side. Dulduchetto...

GIMME SHELTER

"Cheers" for the Hamptons Frasier's just purchased a home where everybody knows his name. Kelsey Grammer and his wife, Camille, have gone to contract to buy a large shingled home...

HOME SHOPPING CLUB - NEARLY FREE UPHOLSTERY

The Conran Shop 407 E. 59th St., at First Avenue (212) 755-9079 Sale: through Oct. 10. Open: Sun., noon-6 p.m./Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-8 p.m./Sat., 10 a.m.-7 p.m. An upholstery sale offers...

MY NEW HOME

ONE FAMILY BUYS A TWO-FAMILY SEARCH TIME: 2 ½ years THEY BOUGHT: Yonkers two-family house, $610,000 WHEN Dwayne and Mercedes Rivera got married October 2002, they, like most newlyweds, moved...

FUNNY BUSINESS; EX-'IDOL' INKS ABC SITCOM DEAL

FORMER "American Idol" wannabe Constantine Maroulis has inked a deal to star in an ABC sitcom pilot. According to People magazine, Maroulis, the shaggy-haired New Yorker who finished sixth on...

FINAL DESTINATION - NOT EVEN A 'MAYDAY' COULD SAVE THIS BOMB

"Mayday" Tomorrow at 9 p.m. on Ch. 2 * ½ (one and a half stars) IT'S a disaster that will leave you breathless. And I'm not talking about the airliner...

STILL IN DRIVER'S SEAT

RIC OCASEK WITH the same clickity-chop guitar work that marked his biggest hits from the '70s, rock relic Ric Ocasek premiered tunes with new Cars smell at the dead-duck dive,...

RALPH ROCKS & KIDS ROLL WITH HIM

WHEN rock 'n' roller Ralph Covert made the switch to kids' music, he heard it from the critics - one in particular. That one, he recalls, sat him down and...

STATE COURTS FORM ELITE GUARD

The tragic shooting death of a judge in the Atlanta area earlier this year has prompted New York state court officials to launch an elite unit of court officers, who...

CRUEL B'KLYN WOMAN 'STARVED' DOG

A Brooklyn woman was busted yesterday for starving her elderly dog nearly to death. Acting on a tip, ASPCA agents arrived to find Mr. Rocco, a 10-year old Rottweiler, down...

HILL, SPITZER LEAVING FOES IN THE DUST: POLL

ALBANY - Sen. Hillary Clinton and Attorney General and gubernatorial hopeful Eliot Spitzer, both Democrats, are the runaway favorites to win their elections next year, a poll revealed yesterday. The...

W. PREPARES TO PASS JUDGE-MENT

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday went to Camp David to mull his second Supreme Court nominee as insiders predicted word would come Monday and debated whether he was considering white...

KOFI GOT E-ZPASS IN PROBE; VOLCKER GUY TELLS ALL

WASHINGTON - Members of the commission investigating the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal expressed grave concern that they might harm the U.N.'s reputation during a heated debate about how hard to hit...

UNHOLY CRACKPOT'S SIN GOES UNPUNISHED

NOBODY would dare criticize Imam Intikab Habib's faith in the Muslim religion, which in its true form is pure. But you have to doubt this man's grip on stark reality....

TEEN AMONG 100 WHO'LL DOKU IT OUT

Get ready, New York - The Post Su Doku Championships are here! Today, 100 puzzle-loving Post readers will compete for cash and prizes worth $10,000 in our first annual Su...

COACH'S TRAGIC END; KILLS SELF AMID HS TEEN-SEX SCANDAL

A disgraced Brooklyn high-school basketball coach charged with raping one of his female students shot and killed himself near a Queens park yesterday while out on bail, authorities said. Clad...

FLU DOGS HUNDREDS OF CITY PETS

The potentially deadly flu that has New York pet owners worrying has infected hundreds - perhaps thousands - of dogs in the city, an expert on viruses said yesterday. In...

SNAKE EYES FOR VACCO IN CASINO CASE

ALBANY - Former Attorney General Dennis Vacco's lobbying firm is facing a $50,000 fine next week to settle a state Lobbying Commission investigation into a potentially illegal contract with a...

'RED' ALERT: $6B-A-YR. DEBT COST TO SLAM N.Y.

ALBANY - New York taxpayers will be forking over almost $6 billion a year in interest by the end of the decade just to pay off the state's skyrocketing debt,...

PERV'S KILLER NOTE MAILED BEFORE SUICIDE RAMPAGE

Just hours before upstate sex offender Victor Piazza shot three of his bosses and took his own life, he mailed a rambling letter blaming them for his kiddie-porn conviction and...

REPORTER MILLER TALKS & WALKS, 85 DAYS LATER

WASHINGTON - After spending 85 days in jail, New York Times reporter Judith Miller testified for over three hours yesterday before a grand jury investigating the CIA-leak case as her...

SCHOOL JUDGED OUTTA BOUNDS FOR DEMS

The Bloomberg administration blocked the Bronx Democratic Party from holding its judicial convention at Lehman HS because it would violate the city ban against politicking inside public schools, The Post...

MADMAN MULLAH; FDNY DUMPS 9/11-DENYING IMAM AS CHAPLAIN

A Muslim chaplain for the FDNY resigned yesterday amid a firestorm of controversy after publicly doubting 19 hijackers were responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks and suggesting that the World...

MOB-TRIAL SEXTORT BUST; FBI: LAWYER THREATENED GO-GO GALS

A reputed mob lawyer was arrested yesterday on charges of intimidating dancers at a posh strip club in a failed effort to head off the high-profile trial in which Patrick...

'RAPE' IN ST. JOHN'S DORMITORY

Cops are hunting for a youth who allegedly raped a sleeping St. John's University student, while college officials yesterday ramped up security at the terrified woman's dormitory. The rape allegedly...

FIRED PRINCIPAL GETS JOB BACK

A Harlem high school principal dismissed for urging parents to falsify their income on school lunch forms to get more federal poverty aid for his school will be reinstated to...

WIVES 'TRUMP' INTO EACH OTHER

Two Mrs. Donald Trumps - past and pregnant - had a surprise meeting yesterday afternoon when Melania (above) and Ivana showed up at the same chic Madison Avenue French bistro....

THREE TEENS STABBED IN HIGH-SCHOOL GANG FIGHT

Three students were viciously stabbed and two of their friends roughed up in an apparent gang fight in front of a Manhattan high school yesterday. One of the teens was...

TOT-SNATCHER UNFIT FOR TRIAL

A woman charged with abducting a 4-year-old boy from a Washington Heights restaurant four weeks ago has been found unfit for trial by a court-appointed psychiatrist. Altagracia Rodriguez was arraigned...

LAWYER IS NULL & 'ROID; DRUG-PASSING RAP

On the streets, 31-year-old Carlos Baez waded knee-deep in cocaine and cash. But once the jail doors clanked shut, the admitted millionaire drug-gang leader apparently hoped to keep up appearances...

'SPIDER-MAN' TO THE RESCUE

It's just an itty bitty spider, but a British paleontologist has extracted tiny blood droplets from the ancient arachnid that might let its kind live again. This 20 million-year-old amber-encased...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

THE BRONX *** A 59-year-old South Bronx man - arrested for violating an order of protection - hanged himself inside a holding cell in the 41st Precinct station house, police...

FERRER'S STRANGE BEDFELLOW

Fernando Ferrer, who's pro gay rights, campaigned yesterday arm in arm, so to speak, with state Sen. Ruben Diaz, an ordained minister long accused of homophobia. They met at the...

NO MIKE AT FORUM; BLOWS OFF FIRST DEBATE AT THE APOLLO

Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday that he wouldn't take part in next week's scheduled debate at the Apollo Theater, ducking the first face-off against Fernando Ferrer. Thursday night's 90- minute televised...

WHERE'S MOM? COPS SEEKING ABANDONED TOT'S PARENT

The search for relatives of a 4-year-old girl found wandering barefoot on a Queens street took another mysterious twist yesterday when police identified the child's beautiful young mother - and...

HACK-TRACKING FUROR; CABBIES TO PROTEST SATELLITE 'SPY' PLAN

Cabbies are up in arms over a city Taxi and Limousine Commission plan to track their every move electronically. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance plans to stage a rally...

ANNA'S GRAND SLAM

Here's tennis hottie Anna Kournikova losing her cool yesterday after having a fender bender with an uninsured Miami maid (left). The blond beauty was driving a black Cadillac Escalade when...

WHERE'S MOM?COPS FEAR ABANDONED TOT'S PARENT SLAIN

The search for relatives of a 4-year-old girl found wandering barefoot on a Queens street took another mysterious twist yesterday when police identified the child's mother - whom investigators fear...

'MAKE IT STOP!' KIDS CRY FOR HELP AS 50 HURT IN DEEGAN BUS FLIP

More than 50 people were rushed to hospitals yesterday - including 42 children - when their school bus overturned on the Major Deegan Expressway after being rammed from behind. None...

$12.5M PAYOUT FOR KID-STARVE HORROR

Four tragic New Jersey boys who were starved by their adoptive parents will get $12.5 million as compensation, state officials said yesterday. The payments of $2.5 million to $5 million...

THREE TEENS STABBED IN DEADLY AFTER-SCHOOL FIGHT

Three students were stabbed - one fatally - and two of their friends roughed up in a fight in front of a Manhattan high school yesterday that stemmed from a...

HILL, SPITZER LEAVE FOES IN DUST: POLL

ALBANY - Sen. Hillary Clinton and Attorney General and gubernatorial hopeful Eliot Spitzer, both Democrats, are the runaway favorites to win their elections next year, a poll revealed yesterday. The...

SHAKY RUTGERS BENDS BUT REFUSES TO BREAK

Rutgers 37Pitt 29 After blowing a 20-point third-quarter lead in its opener at Illinois, Rutgers seemed on the verge of an even bigger collapse last night. But this time, Brandon...

TIMLIN PENS IN BOMBERS

BOSTON - Mike Timlin doesn't think this weekend's games between his Red Sox and the Yankees rival the intensity of a World Series. Believe him: He's been there, done that....

VARITEK ENDS HIS DROUGHT

BOSTON - Jason Varitek hadn't homered for so long, you can't call it a drought, but rather a tater famine. That ended last night when the Red Sox captain launched...

YANKS TAP BP KNUCKLEBALLER

YANKEE NOTES BOSTON - The Yankees are looking under every rock to find an advantage this weekend. In addition to bringing in a chiropractor, a mental-skills coach and extra bat...

GLOAD'S ON TRIBE

13 INN. / BOX, P. 64Chisox 3Indians 2 CLEVELAND - If the Indians' season ends without a trip to the postseason, last night's game will haunt them all winter. With...

JORGE'S CLUTCH BROKEN

BOSTON - The Yankees needed John Flaherty to be Chien-Ming Wang's personal catcher. Twice last night Jorge Posada came up with a chance to help the Yanks gain control of...

STAKES HIGH AT BELMONT

During the seventh-inning stretch of today's Yankees-Red Sox game, you might want to wager on this afternoon's two guaranteed pick 4's encompassing six different preps for the Oct. 29 Breeders'...

VINNY'S ROOTING FOR BROOKS

JET NOTES Vinny Testaverde's grasp of Mike Heimerdinger's new offense is improving quickly, but he said that doesn't want to be tested -this week or after. Instead, he expects former...

MARK OF EXPERIENCE; JONES: I'LL BE FINE AS FILL-IN

Mark Jones wasn't sure how he would perform a year ago when he had to fill in at linebacker for the injured Victor Hobson. "You have to be confident in...

MIGHTY WRIGHT ; METS 3B REMINDS PEDRO OF YOUNG A-ROD

As Pedro Martinez spoke, his eyes grew wide, like a kid talking about an upcoming birthday party. The subject that had put the Mets' pitcher in such a good mood...

'ALEX' IS FLEET IN WORKOUT

Breeders' Cup, here we come! That's what trainer Tim Ritchey was saying yesterday morning after Afleet Alex, recovered from a hairline fracture suffered in late July, had his first workout...

SCOTT LIKELY MARTY'S BACKUP

The Devils' backup goalie job, with Scott Clemmensen seeming to have to inside track, might be an audition for lead work elsewhere next season. This is one of the consequences...

DON'T WORRY, WALK PAPI

BOSTON - David Ortiz has proven time and again that he can't be stopped. Thursday night, he produced his 10th walk-off hit since coming to the Red Sox. There's a...

MARSHALL THE WILL ; TIKI ADMIRES SELFLESSNESS OF AGING FAULK

If there is one player Tiki Barber has observed, admired and tried to emulate more than any other as he climbed the NFL ranks, it is Marshall Faulk. As the...

BIGGEST OF GAMES REQUIRES BIG UNIT

"I think when the moment is biggest, that's when he responds best. . . . The higher the stakes, the better he is."- CATCHER JOHN FLAHERTY (ABOVE) BOSTON - On...

WAKEFIELD ON SHORT END LAST TIME

BOSTON - On the morning of Sept. 11, the Red Sox held a four-game lead on the Yankees and had their boot firmly on the Bombers' throat. That day, you...

RED SOX EXPECT INTENSE WEEKEND

BOSTON - Fenway Park exploded Thursday night when David Ortiz capped a 5-4, comeback victory over the Blue Jays with a walk-off RBI single. Fans and players left the ballpark...

WANNSTEDT & SCHIANO ARE FRIENDLY ENEMIES

Long before Pittsburgh's Dave Wannstedt and Rutgers' Greg Schiano became Big East rivals with their first league meeting last night in Piscataway, the two were Bears and most of all...

HOW IT WAS MEANT TO BE; YANKS, SOX ARE DESTINY'S TWINS

BOSTON - Finally, the Major League Baseball schedule maker got it right. How else was the 2005 American League season supposed to end? Yankees-Red Sox in Fenway Park for three...

TARVER: JONES DOESN'T STAND A CHANCE

TAMPA - Roy Jones stepped on the scales yesterday wearing a thick untrimmed beard that made him look more like a hobo than a former boxing champion hoping to regain...

BOMBERS PRACTICE AGAINST KNUCKLER

YANKEE NOTES BOSTON - The Yankees are looking under every rock to find an advantage this weekend. In addition to bringing in a chiropractor, a mental skills coach and extra...

KNICKS AND BULLS IN CURRY TRADE TALK

The Knicks and Bulls continued serious discussions yesterday about a sign-and-trade for Chicago free-agent center Eddy Curry, sources said. Curry has told friends the Knicks are still in the mix....

YANKS CAUGHT UP IN PLAYOFF ATMOSPHERE

BOSTON - The playoffs began last night at Fenway Park. There was a chill in the air and peril in the games. As John Flaherty said: "It's cold outside. This...

WEEKES EYES RANGER OPENER

When his team takes the ice Wednesday night at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, 548 days will have passed between regular-season games for Ranger goaltender Kevin Weekes. Needless to say,...

LET'S SEE IF THEY'RE TRY-SOX

CLEVELAND - The bleary-eyed White Sox staggered into the Jacobs Field clubhouse yesterday after celebrating their AL Central title the night before. For those who were able to focus their...

HOKIES TAPP ON VICK

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Virginia Tech defensive end Darryl Tapp met quarterback Marcus Vick at a high school all-star game and immediately felt he was in the presence of greatness. "Just...

JOSE'S COOL AS A CUKE

CLEVELAND - Nearly three years after the Yankees topped the Red Sox in the bidding for his services, Jose Contreras looks like the $32 million dollar pitcher they thought he...

YANKS WEAR AN UGLY TIE; RED SOX DRAW EVEN WITH JUST TWO TO GO

Red Sox 5Yankees 3 BOSTON - George Steinbrenner got Randy Johnson to beat the Red Sox in October. Well, today is the first day of the grandest baseball month, and...

UP TO UNIT & MOOSE ; WELL-PAID ACES HOLD PLAYOFF KEY

BOSTON - Chien- Ming Wang lost last night, but his job already was done. Wang, Shawn Chacon and Aaron Small - a kind of baseball "Revenge of the Nerds" -...

STANTON IS ONE & DONE

BOSTON - Why not give Mike Stanton a try? The Boston bullpen needs the help. Stanton thought he has seen everything in the game, but the timing of his trade...

KNUCKLEBALLER TO THROW BP

YANKEE NOTES BOSTON - The Yankees are looking under every rock to find an advantage this weekend. In addition to bringing in a chiropractor, a mental skills coach and extra...

VARITEK'S BLAST PUTS SOX ON TOP

BOSTON - Jason Varitek hadn't homered for so long, you can't call it a drought, but rather a tater famine. It ended last night when the Red Sox captain launched...

PAPI PULLS AWAY IN MVP BATTLE

BOSTON - He's making it easier and easier for the voters at home, simplifying what should be a complex argument. Look, there's little doubt that Alex Rodriguez is a better...

RED SOX NAB STANTON JUST TO FACE YANKEES

BOSTON - Why not give Mike Stanton a try? Stanton thought he has seen everything, but the weird timing of his trade from Washington for two low-level minor leaguers caught...

TIMLIN, PEN CLOSE OUT BIG VICTORY

BOSTON - Mike Timlin doesn't think this weekend's games betweeen his Red Sox and the Yankees rival the intensity of a World Series. Believe him: he's been there, done that....

JETER CAN'T DO IT TWICE

BOSTON - It's been like this a lot for The Captain this year, a little glory sprinkled with a little misery. Last night, Jeter gave the Yankees a little bit...

WELLS DONE, DAVE

BOSTON - David Wells' cell phone rang last night about three hours before the game. It was not your average ring tone. It was the theme song from the Clint...

WEEKES SETS SIGHTS ON OPENER

When his team takes the ice Wednesday night at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, 548 days will have passed between regular-season games for Ranger goaltender Kevin Weekes. Needless to say,...

DEFENSE MIGHT BE MUDDLED

GIANT NOTES The last thing the Giants' defense needed was player losses and rampant changes, coming off last week's colossal stinker of a performance in San Diego. They will get...

A RIVALRY OF HISTORIC PROPORTIONS

BOSTON - Everywhere you turn in this city, history stares back at you. The Old North Church. Hyannis Port. Bunker Hill. It is a city that is never afraid to...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

British rower Oliver Hicks hoped to make the record books for the fastest west-to-east crossing of the Atlantic when he set off from Atlantic Highlands, N.J., on May 27. Well,...