May 18, 2006

ISN'T THAT SPECIAL... BIG BOARD PROBE MAY TICK OFF FEDS

THE New York Stock Exchange is ramping up an investigation of specialists on its trading floor, and that may not be sitting well with federal prosecutors who are further along...

VIVENDI REJECTS $50B BID

Alexander Vik, a jet-setting Norwegian who lives in Monaco and was once one of the world's richest people before losing a good chunk of his fortune when the Internet bubble...

STOCK SHOCK - DOW PLUNGES 214 IN MARKET'S BIGGEST SLIDE SINCE 2003

There was no running from the carnage on Wall Street yesterday, as both the stock and bond markets caved following a higher-than-expected inflation report. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped...

DEPOT-SITION - CLASS-ACTION SUIT ALLEGES FRAUD AT HOME RETAILER

Home Depot is the subject of a class-action securities lawsuit that alleges the company falsified financial results by improperly inflating the amount of money it charged vendors to cover the...

DOW JONES

ON the day the Dow Jones dropped 214 points the storied New York Stock Exchange turned 214 years-old. That's right, On May 17, 1792, 24 traders convened under a Buttonwood...

NBC LAGS, ABC LEADS UPFRONTS: MERRILL

This year's television "upfront," when the networks unveil their new fall shows to advertisers, is looking like a repeat. The six broadcast networks will sell about $9.1 billion in primetime...

TIME PICKS A FAMILIAR FACE

Time magazine ushered in a new era yesterday with the appointment of a new top editor - a man who is technically an outsider but who spent so many years...

GIMME SHELTER

ROTH & ROLL Now that megadeveloper Steven Roth has moved into his sprawling prewar co-op apartment on Park Avenue, he's selling his vacated residence a few blocks away. The Chairman...

BET EVERYTHING ON RED - FALL IN LOVE WITH NOT-SO-TOUGH RED HOOK - HOOK UP! RED HOOK IS NO LONGER THE LAND OF WATERFRONT TOUGHS AND GUNSHOTS; THERE'S A DIFFERENT KIND OF BOOM TO BE HEARD IN SOUTH BROOKLYN

LIKE Barry Bonds, Red Hook knows what it's like to suffer from a bad reputation. Old New Yorkers remember the neighborhood from its reckless, rough-and-tumble youth; the days when the...

GIRLS WORLD - ALL THAT'S OLD IS FROU IN LISA GASTINEAU'S MIDTOWN PAD

LISA Gastineau is the ultimate modern mom who shops, dines and dates right alongside her daughter on their reality TV show, "The Gastineau Girls." On camera, her look is hip:...

HIDE AND SEEK - HAVE A HIDDEN PASSAGE BUILT IN YOUR HOME

YES, we remember a frizzy-haired Victor Frankenstein (aka Gene Wilder) picking up a candlestick in his large Transylvania estate in the movie "Young Frankenstein." We recall that the bookcase in...

SALES OF THE WEEK

SHEILA'S DECORATING 68 Orchard St., at Grand Street (212) 777-3767 Sale:through May 28 Open:Sun.-Thurs., 9 a.m.-5 p.m./Fri., 9 a.m.-2 p.m. All floor samples will be reduced by 50 percent. A...

ROCKER CHANGES CHANNEL

IT'S hard to get a straight answer from Tom Verlaine, co-founder of the punk pioneers Television. Ask him what he's been up to since he put out his last album...

FORGET 'FORGIVING'

FORGIVING DR. MENGELE [**] (Two stars) 'FORGIVING Dr. Mengele" is about a four-star life - too bad it's trapped in a two-star movie. The life belongs to Eva Mozes Kor,...

DIG THAT DANIELLE - BABYSITTER WINS 'MODEL'

TOUGH-as-nails Danielle Evans took the title last night on the latest edition of "America's Next Top Model." Throughout the season Evans, 20, was a resolute trouper despite several setbacks that...

VIERA GOES OUT WITH KICK

MEREDITH Viera gets to take the whole summer off. The popular moderator of "The View" will leave the show on June 9, following a three-day send-off from her pals that...

'DEADWOOD' HEADS FOR BOOT HILL

HBO's decision against holding the "Deadwood" cast to their contracts for a fourth season was a business decision the show's creator finds frustrating, but also understands. "How [expletive deleted] is...

PRODUCER DIES

BROADWAY will dim its lights at 8 tonight to mourn the passing yesterday of Cy Feuer, the producer of "Guys and Dolls," "The Boy Friend" and more. Feuer was 95....

TRACY OR HEPBURN? - ABC CAN'T MAKE UP MIND ON ANCHOR

THE HEMMING AND HAWING OVER THE ANCHOR SITUATION HAS THE INDUSTRY BUZZING, ESPECIALLY WITH ELIZABETH VARGAS STARTING MATERNITY LEAVE IN THREE MONTHS. LIKE the tortured Hamlet, ABC can't seem to...

$UPERMAN BUDGET IS UP, UP AND AWAY

IT'S a bird, it's a plane, it's . . . the sky-high cost of making "Superman Returns." The new Man of Steel flick, due out June 30, is the culmination...

KARL CRUISES TO A WINNER

KARL'S kruise lines sailed into Grand Central Terminal yesterday to showcase this year's Chanel cruise collection - set to hit stores this winter. Karl Lagerfeld's adoring fans - celebs like...

STARR REPORT

'Boys' night out The cast of "Jersey Boys" did something last night that's believed to be a first in Broadway history, leaving their show at intermission to perform elsewhere -...

NYPD ALERT FOR 'CELLPHONE GUN' - SCARY NEW WEAPON DIALS M FOR MURDER

New York cops are on the lookout for a deadly weapon right out of a James Bond movie - a rapid-fire pistol disguised as a cellphone, The Post has learned....

ELIOT NAILS MEDI-FRAUD

A former owner of two Bronx nursing homes was busted for allegedly stealing more than $3 million in Medicaid funds through bogus billing, state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced yesterday....

GAZA NEARS 'CIVIL WAR'

JERUSALEM - The Gaza Strip was poised for civil war today after Hamas and the Palestinian president ordered separate police forces to seize control of the area. The Hamas-led Palestinian...

FOREIGN-BORN VETS GUNG-HO FOR CITIZENSHIP

When President Bush mentioned in his prime-time immigration speech this week how a hospitalized Marine became a U.S. citizen, it struck a chord with some foreign-born Leathernecks who are in...

DAVID CAN FIGHT (AND BEAT) IRS GOLIATH

WASHINGTON - It pays to fight back against the IRS, a new government study suggests. The Government Accountability Office said in a recent report that 41 percent of people who...

VOTERS SAY SPITZER IS MR. FIXIT

ALBANY - State government is broken and only Eliot Spitzer can fix it, a new poll of New York voters revealed yesterday. The Quinnipiac University survey showed that 72 percent...

WORKPLACE POLL ZAPS CYBERLOAFS

If you're spending time at work surfing the Web, take heart - you're not alone. Sixty-one percent of 500 employees of large companies surveyed by Websense, an Internet security and...

TOM RIPS ELIOT 'CONFLICT'

ALBANY - Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Tom Suozzi yesterday called on Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to recuse himself from the ongoing investigation of the New York State United Teachers, because the...

BEACH 'BRELLA BINGO! - BEANED MA WINS 200G

The state has agreed to pay $200,000 to a Manhattan woman who was hit in the head by "a flying torpedo" - an airborne beach umbrella. Phyllis Caliano-Bahaj, 53, was...

BX. CHESS KIDS 'KINGS' - PS 291 PAWN-ISHES NATIONAL RIVALS

A Bronx public school chess team is flying high after capturing two national titles in Denver, Colo., over the weekend. Students at PS 291 took home first-place prizes in K-3...

TEACHERS TAKE CLASS ACTION

Public-school teachers and parents across the city planned to picket outside their schools today to gain support for smaller classes. The demonstrations, to take place before the start of school,...

JAILED MOB BIG WANTS CHURCH DAY

Being accused of committing mortal sins shouldn't keep reputed acting Bonanno boss Michael "Mikey Nose" Mancuso from going to church for his daughter's first Communion, according to his lawyer. Mancuso...

PLAYING DE-FENCE - SENATE VOTES TO BUILD MEX. BARRIER

WASHINGTON - The Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterday to build 370 miles of triple-layer fencing and install other barriers along the Mexican border as part of sweeping election-year immigration reform being...

$$ CZAR FOR 9/11 SHRINE

The drive to slash the nearly $1 billion cost of the World Trade Center memorial will be led by a new construction czar named by Gov. Pataki yesterday to oversee...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * A mugging suspect was caught yesterday carrying 150 pieces of stolen mail, cops said. Tamika Huggins, 20, allegedly tried to grab a shopping bag containing a dress from...

MOB PUT HEAT ON DJS

Reputed Gambino capo Greg DePalma used his Mafia clout against well-known Big Apple DJs "Goumba Johnny" and "Johnny Rocks" in a brazen scheme to get free ads for a mob-owned...

50 YRS. FOR MACHETE-SLAY DAD

After hearing a 9-year-old girl's horrifying memories of the day her father slaughtered her mother with a machete and then slashed her grandmother, a Bronx judge yesterday put the killer...

KISSEL-MURDER LINK CRUMBLES

A Vermont man whose murder was being probed for links to Andrew Kissel's slaying was actually killed by acquaintances in a booze-fueled argument, authorities said yesterday. Joshua Gould, 26, and...

COLUMBIA'S SAD GRADS

Columbia University's normally joyous graduation ceremony was tinged by sadness yesterday after the body of a missing student due to receive his diploma was found floating in the East River...

CLARENCE BID TO STAY OUT OF JAIL

Disgraced former Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Clarence Norman, free on $110,000 bail while he appeals a pair of criminal convictions, asked yesterday for a second get-out-of-jail pass that would keep...

CONFESSION IN TOT SLAY

A Brooklyn man accused of killing a 3-year-old girl during a drunken fight confessed hours later from his hospital bed, admitting he squeezed off three to five shots. He claimed,...

WALLS ARE CLOSING IN ON POLS

WHEN the Senate voted by a stunning 83-16 in favor of a reinforced fence along the Mexico border yesterday, it showed that lawmakers are feeling get-tough winds blowing from the...

YOKO HAS NOTHING ON THIS WOMAN

AND you thought Yoko Ono was a destructive force. The separation and presumed divorce of beloved Sir Paul McCartney and the woman he married proves exactly three things: 1. Celebrities...

GIULIANI PUTS HEAT ON MIKE - BID TO HELP 9/11 POL

In a rare public break with his successor, Rudy Giuliani yesterday called on the Bloomberg administration to green-light medical coverage for a former top deputy stricken with Ground Zero-related respiratory...

'BOMB' TRIAL BOMBSHELL

The alleged Herald Square bomb plotter caught the terror bug well before he ever met the NYPD informant he claims urged him to carry out an attack, an undercover cop...

FBI DIGS IN MICH. FOR HOFFA

The FBI is digging up a field northwest of Detroit in the latest search for Jimmy Hoffa's remains, officials said yesterday. Agents obtained a search warrant for parts of an...

'FAT NICK' JURY SET IN QUEENS

A jury was chosen yesterday that will determine whether Howard Beach bat-wielder Nicholas "Fat Nick" Minucci is guilty of a hate crime. The jury consists of four blacks, four whites,...

MOB KILLER IS GUILTY

A Brooklyn jury deliberated less than a day before finding a Genovese-family bookmaker guilty yesterday of murder for stabbing his own brother-in-law to death in broad daylight outside a popular...

YOUR $70B BONANZA - BUSH HAILS 'VICTORY FOR TAXPAYERS'

WASHINGTON - President Bush called his new $70 billion tax cut "a victory for the American taxpayers" as he signed it into law yesterday - with big savings for many...

DETECTIVE HAS THE RIGHT CUFF - TRAGIC WTC HERO'S RELIC BUSTS QAEDA

A Port Authority detective who carried his slain colleague's handcuffs all the way to Afghanistan so he could personally slap them on terrorists' wrists will get his department's highest honor...

GAMBINO BIG PUT THE ARM ON LIZA AIDE

Liza Minnelli's former manager was forced to foot the bill for a group of mob wives to travel to Las Vegas - and grew hysterical when Gambino capo Greg DePalma...

MOVING PICTURE - GLIMPSE AT 1ST FILM ABOUT WTC ON 9/11

Here is a sneak peek at Oliver Stone's new movie "World Trade Center" - the first big-budget Hollywood film depicting the New York 9/11 attacks - and its harrowing, real-life...

PRO-GUN POLS RETURN FIRE ON MIKE

WASHINGTON - Outraged pro-gun congressmen fired back yesterday at Mayor Bloomberg for his war on illegal guns. "He ought to stay in New York City," fumed Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.)....

THEY CAN'T WORK IT OUT - MCCARTNEY DIVORCING MODEL MILLS 'AMICABLY' AFTER 4 YEARS - AND IT'LL COST HIM ARM AND A LEG

Will you still love me when I'm 64? The answer is a resounding no for Paul McCartney, 63, and his 38-year-old ex-model wife Heather Mills McCartney, who announced yesterday they...

PERVY NEW RAPS KICK 'FOOT LICKER'

A foot-licking pervert was identified by four more victims yesterday as the man who fondled their feet on subway trains, cops said. Joseph Weir, 23, of Brooklyn, accompanied by his...

BOOZY WORLD OF 'SLAY' COP - S.I. INDICT IS LOOMING

A Staten Island grand jury is expected to indict as early as today an ex-cop who gunned down a retired Port Authority police officer in a booze-fueled case of road...

SUN GLARE KILLS L.I. TRIO IN AUTO - BARREL INTO PARKED TRUCK AT FULL SPEED

Three young Long Islanders on their way home from a birthday party died in a horrific accident yesterday when their car smashed at full speed into a parked tractor-trailer -...

CITY GIVES IN ON RUDY PAL - WILL PAY ILL 9/11 HERO

Mayor Bloomberg caved in last night and ordered the city to pay up so a former top aide to Rudy Giuliani can get medical benefits for his Ground Zero-related illness....

'BORN WITH A LIGHT INSIDE' - MURDERED BEAUTY IS MOURNED

Family members said their final farewells yesterday to an innocent victim of an execution-style murder - a young woman who friends said could have been anything she wanted had she...

BUST IN $3M 'MEDI-FRAUD'

A former owner of two Bronx nursing homes was busted for allegedly stealing more than $3 million in Medicaid funds through bogus billing, state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced yesterday....

VOTERS SAY SPITZER'S MR. FIXIT

ALBANY - State government is broken and only Eliot Spitzer can fix it, a poll of New York voters revealed yesterday. The Quinnipiac University survey showed that 72 percent of...

COLUMBIA'S GRADS MOURN

Columbia University's normally joyous graduation ceremony was tinged by sadness yesterday after the body of a missing student due to receive his diploma was found floating in the East River...

TEACH JAM AT UFT CHARTERS

As the city attempts to lure hard-to-find teachers to its schools with incentive packages, instructors are champing at the bit to teach for their union. The United Federation of Teachers...

BX. TEEN KILLED IN TURF WAR

A Bronx high-school senior looking forward to graduating next month was killed by a stray bullet yesterday during a vicious turf war between two rival gangs, his grieving sister said....

BX. KIDS CHESS KINGS

A Bronx public school chess team is flying high after capturing two national titles in Denver over the weekend. Students at PS 291 took home first-place prizes in K-3 and...

L.I. DRIVER HITS 5 ON PURPOSE

A Long Island man deliberately ran over five people with his car last night after an argument with them, authorities said. The dispute involved some or all members of one...

JAILED MOB BIG WANTS CHURCH BREAK

Being accused of committing mortal sins shouldn't keep reputed acting Bonanno boss Michael "Mikey Nose" Mancuso from going to church for his daughter's First Communion, according to his lawyer. Mancuso...

HOOPS KID SHOT DEAD

A Bronx high-school basketball player looking forward to graduating next month was shot to death during an argument between two rival gangs yesterday, cops said. Dominick Hanley, 16, a senior...

A ROCKY MEETING OF HASIDS

A yeshiva student was arrested yesterday for allegedly throwing rocks at a car in which the daughter-in-law of the late Grand Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum rode to visit the cemetery where...

DOGGED DETECTIVES - SNIFF OUT 'PIRATE' DVDS

Hollywood has gone to the dogs. In a bid to take a serious bite out of crime, the Motion Picture Association of America has put black Labs Lucky and Flo...

CLASSROOM EXTRA - PRESIDENTS EDITION - CALVIN COOLIDGE - 30TH PRESIDENT, 1923-1929

This conservative Republican of respectable character and few words sought to restore dignity to the presidency. CALVIN Coolidge was born in Plymouth, Vt., on July 4, 1872. He undertook a...

BRITNEY'S GOO-GOO 'GANGSTA'

Britney Spears may wear the pants in her family, but her husband and baby proudly wear the caps. And while dad Kevin Federline (inset) is the rapper wannabe, it's little...

PRO-GUN POLS SPRAY MIKE WITH RETURN FIRE

WASHINGTON - Outraged pro-gun congressmen fired back a furious volley yesterday at Mayor Bloomberg for his war on illegal guns. "He ought to stay in New York City," fumed Sen....

TEARS FOR SLAIN GAL

A bright young woman who touched many lives and was constantly surrounded by friends was laid to rest yesterday, days after being shot to death execution-style in her Brooklyn home....

DEADLY SUN GLARE - L.I. TRIO HITS TRUCK GOING FULL SPEED

Three young Long Islanders on their way home from a happy night out on the town died in a horrific accident yesterday when their car smashed at full speed into...

KATE VS. TAYLOR FOR 'IDOL' - 'E TRAIN' IS DERAILED

"American Idol" finalists Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks will do battle in next week's do-or-die finale after Elliott Yamin was narrowly eliminated from last night's show. Yamin, the goateed 27year-old...

THE RIGHT CUFF - COP USED WTC RELIC VS. QAEDA

A Port Authority detective who carried his slain colleague's handcuffs all the way to Afghanistan so he could personally slap them on terrorists' wrists will get his department's highest honor...

BOOZY WORLD OF 'SLAY' COP - VODKA-GUZZLING BARED AS INDICTMENT LOOMS

A Staten Island grand jury is expected to indict, as early as today, an ex-cop who gunned down a retired Port Authority police officer last month in a booze-fueled case...

NYPD 'GOOD GUY' NOTE LET SUSPECT PACK HEAT

Despite his psychological and alcoholabuse issues, alleged killer cop Allan Lau was reinstated to full duty and given his guns back after being suspended twice and serving time behind a...

DEREK'S CREW SERVES NOTICE - HENDRICKS: HE'LL REDEEM HIMSELF

BALTIMORE - While the betting, handicapping and literary worlds may concede Saturday's Preakness to the Kentucky Derby hero Barbaro, one camp fiercely refuses to give him an inch: the Brother...

ANNIKA AIMIN' TO JUMP BACK ON RIGHT TRACK

The last time Annika Sorenstam played in an LPGA tournament, something rather odd occurred. She had the weekend off. Her two 73s in the first two rounds of the Michelob...

IT'S 'NAPOLEON' DYNAMITE

3RD RACE - Originally carded for a mile and three-eighths on the inner turf, this race was switched to a mile and an eighth on the main track and the...

TEAM EYES LONG TERM SOLUTION

YANKEE NOTES As insurance for an uncertain outfield situation, the Yankees are close to signing Terrence Long to a minor-league contract and adding him to the 40-man roster. The club...

WILLIE HAS MIXED VIEWS ON SUBWAY

MET NOTES ST. LOUIS - Tomorrow night the Mets and Yankees will open the Subway Series at Shea Stadium. Willie Randolph would rather be opening something else. "To be honest,...

BARBARO TAKES OUT 6-SHOOTER - DERBY CHAMP OPENS AS EVEN-MONEY FAVE

BALTIMORE - Unbeaten wonderhorse Barbaro, coming off a 6 1/2-length runaway in the Kentucky Derby, will begin his next step on the quest for Triple Crown immortality breaking from post...

THAT'S MO LIKE IT! - VINTAGE RIVERA FINDS OLD FORM

After Mariano Rivera's perfect ninth inning last night, his dominant eighth save of the year, Joe Torre quipped that the Yankee closer was the Comeback Player of the Year. Such...

ALMONTE STILL PITCHING FOR SOME RESPECT

For a long time, Danny Almonte has wanted to get validation as an elite baseball player. Ever since his reputation was tarnished when he became embroiled in the Little League...

PAVANO KO'D BY SORE ARM

YANKEE NOTES It was one and done for Carl Pavano last night. The rehabbing Yankee right-hander worked one inning for Double-A Trenton, but didn't make it out for the second....

ABSOLUTE ZERO - WRIGHT, FLOYD SUFFER CLUTCH FAILURE

Cardinals 1 - Mets 0 ST. LOUIS - Down swinging. And a grounder to first. That's how the Mets went down last night, with the bases loaded and one out...

DODGEBALL FOR BONDS - SITS OUT AFTER GETTING HIT; WON'T DISCUSS SPRINGER

HOUSTON - For the first time in nine games, Barry Bonds took a day off. The Giants left fielder, who remains one home run shy of tying Babe Ruth on...

RANDOLPH PREFERS LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

MET NOTES ST. LOUIS - Tomorrow the Mets and Yankees will open up the Subway Series. Willie Randolph would like to be opening something else. "To be honest with you...

LARRY COULD LEARN A LOT FROM EXTRAORDINARY JOE

THERE was a time when the turmoil that has engulfed the Knicks these days was more commonplace in The Bronx, where Billy Martin's Yankees would fuss and fight or The...

THE START OF SOME-MING - FRESH OFF TUESDAY'S RALLY, WANG, YANKEES WIN AGAIN

Yankees 4 - Rangers 3 We'll never know, until the season is complete, how great an impact Tuesday night's palpitating 14-13 comeback had on the Yankees. It's just too early...

RALLY IS STILL TALK OF TOWN - BOMBERS HOPE THE COMEBACK IGNITES RUN

Tuesday night's victory raised the Yankees' team ERA from 3.78 to 4.01. The thrilling, palpitating 14-13 walk-off comeback over Texas raised the team's batting average from .280 to .285. What...

ZIP SERVICE - WRIGHT, FLOYD FAIL WITH BASES JAMMED

Cardinals 1 - Mets 0 ST. LOUIS - Two Mets had a chance. The bases were loaded with one out in the ninth inning last night, and the Mets trailed...

NETS' BIG PROBLEM - SIZE, DEPTH WILL BE OFFSEASON FOCUS

Change is inevitable. But don't expect it among the starting unit - and especially among the Big Three - for the Nets as they stumble into another early offseason. "I...

'LO' & BEHOLD - PAUL EMERGING AS METS' LEADER

ST. LOUIS - There are some players who hit for power, some who can run and hit for average, others who excel defensively or have a strong arm. Met catcher...

DISS ABILITY DOLAN - STILL DODGING THE BROWN ISSUE

Knicks owner James Dolan continued to leave Larry Brown twisting in the wind yesterday. Dolan refused to meet with Brown and did nothing to squash reports the Knicks coach is...

DODGEBALL FOR BONDS - NOT IN STARTING LINEUP; WON'T DISCUSS SPRINGER

HOUSTON - For the first time in nine games, Barry Bonds was not in the starting lineup last night when the Giants faced the Astros. The left fielder, who remains...

HE NEEDS MO WORK - FALLING SHORT OF STANDARDS

There are a host of reasons to explain Mariano Rivera's fall from nearly perfect to merely good. Too little use, too much nibbling, with a tiny mechanical flaw thrown in...

DOUBY TRYOUT HAS IRONIC TWIST

The Knicks will work out Rutgers junior shooting guard Quincy Douby of Brooklyn on Tuesday at their Westchester practice facility. Whether Larry Brown will be there is a mystery. In...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A minor-league pitcher has been traded for 60 cases of beer. Not just any minor-league pitcher - but Nigel Thatch, the actor who plays cocky fictitious athlete Leon in the...