August 18, 2006

SHORTS' NEMESIS DUMPED A CLIENT'S SHARES

Texas plaintiffs' lawyer James "Wes" Christian, the legal mind behind the rash of claims alleging naked short-selling in penny stocks, appears to be quite the trader himself. Records obtained by...

THE NOBEL PRIZE IS NO HELP HERE

A Nobel Prize doesn't seem to have the same drawing power it did in the world of hedge funds. Robert Merton, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, was forced to shutter his...

FRIDAY'S THE RIGHT DAY FOR TIME

Time is switching its publication date from Monday to Friday, hoping readers will spend more time with the magazine over the weekend. The decision marks the first big change under...

KRAVIS MUM ON $195M INVESTMENT

Wall Street traders were buzzing yesterday about a mysterious $195 million investment made by the new publicly-traded private equity fund run by leveraged buyout titan Henry Kravis. The investment, which...

CBS WANTS VIEWERS IN KATIE'S WEB

It's all Katie, all the time. In a move designed to capitalize on the growth in both online advertising and Internet video viewing, as well as the Web's younger-skewing audience,...

DUNNO KARAN ; CEO SUCCESSOR FLAP FRAYS FASHION HOUSE

Donna Karan chief Jeffry Aronsson has been asked to remain at the fashion house in a sort of limbo CEO role until his successor can be found, The Post has...

WINNING STORY OF A LOSER

FACTOTUM*** (three stars) Straight, no chaser.Running time: 94 minutes. Rated R (profanity, sex). At the Lincoln Plaza and the IFC Center. THE Irish dramatist Brendan Behan described himself as "a...

UNACCEPTABLE

ACCEPTEDHalf a star School of schlock.Running time: 93 minutes. Rated PG-13 (profanity, drug content, sex jokes). At the Lincoln Square, the Orpheum, others. A campus comedy that's as dull as...

COMING UP SHORT

MARTIN SHORT: FAME BECOMES ME (two stars)Bernard J. Jacobs Theatre, 242 W. 45th St., between Broadway and Eighth Avenue; (212) 239-6200. THEY lie to you. They tell you talent is...

TRUST US - IT'S JUST RIGHT FOR A DATE

TRUST THE MAN (two and a half stars)** 1/2 Contrived fun.Running time: 100 minutes. Rated R (profanity, sex). At the Empire, the Lincoln Square, the First and 62nd, others. AS...

A REAL DUTCH TREAT

MOONLIGHT *** (three stars) FROM the Netherlands, the English-language "Moonlight" is a disturbing and daring thriller with an exceptional performance by 13-year-old Laurien Van den Broeck. She's Claire, who lives...

RAISING OF 'CURTAINS'

LOS ANGELES - Composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb were in the throes of writing "Curtains" - their 12th Broadway musical - when Ebb died of a heart attack...

TRICKER TREAT - THERE'S MAGIC INSIDE THIS LITTLE-HYPED ROMANTIC THRILLER

THE ILLUSIONIST (four stars) One of the year's best. Running time: 115 minutes. Rated R sexuality, mild violence). At the Empire, the Chelsea, the Angelika, others. MOVIES dumped . ....

ALL DOLLED UP AGAIN

WHEN Boy George snarled, "You think you're better than me?" to the pesky media earlier this week as he tried to sweep the streets, my heart leapt with joy. He's...

KID DIVA WINS 'TALENT' TO TUNE OF $1M

BIANCA Ryan, an amazing 11-year-old girl with a pair of lungs like Mariah Carey's, won $1 million prize last night in the finale of NBC's hit talent show, "America's Got...

STARR REPORT

Morgan Fairchild, who's experienced her share of onscreen catfights, says it never gets old - and she's in top form as vengeful Sophia Blakely in MyNetworkTV's upcoming series, "Fashion House,"...

FANTAS-TIC - 'IDOL' STAR HAS RIGHT TO SING THE BLUES

"The Fantasia Barrino Story: Life is Not a Fairy Tale" Tomorrow night at 9 on Lifetime (three and a half stars) 'Idol' star has right to sing the blues IT'S...

DOOR'S OPEN - KATIE HAS A REAL CHANCE

KATIE Couric on CBS' "Evening News" suddenly seems to have a real shot at dethroning NBC's "Nightly News" from the top of the ratings heap. With only three weeks to...

LONG LEGS OF THE 'LAW' - SERIES GETS IN TOUCH WITH FEMININE SIDE

HERE'S a first look at the newest additions to "Law & Order": Milena Govich, who plays Det. Nina Cassady, and Alana De La Garza, the new assistant DA, Connie Rubirosa....

CASINO BEAT

NEW JERSEY * The magnificent MARIAH CAREY takes the stage Saturday at 9 p.m. in the Trump Taj Mahal's Mark G. Etess Arena. Tickets: $85-$300; trumptaj.com, (609) 449-5150. * Battle...

FILM PICK

Three generations of the Huston family - Walter, John, Anjelica and Danny - are honored at a 40- film festival today through Sept. 22 at the Museum of Modern Art....

MARY'S HOT PICK

ON her 2005 comeback disc, "I've Got My Own Hell to Raise," Detroit soul singer Bettye LaVette (left) took some songs famously sung by other female artists, such as Lucinda...

FIREMAN BEATS COP OVER 'FLAME'; ATTACKS EX'S PAL ON QNS. STREET: POLICE

Jealousy over an ex-girlfriend led a hothead firefighter to beat an off-duty police officer savagely on a Queens street early yesterday, authorities said. Sean Murray, 28, was arrested and suspended...

DOOMED BY MA & PA'S SICK AMBITION

DON'T let these parents off the hook. In her short, awful life, JonBenet Ramsey was never allowed to grow into anything resembling a genuine person. This child was not conceived,...

JIHAD JOHNNY TO TELL ABOUT HIS & PAL'S OATH TO OSAMA

Jailed "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh will be a star witness next week in an Australian terrorism trial, testifying about how he and another man vowed in the presence of...

BABY-TOSS TESTIMONY

A teen whose 14-year-old Bronx ex-girlfriend allegedly tossed their newborn to his death from a third-story window last year testified at her trial yesterday that his son's corpse looked like...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

QUEENS *** Police yesterday were trying to find a mentally ill man who disappeared from his Ozone Park home. Shaun Rajpaulsingh (above), 23, who allegedly suffers from schizophrenia, left his...

CITY LAWYER IN SUBLET 'SCAM'

An attorney with the city's Office of Child Support Enforcement was arrested yesterday for allegedly falsifying documents in order to get public housing. Investigators said that from 1999 to 2004,...

PRAY FOR PEACE AT THIS HOUSE OF HORROR

BOULDER, Colo.- It's as if there were a stigma attached to anyone who lived on 15th Street in The Hills section of town - where "Little Miss" JonBenet Ramsey was...

GOP BOOST GIVES JOE 12-POINT LEAD

Democratic Party outcast Sen. Joe Lieberman is leading upstart challenger Ned Lamont by 12 points among likely voters in the Connecticut Senate race, a new poll shows. Lieberman is ahead...

TERROR KING CAUGHT; BRIT PLOT FIEND IN PAKISTAN

WASHINGTON - Agents in Pakistan have nabbed an al Qaeda kingpin believed to be a mastermind behind the foiled British terror plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners. Matiur Rehman, one...

GRACIE FIT TO A T-BALL

Dozens of youngsters played on the lawn of Gracie Mansion yesterday, in the first-ever T-ball game at the mayor's official residence. "Gracie Mansion has played host to celebrities and dignitaries...

DOPEY PARENTS

Twenty-eight percent of all teenagers - and half of 17-year-olds - have attended house parties chaperoned by parents where alcohol and drugs were consumed by their peers, according to a...

N.Y. BIGS A 'SOFT' TOUCH FOR $53M

ALBANY - Wealthy donors, law firms and unions have made more than $53 million in soft-money donations to political parties and legislative campaign committees in New York since 1999, a...

H'WAY COP MOURNED

Relatives and friends remembered slain NYPD cop Eric Concepcion as a loving father at his funeral yesterday - and railed against the injustice that his alleged killer is free on...

B'KLYN JAILER IN 'FORGE & SPEND' BUST

A Brooklyn federal correction officer is getting a new look at jail - from behind bars - after she and two companions went on a shopping spree in Florida with...

BOO$TER JETS FOR WTC SHRINE

Former Jet players Vinnie Testaverde and Wayne Chrebet will shoot a commercial asking people to donate to the World Trade Center memorial, and the team is donating $300,000 of ad...

GOV VETOES 9/11 PAYOUTS

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki yesterday vetoed two bills designed to grant greater benefits to certain 9/11 responders. Pataki axed one bill that would have increased workers' compensation benefits for certain...

DEMS: BRING IT ON; U.S. NEEDS SECURITY VOTE

THOSE of us who take a very hard line on the war against Islamic fascism have reason to be grateful this week for the outspoken actions of some politicians and...

CELEBRITY 'CHEAT' GOES ON

Swindler to the stars Dana Giacchetto is still sticking it to the clients he cheated out of $10 million, court papers charge. Giacchetto, who once palled around with - and...

WEASELS UNDERCUT LEB PEACE FORCE

JERUSALEM - The fate of the U.N. force intended to bring peace to Lebanon was in doubt after France touched off an uproar by saying it would send only 200...

MEL DUCKS JAIL; ALKY MEETINGS AND PROBATION FOR DUI

Mel Gibson won't do time for his drunken-driving bust in which he unleashed an anti-Semitic rant on a California police officer. A judge sentenced Gibson to three years' probation and...

COSTLIEST YEAR OF LIFE: AGE 34

Thirty-four is the most expensive year of your life, a new survey says. And it will cost you an extra $50,000 or so to get by. The survey of 1,900...

DOC'S LOT FOR SALE IN LAND BOOM

The Upper East Side property that was blown to bits last month by a deranged doctor is for sale. The now-leveled block, once the site of a four-story townhouse owned...

'CELEBRITY' SCAM PLEA

Madonna didn't show. Nor did Sting or Mick Jagger. When name-dropping French swindler Alexis Quinlin pleaded guilty to a $3.9 million investment scam in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday, none of...

LETHAL STRAY BULLET; MOM SHOT DEAD

A young East Harlem mom died from a bullet to the head after she tried to flee a burst of gunfire on her block, but tripped and fell into the...

INNOCENCE COSTS MAN SHOT BY COP $16.5M

A jury's finding that a Yonkers man shot in the back by an off-duty NYPD cop was an innocent victim - and not a would-be robber - cost the man...

WEIRDO'S E-MAIL TO PROF WAS A KEY CLUE

John Mark Karr sent hundreds of creepy e-mails to a University of Colorado journalism professor tracking JonBenet Ramsey's murder - but one was so disturbing, so telling, he immediately phoned...

JUSTICE HAS LAST LAUGH ON MOB KILLER 'HA HA'

The laughter ended for Bonanno crime-family capo Louis "Louie Ha Ha" Attanasio yesterday, when he pleaded guilty to whacking another mobster. "I knowingly and intentionally agreed with others to cause...

GOTTI TEMPER TANTRUM ; WANTED TO KILL UNCLE WHEN AXED AS BOSS

John "Junior" Gotti ranted that he wanted to bludgeon his relatives to death with "padlocks and chains" after learning his uncle had demoted him from boss of the Gambinos, prosecutors...

QNS. BURGLAR BRUISES COP

An off-duty Queens cop became a crime victim yesterday when a burglar broke into her home and assaulted her, police said. Officials said the thief crept into her Cambria Heights...

HARVARD SLIPS VS. IVY FOE PRINCETON

After a three-year tangle in the Ivy for the distinction of the top college in the country, Princeton has eclipsed Harvard to regain the lone No. 1 spot in the...

EXPERTS FEAR 'KILLER' HOAX ; JONBENET-SLAY KOOK EYED AS A LIAR

JonBenet Ramsey's suspected killer, John Mark Karr, stunned the world with his chilling confession - but hours after his blockbuster admission, experts began questioning whether cops didn't just have a...

HILL IN PARK 'FLIP': CRITICS

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is flip-flopping on her stance over the planned Brooklyn Bridge Park, critics charged yesterday. As The Post reported last week, the former first lady spoke out...

GLOVER DECIDES TO KID AROUND

NOTEBOOK MEDINAH, Ill. - Lucas Glover is like several other players in the 88th PGA Championship. Currently 14th in the Ryder Cup standings, he needs a good finish here to...

STABBER IN FIVE-STORY DEATH LEAP

A man jumped five stories to his death out of his Washington Heights apartment last night after stabbing his girlfriend in a fight, police said. The man, who was not...

$MACK FOR TREE-LANCE

A Chelsea building owner has been fined more than $10,000 over four trees cut down because they were supposedly blocking a billboard for a cellphone company, The Post has learned....

GOV KIBOSH ON COMMISH

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki bucked Mayor Bloomberg yesterday, vetoing legislation that would have added the city police commissioner to the Port Authority board. A "disappointed" Bloomberg said he favored the...

EXPERTS FEAR 'KILLER' HOAX; JONBENET-SLAY KOOK EYED AS A LIAR

JonBenet Ramsey's suspected killer, John Mark Karr, shocked the world with his chilling confession - but hours after his blockbuster admission, experts began wondering whether cops didn't just have a...

GREEN GETS MEAN IN DEBATE WITH CUOMO

Lagging in the polls with the clock ticking, Democratic attorney-general hopeful Mark Green lobbed shot after shot at rival Andrew Cuomo's record in a four-way debate last night, as front-runner...

'AMBER' GIRL WAS WOMAN

An Amber Alert was issued last night after witnesses mistakenly believed a teenage girl had been snatched off the street near the Port Authority Bus Terminal, police said. But the...

1,000 MOURN COP - TEARS AND FURY OVER RUNDOWN

Relatives and friends remembered slain NYPD cop Eric Concepcion as a loving father at his funeral yesterday - and railed against the injustice that his alleged killer is free on...

TREE-LANCER FINED 10G

A Chelsea building owner has been fined more than $10,000 over four trees cut down because they were supposedly blocking a billboard for a cellphone company, The Post has learned....

CEDRIC SAYS HE'S CAPABLE; WANTS TO START FOR JETS

It's not in Cedric Houston's nature to make a lot of noise. Yet, with the various machinations that have taken place with regard to the Jets' questionable running attack, you...

FLUKE ACTION FLAT-OUT FANTASTIC

FLUKE fishing has been off the charts the past two weeks and anglers in some areas say it's the best they've seen in years. Probably the best location for fluking...

CHAD COULD MISS THIS GAME

JET NOTES Chad Pennington was excused from Jets practice yesterday for what Eric Mangini described as "personal reasons," raising a legitimate question whether the quarterback will make tomorrow night's preseason...

HOLLOWAY ON HALL'S STAFF

Queens native Shaheen Holloway, a former All Big East guard at Seton Hall, was named an assistant yesterday by Pirates coach Bobby Gonzalez. Holloway, a former McDonald's All-American at St....

MOVERS & SHAKERS; RIVALS' GOALS: DEALING EACH OTHER OUT

EVEN now, the moves and counter-moves persist. The Yankees acted at the trade deadline to add three players, notably Bobby Abreu. Shut out at the deadline, the Red Sox have...

'FOX' SAVES PICK 6 BETS

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Aqueduct North! Once upon a time at Old Spa, you could safely bet against horses showing 0-for-20, 1-for-21 records. No more. In fifth race, 3-year-old filly Karakorum...

A HOUSE PARTY FOR FAVE NETS

Nets president Rod Thorn sized up the weak Atlantic Division yesterday and rated it improved. Thorn cited two teams that made massive strides this summer, Toronto, with the addition of...

HOLYFIELD FIGHTS ON

Evander Holyfield resumes his quest to become the undisputed heavyweight champion again when he meets little-known Jeremy Bates tonight at AmericanAirlines Arena in Dallas. It's Holyfield's first fight since being...

WRIGHT STUFFED; SHORT OUTING TAXES PEN IN LOSS TO O'S

Orioles 12Yankees 2 Jaret Wright couldn't throw strikes, but the bigger issue - with a five-game series against archrival Boston beginning this afternoon - was that Wright overtaxed an already...

A CASE OF DROPPING THE BALL

There was friction between Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez yesterday, but it had nothing to do with the supposed feud that exists between the two brightest stars in the Yankees'...

S.I. YOUNGSTERS LIVE THE DREAM

Staten Island Little League hero Frank Smith has never dreamed about playing at Yankee Stadium. But he has dreamed about taking the field at Williamsport's Howard J. Lamade Stadium. Smith,...

NFL NETWORK BRINGS DEION BACK

Prime Time is returning to television. Deion Sanders will be a studio analyst for the NFL Network, The Post has learned. An official announcement is expected to come next week....

KAAT SCRATCH; JIM EXPECTED TO LEAVE BOOTH

ENJOY him while you can, sports fans. Jim Kaat is heavily leaning toward packing it in at season's end. In fact, it would shock the folks at YES should Kaat...

PLETCHER & 'ROXY' AREN'T SO SPECIAL

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Stop the presses! They ran a stakes race for 2-year-olds yesterday at the Old Spa, and Todd Pletcher didn't saddle the winner. After taking the Sanford, Schuylerville...

RETURN TO POWER; DELGADO RIPS TWO HRS TO SNAP METS' SKID

Mets 7Phillies 2 PHILADELPHIA - Carlos Delgado had no home runs in August and only two hits in his last 10 games before the Mets played the finale of their...

DOC: BARBARO'S VITAL SIGNS GOOD

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Barbaro "had a very good week," chief of surgery Dr. Dean Richardson reported yesterday from the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa., where the Kentucky Derby...

STRAINED HAMMY BENCHES VALENTIN

MET NOTES PHILADELPHIA - Jose Valentin's second hit of the day caused a problem. The Mets second baseman suffered a right hamstring strain - the team characterized it as "slight"...

SUNNY DAY FOR MAYFAIR

MEDINAH, Ill. - Two weeks ago yesterday, Billy Mayfair was on an operating table hoping he could live a normal life again, much less play competitive golf. Mayfair, 40, had...

GIANTS SEEKING INTERIOR DESIGN

GIANT NOTES William Joseph and Fred Robbins started again last night at the two defensive tackle spots for the Giants, knowing they needed to greatly improve on last week's poor...

TAKING SOME GIANT STEPS ; BIG BLUE MUCH BETTER IN GAME TWO

PRESEASONGiants 17Chiefs 0 Without any tangible signs of progress from one week to the next, a team can start doubting itself. That won't be a problem for the Giants, who...

TAKING GIANT STEPS; BIG BLUE MUCH BETTER IN GAME TWO

PRESEASONGiants 17Chiefs 0 Without any tangible signs of progress from one week to the next, a team can start doubting itself. That won't be a problem for the Giants, who...

SEARCHING FOR INTERIOR DESIGN

GIANT NOTES William Joseph and Fred Robbins started again last night at the two defensive tackle spots for the Giants, knowing they needed to greatly improve on last week's poor...

WHENEVER THEY MEET, IT'S APOCALYPSE NOW

BOSTON - This is precisely how it ought to be, and precisely how we believed it was meant to be. Every year, the Red Sox and the Yankees manage to...

LIDLE ON BEREAVEMENT, BRUNEY GETS BUMPED UP

YANKEE NOTES Cory Lidle was placed on the bereavement list to attend the funeral of his grandmother, and righty reliever Brian Bruney had his contract purchased from Triple-A Columbus for...

BOSS BUMMED, BUT DOESN'T GO BALLISTIC

Earlier this year, George Steinbrenner roared his displeasure with "the third baseman." Ever since, Alex Rodriguez has given the man that signs his checks plenty of ammo for much more...

ALL ATTENTION ON DIVISION COLLISION

With no apologies to any other city, Fenway Park is the center of the baseball universe today through Monday. Every other tilt in every other town is the JV. Even...

THIRD WHEEL - OGILVY FIGHTS TO EMERGE FROM TIGER-PHIL SHADOW

MEDINAH, Ill. - It was hyped as a showdown between Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, but in the end it was Geoff Ogilvy who may have benefited most from yesterday's...

GIANT STEP FOR JOHNSON - QB PLAYS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2003

Those who can't, teach. That old and sarcastic adage was becoming reality for Rob Johnson, who realized he had to start turning the page on his football career and move...

BE A KID AGAIN! S.I. TEAM ON JOURNEY OF JOY

The Staten Island Little League team isn't really collecting victories these days - it's picking up memories. Even though there will be a national TV audience, there is an innocence...

FOX PROBES ANOTHER DIMENSION - NETWORK HONCHO: 3-D IS TV'S NEXT BIG THING

Fox Sports is in the beginning stages of developing 3-D television technology that it believes will revolutionize the sports-viewing experience. "Three-D is going to be the next big thing,'' Fox...

5 QUESTIONS FOR DICK VERMEIL

This week, NYP TV Sports' Andrew Marchand spoke with Dick Vermeil of ESPN and the NFL Network. Vermeil, 69, will be an analyst on the back end of ESPN's Monday...

MARCHAND'S MEMO OF THE WEEK

To: NFL Analysts From: Andrew Marchand Re: Jerome Bettis CC: Bill Cowher Dear Analysts: Please reveal more private conversations. Last Sunday, Jerome Bettis made his debut on NBC's NFL pregame...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Is cow short for coward? Six, 700-pound cows stampeded when a chicken from a neighboring farm strutted into their barn in Nuberg, S.C., and started flapping around. The beefy "milk"-toasts...