December 1, 2002
FORMER CON MAN ENLISTED IN WAR VS. IDENTITY THEFT
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amLast week, news broke that an international ring was busted that stole the identity and financial secrets of 30,000 unsuspecting people. Identity theft is a growing problem and American individuals...
IS YOUR COLLEGE KID FUND DUMB?
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amAMERICA'S obsession with mutual funds apparently does not extend to the college set. The popular television game show, "Jeopardy," just finished its college tournament of champions, and one of the...
REUTERITES SCOLDED OVER LAYOFFS LEAK
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amApparently, Reuters execs are under the illusion they can send out an e-mail to hundreds of staffers about job cuts and not have the news find its way to the...
IT'S A MERRILL XMAS FOR N.Y. STATE AGENCIES
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amThis week Merrill Lynch coughed up the $100 million it promised in April to settle charges brought by the New York state Attorney General alleging that its analysts issued misleading...
DIRECTOR'S GOT THE WRITE STUFF
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amBooks. Books. Books. The office of Lewis Frumkes, director of the Writing Center at Marymount Manhattan College, is so packed with books, there's very little space for anything else. "These...
THE WEEK'S WINNERS AND LOSERS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amWinners Tabloid king David Pecker won the fight to purchase Joe Weider's fitness magazines. Disney President Robert Iger is celebrating ABC's strong ratings in the November sweeps. Mario Monti, antitrust...
THEY SAY TIMING IS EVERYTHING
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amFor investors who like to go against the grain, there may be some signs that the stock market's pain is just about done. Back in the bad ol' days of...
STARR REPORT
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amLove next up for 'Goomba' guy Schirripa? "Sopranos" star Steven Schirripa says he's "stunned" at the success of his book, "A Goomba's Guide to Life," which he co-wrote with Charles...
NORTHERN EXPOSURE
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amFridrik Thor Fridriksson is, pardon the pun, a hot director from Iceland. A self-taught film buff, he founded Iceland's first movie magazine and helped start the Reykjavik Film Festival in...
STYLE & SUBSTANCE: NAOMI CAMPBELL
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amSuperdiva. Superstar. Superwoman. Supermodel. No matter what people might call the ever-so-controversial Naomi Campbell, she's still as stunning as the day the world first laid eyes on her. Since the...
LAST NIGHT A DJ ALMOST SAVED MY LIFE
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amI've always fancied myself a bit of a rave chick.Back in England, I loved prancing around at music festivals like Glastonbury. Even today, I can't resist name-dropping my one college...
NOT QUITE CHILD'S PLAY: SPOOKY AUTHOR EDWARD GOREY RETURNS FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amGorey by name and gory by nature - the creepy illustrator has outdone himself with the posthumous publication of a whole new set of drawings. Edward Gorey - the famous...
POISON PENS: WRITERLY WAYS TO SAY "I HATE YOU"
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amWriters detest one another. From masters to hacks, critics to novelists, romantics to modernists - most know what it's like to harbor a blistering hatred toward at least a few...
COUNCIL NEEDS SERIOUS COUNSELING
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amTHE amateurs are coming! The amateurs are coming! Ever since term limits did away with City Council members who were actually in office long enough to know where the bathrooms...
RUMMY'S ONE STUDLY SECRETARY
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amWHILE Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was getting his groove on listening to classic Barry White in Prague, Secretary of State Colin Powell and President Bush reacted to the big news...
U.N.'S HOUSE OF PAIN
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amCOULD an S&M master find a better gig than U.N. weapons of mass destruction inspector in Iraq? Yes, last week it was revealed that one inspector, Harvey John McGeorge, hired...
MISSING MARTHA
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amWHO knew that without Martha Stewart around to completely ruin my Thanksgiving by making me feel like a turkey-cooking, pie-baking loser, that I'd feel this terrible sense of loss. Yes,...
BRAVO, MICHAEL!
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amSOMETIMES it all comes together at once. After working as a graphic artist to support his opera singing, Michael Amante will appear in a solo sold-out concert tomorrow night at...
STORK BRINGS BABY GIRL TO ROSIE AND GAL PAL
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amIt's another cutie patootie for Rosie O'Donnell. The comedian, actress and former talk show queen's gal pal, Kelli Carpenter, has given birth to a bouncing baby girl. The bundle of...
NYPD APPEALS TO A HIRE POWER IN $PLURGE DEFENSE
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amThe NYPD yesterday defended its decision to hire a recruiter - at a cost of up to $20 million - because the department expects to hire between 10,000 and 13,000...
JUDI'S RING TO 'DI' FOR SAPPHIRE SPARKLER INSPIRED BY PRINCESS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amWhen Rudy Giuliani proposed to his gal pal in Paris last week, he slipped on her finger a sapphire-and-diamond stunner, a setting that became forever known as the "Diana Ring"...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amIs that my wife or yours? Two identical twins in Michigan have proposed to their girlfriends - who also happen to be identical twins. Fittingly, Jeff and Jason Schmelzer synchronized...
FANCY FREE LIZZIE DEVOTES HER FIRST FULL DAY ON THE OUTSIDE TO ERRANDS, EATERIES & PALS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amLizzie Grubman, who spent 38 days in jail for her Hamptons smash-and-dash, spent her first full day of freedom yesterday running errands, dining at a posh Italian eatery and hanging...
GIVING MOTHER NATURE A HAND
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amMost doctors will not recommend fertility treatments until a couple has been unsuccessful at conceiving naturally for a year. At that point, tests will be run to try to determine...
SAFARI DUO FREE AFTER 'BOMB' GOOF
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amRed-faced Kenyan authorities yesterday released an American couple who had been detained on suspicion of being involved in two attacks on Israeli targets in the East African nation. Tallahassee, Fla.,...
U.N. TEAM POPS UP AT THREE IRAQI 'HOT SPOTS'
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amUnited Nations weapons inspectors hit three spots in Iraq yesterday - one in a surprise visit - as they searched military complexes for weapons of mass destruction. The inspections come...
IT'S 'SHOP' THERAPY PRICE IS RIGHT IN STORE AND ON STREET
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amIt was a different tale of two cities yesterday on one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Fifth Avenue was packed with people buying gifts for friends and...
'21' CLUB FOR BRITNEY, BUSHES
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amShe once sang that she was not a girl and not yet a woman, but tomorrow, Britney Spears can rewrite that hit song while toasting herself with her first legal...
MADONNA STOMPS ON HIKERS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amMadonna is taking on hikers who tread through the backyard of her English country estate - saying they put her family in a "potentially dangerous situation." The hikers protested last...
DOWNTOWNERS IN UPROAR OVER RELENTLESS NOISE
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amResidents of lower Manhattan say they have been gravely neglected in Mayor Bloomberg's war on noise. Complaints include the usual excessive horn-honking, particularly on Chambers Street, and constant construction in...
16 GITMO PRISONERS WILL ASK COURTS TO FREE THEM
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amSixteen of the suspected terrorists being held indefinitely in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will fight for their freedom - and against the government's right to detain all 600 suspects - at...
INSURANCE COVERAGE OFTEN GOES DOWN THE TUBES DESPITE STATE MANDATE
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amAfter three years of wrangling, the New York Legislature passed a bill as part of the state budget last spring, requiring insurance companies to cover certain infertility treatment. Despite the...
DANTON A KING?
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amST. LOUIS - If there's no cash crisis with the Devils and no vendetta against Mike Danton, then Steve Heinze should be a Devil in short order. Sources indicate the...
GANG RAPES WOMAN IN PARK RESTROOM
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amFive men viciously gang-raped a 23-year-old woman inside an unlocked bathroom in a Brooklyn park, police said yesterday. The heinous attack occurred around 11 p.m. Friday night, as the victim...
PREDICTABLE RESPONSE FROM WEATHER-FORECAST FLUBBERS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amThe weatherman was guilty of a weather scam once again last week. Forecasters blew it big time when they predicted Mother Nature would sock the Big Apple with up to...
THIEVES MOVING 'INN' CITY HOTELS BESIEGED BY BANDITS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amYou might plunk down $500 for a room - but a night in one of Gotham's top hotels may not be as safe as you think. Behind the smiling concierge...
WHITNEY'S WAR ON HER CRITICS COMES OUT SWINGING WITH TV INTERVIEW
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amOn the eve of the release of her much-anticipated make-or-break comeback album, destructive diva Whitney Houston is facing the music - and it doesn't sound too good. She's in court...
FOR MILLIONAIRES, IT'S GETTING LONELIER AT THE TOP
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amThe ranks of the world's millionaires are shrinking. So says Christopher Humphrey, the lead researcher for the World Wealth Report, an annual status list on the global financial scene, which...
WHEN URBAN GANG PLAGUE BARRELS INTO L.I. SUBURBS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amWhen a 16-year-old boy refused to join the Long Island gang Salvadorians with Pride, four of the gangstas showed up at his house and viciously beat his father with bats,...
JEWS IN AFRICA A FAMILIAR TERRORIST TARGET
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amJERUSALEM. WHEN ground-to-air missiles miraculously missed a packed jetliner taking off from Mombasa last week, it wasn't the first time terrorists targeted Israelis in Africa. In fact, when Osama bin...
VICTORIA GOTTI
December 1, 2002 | 5:00am'HE'LL be back," says Lorraine Bracco of her TV-series patient, Tony Soprano. The anxiety-plagued mob boss might be Dr. Melfi's favorite professional challenge, but now even he may have trouble...
YOU'VE GOT E-MAIL
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amFROM DEmmaRush: "Any truth to the rumor that young actor Haley Joel Osment went into the New York Knicks locker room the other night and said, 'I see dead people!'...
LEGAL MATTERS: BRITNEY'S 21
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amShe once sang that she was not a girl and not yet a woman, but tomorrow, Britney Spears can rewrite that hit song while toasting herself with her first legal...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amBROOKLYN * A 22-year man was killed after being shot in the head late Friday. The victim was walking along St. Edwards Street in Fort Greene when three men approached...
PSYCH TESTS FOR 'SMOTHER' MOTHER
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amThe New Jersey woman accused of smothering her two young daughters to death has been transferred to a mental facility for psychiatric evaluation, a correction official said yesterday. Olga Lorena...
NHL MAY DEEP-SIX '06 GAMES BETTMAN: GOING TO ITALY'S NOT A PRIORITY
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amPERHAPS it's posturing, perhaps Gary Bettman believes the 2006 Winter Games that will be played in Torino, Italy, are a chip to be played during collective bargaining, but the commissioner...
JOHN'S KNEE ON THE SPOT JETS NEED ABRAHAM TO STOP RAIDERS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amOAKLAND - Take John Abraham out of the Jets' defense and what you've done is taken the turkey away from the stuffing and gravy at Thanksgiving dinner. Flash back to...
COLES HEATING UP JETS' TOP RECEIVER WARMS TO SPOTLIGHT
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amOAKLAND - Sometimes you can spend a lifetime running from your past. Laveranues Coles doesn't have to run anymore. He doesn't have to wear anybody's Scarlet Letter anymore. He has...
'TIS THE SEASON TO JOIN FIGHT AGAINST ACID RAIN
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amTHE Adirondack Council has the perfect idea for those seeking an environmentally friendly gift this holiday season. For less than the cost of most video games, people can actually prevent...
KARPA: I'LL WING IT RANGERS' BLUELINER MOVES UP
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amSo it turns out that Dave Karpa had had some NHL experience on right wing before filling in for the injured Radek Dvorak Friday night in Dallas. "My first year...
CONGAREE COASTS TO CAPTURE CIGAR
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amReturning to the scene of his memorable triumph in the 2001 Wood Memorial, Congaree sat just off the lightning early pace set by Bonapaw, surged to the lead in midstretch...
DRUG TESTS FOR JAIL BLAZERS? NBA COULD LOOK INTO WALLACE, STOUDAMIRE
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amWHY hasn't the NBA teste Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire for marijuana (the league certainly is within its rights; the residue remains in the system for several weeks) following last...
KING CURTIS EARNS PSAL CROWN
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amPSAL CHAMPIONSHIPCurtis 30Ft. Hamilton 6 Fred Olivieri was still watching game film on Friday night. "It was 10 o'clock and I still kept seeing different things that were scaring me,"...
'CANES CRUSH 'CUSE MIAMI FINDS ITS 'A' GAME AT RIGHT TIME
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amMiami 49Syracuse 7 SYRACUSE - There have been times this season when it took until the fourth quarter for Miami to flick the switch and play like the most talented...
DON MAKES GOOD ON PROMISE
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amDon Chaney, seer, sage and soothsayer, all but guaranteed the Knicks would not lose again to the Hornets if the teams went to overtime. Certainly, Chaney never figured the teams...
WHOOPEE, A WIN
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amOH, NO. They're starting to play better. The Knicks have won two in a row, three out of five. Even more disturbing, Cleveland is coming in next. Yesterday, for the...
NEARLY ANOTHER - SPREE & KNICKS AVOID MELTDOWN, SWAT PESKY HORNETS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amDuring a lull late in the third quarter, a fan's gravelly voice from behind the Hornets' bench pierced through the Garden quiet. "Take it over, Spree," the fan bellowed at...
OTHELLA POWERS UP
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES The Knicks may have found their new starting power forward without even having to use their $4.5M injury exception that expires tomorrow. Othella Harrington, making his second start...
THIS TIME, THE COLLAPSE COMES MUCH LATER
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amSenators 4Isles 2 KANATA, Ont. - The chance that the fans here were chanting Sven Butenschon's name every time whipping boy Alexei Yashin was a stick's distance from the puck...
HATT'S AMAZING
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amThank goodness for Marcus Hatten. "As a captain, I was trying to get the energy back to our side," Hatten said last night after scoring a game-high 30 points to...
PAT'S PLAN PAYS OFF
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amOVERTIMEDevils 5Blues 4 ST. LOUIS - The margins are as narrow as they can be, but they add up to a so-far successful road trip. Last night, a coach's hunch...
SURVIVAL GAME NETS DODGE COLLAPSE TO TOP TRAIL BLAZERS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amNets 93Blazers 86 PORTLAND - Name something that could go wrong and it was going wrong as the Nets were a living, breathing testament to Murphy's Law. And some might...
OTHELLA PUTS ON A 'POWER' SURGE
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES The Knicks may have found their new starting power forward without even having to use their $4.5M injury exception that expires tomorrow. Othella Harrington, making his second start...
SURVIVAL GAME - NETS DODGE COLLAPSE TO TOP TRAIL BLAZERS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amPORTLAND - Name something that could go wrong and it was going wrong as the Nets were a living, breathing testament to Murphy's Law. And some might debate that living...
'WIN THESE NEXT FIVE OR THAT'S IT' BIG BLUE'S LAST STAND BEGINS VS. TITANS TODAY
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amIt sure sounded like a vow, but maybe it was merely Kerry Collins saying what had to be said. He was asked about professional redemption and the mindset of the...
TIKI STILL TIGHT WITH COMELLA
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amTiki Barber misses Greg Comella. There is no way around it. Comella, a muscular and deep-thinking fullback, was Barber's closest friend on the Giants and there has been no replacement...
TRULY WAS A SICK LOSS IN HOUSTON
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES They were all sickened by their performance in last week's 16-14 loss in Houston, but perhaps the outcome would have been different if so many of the Giants...
CURIOUS TIME FOR FASSEL TO GO 'SOFT'
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amTHERE was no pushing of his chips to the middle of the table and guaranteeing a playoff berth as he did during a similar state of duress two years ago....
NEARLY ANOTHER OT STINGER - SPREE & KNICKS AVOID MELTDOWN, SWAT PESKY HORNETS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amIf this was Latrell Sprewell's last game as a Knick, then the Garden finally got to see him this season at near his clutch best. Making a difference down the...
DIKEMBE STILL AILING
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amPORTLAND - Finally, Dikembe Mutombo was getting comfortable. After 16 games, Mutombo began feeling accustomed to the Nets' system, specifically the offense. He never doubted he would, although it took...
DANTON COULD BE KING - DEVILS OUT TO TRADE AGITATOR
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amST. LOUIS - If there's no cash crisis with the Devils and no vendetta against Mike Danton, then Steve Heinze should be a Devil in short order. Sources indicate the...
OSGOOD'S STILL HURT BY QUICK HOOK - BENCHING IN FIRST HAS GOALIE SEETHING
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amKANATA, Ont. - Chris Osgood was never so mad since he's been with the Islanders. His faced turned as red as his old Detroit goalie pads when Peter Laviolette gave...
THE REYNOLDS RAP - QUEENS DA CONFIRMS SJU FORWARD'S ARREST
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amA spokesman for the Queens District Attorney yesterday confirmed a report in yesterday's Post that St. John's forward Grady Reynolds was arrested on Nov. 17 for assaulting a female student....
SHEA SHAKEDOWN: 'VARIABLE PRICING' A VERITABLE FLEECING
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amNOW that the Mets are charging extra to see Barry Bonds, they'd better not walk him. I don't care if pitching around him or giving him an intentional walk makes...
THE INSIDERS: THE POST TAKES YOU BEHIND THE LOCKER-ROOM DOORS
December 1, 2002 | 5:00amNowhere man Never know which MLB wannabe you'll find at a fantasy baseball camp. Nissan super-salesman Sam Salvin recently returned from one such camp in Arizona, where he got to...