August 3, 2006

BILL KING & I TRY OUR HAND AT RUNNING A HEDGE FUND

TODAY I'm introducing you to the Creo Nos Dives Hedge Fund that Wall Street veteran Bill King and I are starting. A high-falutin' sounding name, don't you think? It loosely...

LAZARD PROFIT SOARS - CEO SEES BIG BUX

Lazard boss Bruce Wasserstein may have lost 50 pounds over the last three months but his bank account ballooned as fees from advising clients on takeovers led his firm to...

SCHRAGER HOTEL SUIT GETS SPLIT DECISION

Call it a split decision. Ian Schrager and principals of the Morgan's Hotel Group got some 'splaining to do about the management of Philip Pilevsky's Miami Beach Shore Club, a...

NEW PLAN TO REVIVE AOL IS UNVEILED

In December 2002 the newish America Online boss Jon Miller took the podium at a Midtown Manhattan hotel to unveil the company's turnaround strategy in what became a nearly four-hour...

DIAMOND PRICES CRASH AS LEBANON IS BOMBED

The world's diamond-trading market has been disrupted with plunging prices in the wake of Lebanon's bombing attacks that wrecked its notorious diamond-smuggling rings run by Hezbollah terrorists. The illegal black...

YOUTUBE CHASING HOLLYWOOD'S AD $

YouTube, the popular but unprofitable video-sharing site, is going after the big ad dollars. The Internet phenom has inked deals with major advertisers from Hollywood studios to sneaker makers and...

PROFITS FROM PICASSO PUMP UP SOTHEBY'S

Wall Street owes Pablo Picasso a big one - for helping revive a nearly extinct stock dividend. Sotheby's yesterday said it was Picasso's huge price tags on art auctioned this...

PICASSO PROFITS PUMP SOTHEBY'S

Wall Street owes Pablo Picasso a big one - for helping revive a nearly extinct stock dividend. Sotheby's yesterday said it was Picasso's huge price tags on art auctioned this...

AOL'S NEW PLAN THE NEXT HOPE FOR ONLINE GIANT

In December 2002 the newish America Online boss Jon Miller took the podium at a Midtown Manhattan hotel to unveil the company's turnaround strategy in what became a nearly four-hour...

GIMME SHELTER

STAR FROM SCRATCH Just like her sudden departure from "The View," Star Jones' overdecorated apartment has also vanished - from her broker's Web site. The penthouse love nest at 300...

SECOND YEAR ITCH - IT PAYS TO COMMIT WHEN DECIDING TO GO WITH A 1-YR. OR 2-YR. LEASE

NEW YORK might be a city of singles, but when it comes to rent-stabilized apartments, it pays to commit. Consider the last 10 years. Everything else (starting rent and move-in...

STARR REPORT

Kath: My left foot "American Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee fractured her left foot Tuesday night - but will continue on the national "Idol" concert tour. McPhee tripped backstage before the...

CHICKS CLICK A BIT, BUT TRIO LACKS BRIO

THE DIXIE CHICKS THE Dixie Chicks don't like George Bush - they didn't back in 2003, when they told a London audience they were ashamed the president was from Texas,...

SHORT & SWEET; 'SNL' STAR TOO NICE FOR FAME GAME

'I'M proud that I'm known as a nice person," Martin Short says. "I think it's eas ier to be a pr - - k." The former "Saturday Night Live" star...

TMZ TO TV

WARNER Bros. may turn the entertainment gossip Web site, TMZ.com, into a new syndicated show to compete with "Access Hollywood," "Entertainment Tonight" and "The Insider," reports Broadcasting & Cable. The...

HASSELBREAK; HEATED 'VIEW' OVERWHELMS ELISABETH

A heated argument about the "morning-after" birth-control pill left co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck in tears on "The View" yesterday on ABC. The 31-year-old was so distraught she had to be comforted...

SECOND 'HILLS' READYTO FILM

MTV may start filming the second season of its mega reality hit, "The Hills," within a matter of days. "We're going to dive right in ASAP," says executive producer Tony...

MELTDOWN - BOOZE: ONE MAN'S TIPPLE IS ANOTHER'S TRUTH SERUM - MANY SIPS LOOSENS LIPS

MEL Gibson can apologize until his face turns blue, but people will always suspect his sober protests merely belie his inebriated rants - no surprise, really, since the injectible variation...

SEMPER FIND - 'WTC' MARINE HERO STILL UNNAMED

PORT Authority cops John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno went through hell and back on 9/11 - surviving on their own guts before intervening angels in Marine uniforms plucked them to...

BULGARIAN BAR CONTINUES ITS GYPSY WAYS

'HELPING ugly people have sex since 416 BC." That was the motto at a downtown bar called Mehanata 416 B.C. - but better known to many as simply "the Bulgarian...

FAULT LINES

SURE, he blamed the Jews for just about all that's wrong with the world - but Mel Gibson has gone into rehab and sent his regrets not once, but twice....

CHEESE, NOT SLEAZE

OH, the passion of Mel Gibson's mug shot. The eyes! The hair! The chin down, face forward, barely parted smile that seems to whisper, "I have a secret!" or perhaps,...

HEARINGS TONIGHT ON RATNER PLAN

Leaders of the three Brooklyn community boards representing neighborhoods affected by Bruce Ratner's proposed Atlantic Yards project will hold public hearings simultaneously tonight on the $4.2 billion project. Community Boards...

BRUNO KID FOUND IN TIMES SQ. - GRANDDAUGHTER LEFT ALBANY WITH 'NET PAL

State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's missing granddaughter turned up wandering the streets of Times Square early yesterday - and police are investigating whether she was "forced into some type...

SHEL MUST GO: DEM POL

ALBANY - An upstate Democrat has called for the removal of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, saying the move is necessary to give Eliot Spitzer a free hand to pursue his...

A HAPPY PHOTO FINISH - CABBY RETURNS LOST PIX

A good-hearted New York taxi owner yesterday returned two bags of lost family photos that will be the centerpiece at a couple's 50th wedding anniversary party Sunday. Carrie Capaldi, 31,...

WINNING SMILES - LOTTERY PLAYERS COLLECT MILLIONS

Take this job and shove it. That's what one Duane Reade cashier told his boss after he won $5 million playing New York's Lotto. "I thought it was impossible. I...

ISRAEL GETS SERIOUS - HAMMERING HEZBOLLAH HEAVIES

THANK God. Israel's fighting. Really fighting. At last. Now the crucial thing is not to stop. Hezbollah must be left in desolation, its terrorists slain and its dreams of glory...

JUDGE SHOWS NO MERCY TO CAPO

A powerful mob capo's tale of family woe - and an unusually selfless plea for mercy by his acting-boss pal - failed to convince a federal judge to go easy...

RANGEL BETS THE HOUSE

WASHINGTON - A confident Rep. Charlie Rangel said yesterday he wouldn't have bet his political career on Democrats winning control of the House this year "if I thought for one...

TXTING IS OK 4 U - KIDS' GRAMMAR 'SURVIVES' HI-TECH HABIT

R U worried that ur teenager's obsession with IMing is bad 4 her grammar? Well, you needn't be, two researchers say after completing the most comprehensive study ever on the...

RAIDERS FOLLOWED TRAIL OF KIDNAPPED TROOPS TO TERRORISTS' HOSP

JERUSALEM - Israeli commandos made their daring raid on a Hezbollah hospital because they believed that the two soldiers whose kidnapping started the Lebanese war had been treated there, sources...

9/11 BORDER GUARDS STILL 'FAKED' OUT

WASHINGTON - Border guards stationed in upstate New York are getting duped by fake drivers' licenses on the same boundary where some of the 9/11 hijackers entered the country, government...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

THE BRONX * Cops have a suspect in the shooting of a man as he was leaving a party in High Bridge last month, police said. Lenny Cubilette (above), 20,...

MUG-A-PUG DOPES GET KO'D - SMASH CAR AFTER EX-CHAMP FLEES ROB IN CHELSEA

Prizefighter Zab Judah went toe to toe with a trio of bumbling would-be thieves yesterday in Chelsea, getting some help in his corner from the Department of Homeland Security. The...

JURY CUTS FAKE COP A BREAK

A Queens man already serving 25 years to life for masquerading as a cop to pull off a deadly robbery on Long Island got a break in a separate trial...

SHARPTON GOES TO WAR VS. SEN. JOE

STAMFORD, Conn. - The Rev. Al Sharpton blasted embattled Sen. Joe Lieberman yesterday for supporting the "unjustified" Iraq war as he threw his support to upstart Connecticut candidate Ned Lamont....

CELLPHONES CRAWLING WITH GERMS

Now hear this! Your cellphone is as dirty as a toilet seat - even the bottom of your shoe. That's the word from microbiologists who are warning mobile phone users...

BLISTERING MIKE - RAPS NYERS ON ENERGY AS TEMPS HIT 100

Mayor Bloomberg scolded New Yorkers yesterday for not doing enough to conserve energy in their homes as the city remains in the grip of a stultifying heat wave. "We think...

HEIR-CARE CASE GETS SECRET CLOSED-DOOR TREATMENT

The son accused of mistreating millionaire philanthropist Brooke Astor took part in a closed-door meeting with the judge presiding over the heiress' case yesterday - and the judge doesn't want...

WRONGING RIGHT REV. - ASTOR IN-LAW DUMPED KIDS

When Charlene Marshall dumped her preacher husband to marry Brooke Astor's son, it left the humble clergyman stunned and struggling to raise their kids. "I think [the divorce] hurt him...

200-PLUS ROCKETS HIT ISRAEL IN WORST BLITZ

JERUSALEM - Hezbollah unleashed a ferocious fusillade of more than 230 rockets yesterday, killing a Boston-born Israeli and hurting more than 150 others in the terrorists' biggest attack of the...

DJ STAR'S MA SUES HOT 97

The mother of potty-mouthed hip-hop spinner DJ Star dived into a heated battle with her son's radio rivals yesterday - hitting the owners of station Hot 97 with an $11...

GUT CHECK IN CUBA OVER FIDEL MYSTERY

HAVANA, Cuba - On the surface, all appears calm here, but there's a quiet undercurrent of uncertainty and tension as everyone awaits word on how - or if - longtime...

$TOCK SCAM SCUM - BROKERS BUSTED

They'd promise to make you a millionaire. But eight crooked Wall Street brokers were really just out to make their victims broke - in a classic "pump and dump" stock...

PRAY COP-KILLERS ROT FOR LONG TIME

WHEN the tragedy descends on us, we say a prayer which we know will be unanswered. And the prayer is, "Don't let this misery visit our house again." Still we...

CON A TERROR RECRUITER: FEDS

A man snared in post-9/11 sweeps of suspected terrorists is now being accused of trying to recruit overseas terror support from behind bars. The feds say Khalid Awan, 44, who...

OSAMA'S EVIL SPAWN IN LEB - IRAN UNLEASHES QAEDA HEIR TO AID HEZ

A son of Osama bin Laden has gone from Iran to Lebanon with the mission to organize terror attacks against Israel, it was reported yesterday. Saad bin Laden, 27, one...

CON ED STILL IN DARK ON BLACKOUT

One equipment breakdown sparked another in a disastrous cascade of failed electric links that caused last month's northwest Queens blackout, Con Ed reported yesterday. The study doesn't pinpoint the cause...

MTA TESTING BUS CAMS

Smile, bus riders - the MTA is getting ready to put you on camera. NYC Transit said yesterday it will equip 400 buses in Manhattan with onboard video-surveillance equipment, under...

COPS 'CLUB' CRIME - TARGET CHELSEA

Police issued more than 200 summonses for public drinking and disorderly conduct last month in Chelsea, where an 18-year-old woman was recently raped and killed after leaving a nightclub, The...

MAD MEL FACES THREE RAPS FOR DUI

Los Angeles County prosecutors yesterday charged Mel Gibson with three DUI-related charges, five days after cops busted him, sparking his anti-Semitic tirade. Prosecutors in Malibu, Calif., filed one DUI count,...

GIRL IN HOME-ALONE NIGHTMARE

With nothing but a cat for company and pizza for dinner, a New Jersey girl was left home alone for weeks in a filthy, hot apartment with no electricity and...

HEARINGS ON RATNER PROJECT

Leaders of the three Brooklyn community boards representing neighborhoods affected by Bruce Ratner's proposed Atlantic Yards project will hold public hearings simultaneously tonight on the $4.2 billion project. Community Boards...

BORDER GUARDS 'FAKED' OUT

WASHINGTON - Border guards stationed upstate are getting duped by fake driver's licenses on the same boundary where some of the 9/11 hijackers entered the country, government investigators have found....

E. END BASH BUST - SOCIALITE'S 'SCAM'

An Upper East Side jet-setter who chaired a charity event for families of 9/11 victims in the Hamptons last weekend was busted at the gala for allegedly flimflamming a Colorado...

SURFER GIRL CAMERON IS JUSTIN'S HAWAII ALO-HOTTIE

Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake love the water - and each other. A fotog snapped these wet-andwild images of movie siren Diaz sunning on a surfboard and getting lovey-dovey with...

'HOME ALONE' ORDEAL - JUST PIZZA & A PET

With nothing but a cat for company and pizza for dinner, a New Jersey girl was left home alone for weeks in a filthy, hot apartment with no electricity and...

GIAMBI SITS OUT WITH LEG CRAMP

YANKEE NOTES Jason Giambi, saying his right leg was "still a little tight," sat out last night's 7-2 victory over Toronto. Giambi, removed from Tuesday's game due to right leg...

SCHOOLS, CAMP DEAL WITH HEAT

Tyler L. Davis was a 15-year-old about to enter his junior year at Rockdale County H.S. outside of Atlanta when he collapsed after a voluntary offseason football workout Monday evening...

JARED SEEKS BACKUP ROLE

GIANT NOTES ALBANY - The Giants wanted quarterback Jared Lorenzen to go to NFL Europe this past offseason to finally get the game action he hasn't had since his days...

SHAKEN . . . NOT STIRRED SHOCKEY STILL FEELING FIRST CONCUSSION

ALBANY - A few days ago, Jeremy Shockey took on those who wonder why he frequently gets banged up here and nicked up there whenever he's charging around the football...

MARBURY SEES 'A BIG SEASON'

In continuing his campaign to repair his image, Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury appeared yesterday morning on "Live with Regis & Kelly" to hawk his new $14.98 sneaker geared for...

HALL LANDS OKOSUN

Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez yesterday received his seventh commitment since taking over for Louis Orr on April 7. Austin Okosun, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound center from Nigeria, will be...

SPA CAN'T TAKE HEAT

SARATOGA SPRINGS - You could have fried an egg on the grandstand apron yesterday, but you could not place a bet. Saratoga Race Course was shut down because of a...

VINCE: OPTION IS ON BACK BURNER

The way Vince Carter tells it, he was at a basketball camp in Pennsylvania recently when one of the kids came up to him. Expecting to be grilled about dunking...

LIBERTY TRY AGAIN

Pat Coyle won't know how successful the end of this disappointing season has been until next year. The 7-21 Liberty, who take on the 18-8 Detroit Shock tonight at the...

PHEW! BILLY IS BARELY REGAL; WAGNER, METS HANG ON FOR NARROW WIN

Mets 6Marlins 5 MIAMI - The final pitch last night for Billy Wagner was totally opposite from his final pitch on Tuesday. Wagner suffered the loss on Tuesday when he...

'GOOFY' SLIDE WORKS FOR A-ROD

Alex Rodriguez was dead meat when he made the turn at first base. He was racing to second, trying to leg out a sixth-inning double, and about halfway between first...

DEREK'S ONE COOL CAPTAIN

YESTERDAY marked the 27th anniversary of the death of Thurman Munson, whom nobody even once ever suggested was a bad captain for failing to speak out in support of Reggie...

PELFREY GETS CUT TILL CHASE

MIAMI - There was a cut yesterday, and now the Mets don't have six starters. The Mets made their rotation decision yesterday, and Mike Pelfrey was the victim. The 22-year-old...

STRAWBERRY TO SKIP REUNION

MET NOTES When the 1986 world champion Mets gather at Shea Stadium on Aug. 19, they won't be reminiscing about their heady times with Darryl Strawberry, The Post has learned....

POSADA, WANG, JETER MAKE MUNSON PROUD

YANKEES 7 BLUE JAYS 2 Jorge Posada knows what Thurman Munson meant to the franchise. He placed a picture of Munson inside his locker, an everyday reminder of Posada's lineage...

STRAWBERRY TO SKIP '86 REUNION

MET NOTES When the 1986 world champion Mets gather at Shea Stadium on Aug. 19, they won't be reminiscing about their heady times with Darryl Strawberry, The Post has learned....

PELFREY CUT TILL CHASE

MIAMI - There was a cut yesterday, and now the Mets don't have six starters. The Mets made their rotation decision yesterday, and Mike Pelfrey was the victim. The 22-year-old...

POSADA,WANG, JETER MAKE MUNSON PROUD

YANKEES 7 BLUE JAYS 2 Jorge Posada knows what Thurman Munson meant to the franchise. He placed a picture of Munson inside his locker, an everyday reminder of Posada's lineage...

STRAW TO SKIP REUNION

MET NOTES When the 1986 world champion Mets gather at Shea Stadium on Aug. 19, they won't be reminiscing about their heady times with Darryl Strawberry, The Post has learned....

WAGS TAGGED - CLOSER HAS NOT BEEN AMAZIN'

MIAMI - It had been six weeks since Billy Wagner blew a save. Then Tuesday night he coughed it up. Wagner, handed a 5-4 lead Tuesday against the Marlins, faced...

FIRST-PLACE BOMBERS VOW TO MAINTAIN FOCUS

They made it all the way back without many of the household names the Yankees were depending on. And they made it all the way back to first place in...

WAGNER, METS HANG ON, BARELY

METS 6 MARLINS 5 MIAMI - The final pitch last night for Billy Wagner was totally opposite from his final pitch on Tuesday. Wagner suffered the loss on Tuesday when...

WAGNER, METS HANG ON FOR NARROW WIN

METS 6 MARLINS 5 MIAMI - The final pitch last night for Billy Wagner was totally opposite from his final pitch on Tuesday. Wagner suffered the loss on Tuesday when...

METS SEND PELFREY TO MINORS, FOR NOW

MIAMI - There was a cut yesterday, and now the Mets don't have six starters. The Mets made their rotation decision yesterday and Mike Pelfrey was the casualty. The 22year-old...

CHADDABOY! NOT HIS JOB YET, BUT IT'S LOOKIN' GOOD FOR PENNY

If the Jets have decided on their starting quarterback for 2006 season, they're doing a terrific job of concealing it. The Jets yesterday, across the board, denied a published report...

NO-SO-HOT PRACTICE OK WITH COACH

JET NOTES Eric Mangini moved yesterday's 2 p.m. Jets practice to 5:45 in an effort to keep the players out of the highest heat index. According to Accuweather. com, the...

UP IN THE AIR - MANGINI REFUTES REPORT THAT CHAD WON QB JOB

If the Jets have decided on their starting quarterback for 2006 season, they're doing a terrific job of concealing it. The Jets yesterday, across the board, denied a published report...

A-ROD'S SLIDE WAS SNEAKY

Alex Rodriguez was dead meat when he made the turn at first base. He was racing to second, trying to leg out a sixth-inning double, and about halfway between first...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

It didn't take dogged detective work to track down the holdup man who fled the People's Bank in Lacey's Springs, Ala., with more than $6,000 in cash. The nitwit left...