March 10, 2004

TV PRODUCERS NAB SOHO SPOT

DENIS Leary and Jim Serpico's production company, Apostle, signed a lease in the heart of SoHo at the Prince Building, at 568-78 Broadway. Leary will use the 5,000 square feet...

MSO SLUMPS AS BOARD TALKS

Shares in Martha Stewart's company continued to dive yesterday, tumbling another 3.5 percent as the fate of its founder remained uncertain. Since the domestic diva was convicted of obstructing justice...

CSFB IS SHAKING UP M&A

Credit Suisse First Boston is shaking up its management ranks by elevating one of its veteran investment bankers to help revive its sagging mergers business. Marc Granetz, most recently the...

SEC SLAMS $25K FINE IN CHINA STOCK SCAM

A California man has agreed to fork over $25,000 to the Securities and Exchange Commission for posting a fake news story slamming a stock he was betting would drop in...

N.Y. FEDS PROBING NEWSDAY ON CIRC

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York has launched an informal inquiry into Newsday's circulation practices, after a group of advertisers filed a class-action lawsuit accusing the...

SATELLITE WARS! 9 MILLION VIEWERS UNPLUGGED IN TV TITANS' DUEL

Two of television's most stubborn titans are fighting bitterly over how to split up new hikes in your TV bill - and blacking out popular programming across the nation. The...

FASHION BRAND TO AIR BRIT HITS

The French Connection Group is reaching for a high note with a radio station scheduled to begin broadcasting next month. Promising to play "none of the hits, none of the...

WITH $28.1M IN PAY FROM MERRILL, STAN'S THE MAN

Cost-cutting, job-slashing Merrill Lynch boss Stan O'Neal was Wall Street's highest-paid CEO in 2003, raking in a whopping $28.1 million. O'Neal's paycheck was bigger than those of Wall Street's other...

BLACK SUES FOR $170M

Conrad Black, the ousted boss of newspaper giant Hollinger International, is suing his former firm and demanding it pay him $170 million. Black has been embroiled for months in several...

CALIF. WARNS THREE FIRMS

Securities firms CIBC World Markets, Edward Jones and Wedbush Morgan may not get any business from California State Treasurer Phil Angelides if they fail to comply with new conflict of...

RON GALOTTI BUYS THE FARM - EX CONDE NAST BIG FLEES APPLE - THIS TIME, FOR GOOD

MR. Big is leaving town - and this time, it's for good.Ron Galotti, the real-life "Mr. Big" who was played by actor Chris Noth in "Sex and the City," is...

JANET CRITICS BUNCH OF BOOBS: SUMNER

At 80, Sumner Redstone is puzzled by the big fuss over Janet Jackson's breast-bearing incident on the Super Bowl. Her 10 seconds of an exposed bare breast for the MTV-sponsored...

ASIA MAJOR - BUT RIINGO'S STAR DIMS WITH DÉCOR

RIINGO [ 1/2] (two and one-half stars) 205 E. 45TH ST. (212) 867-4200 ---- RIINGO sets some kind of weird record: the lowest prices for the best quasi-Japanese food ever...

'OVER' THE TOP ; ANIMATED FAMILY A LITTLE TOO GRAPHIC

"Game Over" Tonight at 8 on UPN ½ (one and one half stars) WHAT do you get when you combine suburban angst with video game graphics and noise? If you...

MOB OPERA TAKES A HIT

SAY it ain't so. The audience for last Sunday's debut of season five of "The Sopranos" was apparently smaller than last season. About 12.1 million viewers tuned in to Sunday's...

DELI WILL TAKE YOU BACK, NOT SET YOU BACK

A hot dog for 15 cents? Hungarian goulash for a buck and a quarter? That's hardly chopped liver. But that's all they'll cost Monday - it's 40 cents for the...

SHE'S BAAACK ; IRRITATING 'APPRENTICE' COULD RETURN AS TV TALKER

NEXT on "Omarosa!" - how to win friends and influence people. Well, not really, but Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, the edgy contestant "fired" by Donald Trump on last week's episode of "The...

ITALIAN LOOKIN' AT THE RITZ

SIRIO Maccioni may bring Italy to Paris by way of America. The owner of Le Cirque 2000 says he's in talks with the famed Ritz Hotel to open an upscale...

'JERSEY' SWIRL; BENNIFER TAKES TOLL ON DIRECTOR KEVIN SMITH

HAVING spent the last two years enduring endless questions about Bennifer and "Jersey Girl," director Kevin Smith promises there aren't going to be any women in his next movie. "You...

LONG IN THE SWEET TOOTH ; ADULTS GOBBLE KIDDIE TREATS

WHAT could possibly be better than dessert? Dessert that makes a grown- up feel like a kid again. Some of the city's top pastry chefs are up to kids' stuff,...

'DRACULA' BACK FROM THE DEAD

GREAT: Another musical that sucks. "Dracula," the latest from former "triple-threat" composer Frank Wildhorn, will be the first entry in the 2004-2005 Broadway season. The show's principal backer - Dutch...

BETTER THAN 'SEX' - BOUNDARY-BUSTER DAVE CHAPPELLE IS THE NEW MUST-SEE TV

Heard the one about the blind white supremacist who doesn't realize he's actually black? How about the "racial draft," in which teams of Jews, Asians, Latinos and African-Americans trade for...

STARR REPORT

Winfield tribute Forgotten in many of the obituaries written about actor Paul Winfield, who died Sunday in Los Angeles, was the fact that he narrated "City Confidential" on A&E. "All...

HEIDI 'HO - SHOCKING FIRST LOOK AT 'CALL ME'

JAMIE-Lynn Sigler went from "The Sopranos" to this? Get this girl a new agent. Jamie-Lynn's new Heidi Fleiss movie is such a comedown from the HBO mafia series that I...

THE 'POWER FIVE' - THESE LATINA POLITICIANS ARE POISED TO SHAKE UP THE WORLD

A member of the City Council commented recently, "A woman's place is in the house," quickly adding, "the White House, the State House and certainly in this house." And five...

A GOOD SPORT - MEMORABILIA MAVEN TACKLES 'DIGITAL DIVIDE' IN HIS BRONX NEIGHBORHOOD

JULIO Pabon's LatinoSports ClubHouse in the South Bronx is more than just the only New York business devoted exclusively to Latin sports-star collectibles. For local kids, the year-old shop is...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Why is some nut running around stealing the lids from barbecue grills? That's what cops in Skokie, Ill., want to know about the countless thefts from suburban back yards in...

DERAIL SUBWAY CHEATS

ALBANY - The city moved yesterday to crack down on the growing problem of subway "swipers" who alter MetroCards and cheat the MTA out of millions of dollars a year....

MCSALADS AS BAD AS BURGERS FOR DIETERS

Lettuce pray for those who eat salads at McDonald's - because, believe it or not, some of them contain more fat than its hamburgers. The fast-food giant - under fire...

A PET PRESS CORPS - MEDIA MARCH TO KERRY'S TUNE

JOHN Kerry is doing something very clever. He's launched a pre-emptive strike against GOP attempts to raise legitimate questions about his political record and his character by warning voters about...

'MURPHY BROWN' CO-STAR FOUND DEAD

Former "Murphy Brown" co-star Robert Pastorelli, whose life was riddled with tragedy, was found dead in his Hollywood home. He was 49. Pastorelli, who starred for six seasons as Eldin...

A TREAT GROWS IN BROOKLYN

Tax Day takes a bite out of all of us - but Brooklyn restaurantgoers will at least get to bite back. Starting April 15, nearly 100 Brooklyn restaurants will offer...

PERKY DIABETES BREAKTHROUGH

Coffee is good for more than just a caffeine jolt - it can help ward off adult diabetes, a new study shows. Finnish women who drank three to four cups...

REVVED-UP GOP CONVENTION COPS TO SCOOT FROM THE HIP

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday that the NYPD will be mobile at this summer's Republican National Convention - with 300 cops darting around the city in racy new scooters....

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

THE BRONX * Bronx Sex Crimes Unit detectives are looking for the thug who they say raped and robbed two women last year. A police sketch of the suspect (above)...

QNS. 'KILLER' CLAIMS BARE-BREASTED ALIBI

A man accused of shooting dead his pal's new wife testified yesterday he couldn't have killed her because he was busy basking in booty at a strip club. Lenwood "Smoke"...

CHUCK GIVES IN 'OWN WAY'

WASHINGTON - Sen. Charles Schumer yesterday defended his skimpy $5,000 contribution to Senate Democratic campaigns, saying he backs his colleagues and helps with money "in his own way." The Post...

CALLS TO 911 ARE DOWN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 13 YEARS ...

Calls to 911 are down for the first time in 13 years - thanks to the success of 311, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. Emergency-line operators took 255,000 fewer calls last...

QUEENS FARM 'HOUSE' FUROR

The city's last commercial farm is about to be sold for the second time in four months - and neighbors in Queens fear it will be turned into a large...

'RACIST' FUROR IN KNESSET

JERUSALEM - Arab construction workers putting up a new wing of the Israeli parliament had their hardhats marked with red paint to single them out as potential security risks -...

KERRY CHANGES TUNE: ARAFAT AN 'OUTLAW' NOW

WASHINGTON - Democratic nominee-to-be John Kerry yesterday acknowledged flip-flopping on Yasser Arafat and says his view of the Palestinian leader has changed from "statesman" to "outlaw." The Post reported this...

TIMELY BUST IN 400G HEIST

An apparent ringleader and one of his accomplices have been busted in the brazen robbery of a ritzy Midtown watch store that netted $400,000 - including the gem-encrusted "Sharon Stone...

INSURANCE TO COVER KOZ LAWYERS

When the lawyer for accused Tyco plunderer Dennis Kozlowski steps to the podium to deliver day-long closing statements tomorrow, it will be Tyco's own insurance company footing the bill. In...

HOLY ALLIANCE - BISHOPS WANT POLS TO BAN GAY NUPS

ALBANY - Concerned about a slew of gay weddings, Edward Cardinal Egan and a group of Catholic bishops yesterday called on state lawmakers to outlaw same-sex marriages. During a homily...

KILLER HAD TELLTALE LEG: WITNESS

A wheelchair-bound man who dragged the body of a friend into his Bed-Stuy apartment after she was shot said yesterday he heard her one-legged boyfriend flee the scene because his...

RED-HOT NUMBER - 311 GOT 6M CALLS IN 1ST YEAR

New Yorkers just love to gripe. In fact, they made more than 6.5 million calls to 311, the city's wildly popular non-emergency hot line, since it was created one year...

GUNS & GUILLOTINES - USED AT DEADLY MASONIC RITUAL

Guns, a guillotine and mechanical rat traps played a regular role in a secret Masonic ritual that turned deadly for a Long Island man, police said yesterday. Initiates to the...

DRUG-RAID SHOOTOUT 'LIKE A MOVIE'

Police continued their investigation yesterday into the shooting of two alleged drug dealers by a sergeant in Harlem - as residents of the building where the incident happened said the...

FRIENDS FEAR FOR VANISHED PORN STAR

A porn actress has vanished without a trace after a photo shoot in suburban Philadelphia, cops said yesterday. Taylor Summers was last seen Feb. 29 while walking to a restaurant...

ATM-SCAM BUST BECOMES FAMILY FEUD

A family feud over a string of privately owned ATMs erupted yesterday after two Yemeni cousins accused each other of illegally withdrawing thousands of dollars from automatic-teller machines. Yousuf Kasim,...

A BIDDER WAY TO OWN A CAB

Drivers, start your bidding. The Taxi and Limousine Commission will start accepting bids next month from anyone interested in owning a yellow cab. The city agency will auction off 300...

LIFE FOR KILLER OF HOMELESS MAN

A married father of three was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison yesterday for gunning down a homeless man in Queens for no apparent reason. "I'm truly at...

HISTORIC NEW SPACE IMAGES

Top New York astrophysicists began a "space race" against international experts yesterday to interpret a new set of photos taken by the Hubble Telescope. The Hubble ultra-deep field image reveals...

ANIMAL HOUSE - RAIDERS SHUT EXOTIC 'ZOO' IN UPTOWN APT.

A Manhattan man became monkey-in-the-middle yesterday after cops found him illegally sharing his fifth-floor apartment with six caged primates, authorities said. Cops came to Orlando Lopez's two-room apartment on Hillside...

KLEIN ACCEPTS LAM EXCUSES

No more heads will roll because of the hubby-hiring scandal that led to the humiliating ouster of Deputy Chancellor Diana Lam - even though other top aides have been implicated,...

MARTHA'S BRO PAINED OVER HER 'AGONY'

Martha Stewart's brother said yesterday his heart was breaking as he watched the "horrible agony" the domestic diva faced as she confronted her new life as a convicted criminal. Frank...

BUSH CAMPAIGN RIPS GROUP'S 'ILLEGAL' ADS

WASHINGTON - The Bush campaign opened fire yesterday on a new political group funded by ultra-liberal billionaire George Soros that is set to launch a $5 million anti-Bush ad blitz...

NYU REELING OVER FOURTH DEATH LEAP

The daughter of a Silicon Valley executive has become the fourth New York University student to die in a plunge this academic year. Sophomore Diana Chien, 19, did a backward...

TRIPLE RAPE AT RUTGERS COED PAD

Three women were raped at gunpoint after a group of men wearing ski masks burst into a student apartment a block from New Jersey's Rutgers University, police said yesterday. The...

DYING TO EAT - WEIGHT WOE NEARS CIGS AS TOP KILLER

A paunch may soon outstrip a puff as the nation's No. 1 killer. The unhealthy combination of overeating and under-exercising is close to overtaking tobacco as the top cause of...

DNA FINGERS TEEN IN 3 SEX CRIMES

A DNA match has linked a jailed teenager to three Manhattan sex attacks last year, police said yesterday. Justin Hines, 18, of The Bronx, was cooling his heels on a...

CONVENTION COPS SCOOT FROM THE HIP

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday that the NYPD will be mobile at this summer's Republican National Convention - with 300 cops darting around the city on racy new scooters....

TRIPLE RAPE SHOCKS RUTGERS

Gun-toting masked men invaded an off-campus apartment at Rutgers University and brutally gang-raped three women during an early-morning robbery, authorities said yesterday. The sex-assault nightmare occurred in an apartment filled...

PREZ PLAYS THE NAME GAME EARLY

WASHINGTON - President Bush has started attacking rival John Kerry head-on - by name - far earlier than any other president in memory because "the political cycle has moved much...

TROUBLE FOR NETS AS BEEP OKS NEW B'KLYN

The city's ambitious $100 million plan to build massive office and residential towers in Downtown Brooklyn got its first thumbs-up last night. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz approved the city's...

CLASSROOM EXTRA - FIGHTING FOR 'LA CAUSA'

Today's Classroom Extra looks at Dolores Huerta - A Mexican-American and a champion of the American civil-rights movement. The fruits and vegetables we buy from the stores have come a...

KLEIN ACCEPTS HIS AIDES' LAM EXCUSES

No more heads will roll because of the hubby-hiring scandal that led to the humiliating ouster of Deputy Chancellor Diana Lam - even though other top aides have been implicated,...

KARPOVTSEV GIVES ISLES BLUE-LINE HELP

ST. LOUIS - As expected, the Islanders made no earth-shattering deals at yesterday's trading deadline, sitting back as virtually every team surrounding them in the standings upgraded through trades. Instead,...

UCONN NEEDS A 'BACK'-UP PLAN ; STAR OKAFOR ISN'T OK, AND THAT HURTS HUSKIES

This was supposed to be Connecticut's season, and the court was going to be Emeka Okafor's personal playground, where he could take anyone's ball and swat it away. The Huskies...

REGIONS RENAMED FOR NCAA TOURNEY

March Madness might mean not knowing where to find your favorite team. The NCAA Tournament regionals will no longer be designated by East, West, Midwest and Southeast. Instead, the regionals...

SOURCE: NO CHARGES IN METS PIZZA FIGHT

PORT ST. LUCIE - A local detective interviewed Shane Spencer and Karim Garcia yesterday afternoon, and a law enforcement source told The Post charges of simple battery against the two...

KIDD STILL UNSURE OF STATUS

At one end of the floor, Jason Kidd bounced through a jump-shooting drill, shifting and cutting and testing the capabilities of his bruised left knee. At the other, Kenyon Martin...

'BIG TIME' AWAITS HIS SPOTLIGHT

Humility. Now there's a word you normally don't hear associated with the boxing world. But at yesterday's press conference, Jameel "Big Time" McCline was full of it. McCline, who would...

KAZMIR'S HEADING BACK TO THE FARM

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - Scott Kazmir was the Mets' first cut of the spring, but he'll bring major-league knowledge with him to the minor-league complex. Kazmir, the team's...

HOLD THAT KNIFE! DOC WILL LET SHEFF TRY TO PLAY THROUGH PAIN

TAMPA - No knife. At least not yet. Gary Sheffield convinced Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser in Manhattan yesterday that a solid tape job was a better way than surgery to deal...

FRUGAL GIANTS WARY OF CONTRACT INFLATION

Thus far in free agency, the Giants have added two starting linebackers in Carlos Emmons and Barrett Green, presumably a starting defensive tackle (Fred Robbins) and center (Shaun O'Hara). The...

JASON TRAINER STILL AN ISSUE

TAMPA - Yankee GM Brian Cashman and agent Arn Tellem met yesterday to discuss a solution to Bobby Alejo situation. Even though Jason Giambi maintains that Alejo, his personal trainer,...

STAND-PAT DEVILS HANG HOPES ON STEVENS

The Devils have hung their crown on Scott Stevens' injured head. Failing to bolster their defense corps at yesterday's trade deadline, the Stanley Cup champs are now depending their captain...

LOOPER LIKES RING OF HIS NEW TEAM

Marlins 9Mets 3 PORT ST. LUCIE - Former Marlins reliever Braden Looper was sized for his World Series ring recently. Remember the story "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz?"...

THUMB KINDA TOUGH

TAMPA - Tough guys play. Gary Sheffield is a tough guy. This season Yankee fans are going to learn a lot about Sheffield that they didn't know before. Yesterday was...

JUST VIN, BABY ; ISIAH FOCUSED ON BRINGING IN BAKER

The NBA-imposed delay in signing Vin Baker has not dimmed Isiah Thomas' interest one bit and the Knicks' prez explained yesterday Baker's family background makes him worth "the risk." "When...

BOMBERS & RIVERA CLOSE IN ON PACT

YANKEE NOTES Braves 10Yankees 6 TAMPA - Yankee GM Brian Cashman met with Mariano Rivera's agents for 90 minutes yesterday, and while all of the time wasn't devoted to the...

JORGE'S HURTIN'

TAMPA - Jorge Posada's right shoulder wasn't barking loud enough for Joe Torre to scratch him completely from yesterday's lineup. However, a problem with the Yankee catcher's hinge was severe...

PITT GRABS FOUR AWARDS

For the past three years, since Pittsburgh rose to prominence in the Big East, the program strived to emphasize a team concept and de-emphasize individual accolades. The concept is not...

KURT INKS DEAL, BUT COULD GO

KNICK NOTES Kurt Thomas finally signed his four-year, $30 million contract extension yesterday, giving Isiah Thomas a greater chance of trading him this summer. If he were a free agent,...

OK, SLATS, NOW FIND A COACH

THE last week was the easy part. With all due respect to the management personnel who contributed to the deals in which eight Rangers were sent away in exchange for...

NCAA REGIONALS RENAMED

March Madness might mean not knowing where to find your favorite team. The NCAA Tournament regionals will no longer be designated by East, West, Midwest and Southeast. Instead, the regionals...

LESSONS FROM ARTEST PAY OFF FOR LA SALLE

CHSAA PLAYOFFS La Salle 58 Iona Prep 38 CHSAA PLAYOFFS S.J. Prep 46 Spellman 42 Long-time La Salle head coach Bill Aberer talks to his team a lot about playing...

DAY'S A TOTAL LOSS FOR STAND-PAT DEVILS

Flyers 3 Devils 1 The Ides of March struck the Devils early. Great Caesar's Ghost, sometimes the deals you don't make haunt you. Hanging their crown on Scott Stevens' injured...

ISLANDERS ADD HELP ON DEFENSE

OT Blues 3Islanders 2 ST. LOUIS - As expected, the Islanders did not make an earth-shattering deal at yesterday's NHL trading deadline, even as teams surrounding them in the standings...

CHAOS - ON COURT AND OFF

The idea was to get Allan Houston the ball off a screen, let the Knicks' hottest player take a crack at tying the game. Short of that, Houston was supposed...

ISIAH: BAKER'S WORTH RISK

KNICK NOTES Saying Vin Baker's family background makes him worth "the risk," Isiah Thomas said his desire to sign the recovering alcoholic is not dimmed by the NBA-imposed delay. "This...

KNICKS, STEPH BOTCH FINAL PLAY AS WIN STREAK ENDS

Celtics 87Knicks 84 It was no surprise, on this flat Garden night, the Knicks botched their final play, forcing Stephon Marbury into an improvisation that backfired. In capping an off...

MOHAMMED LOOKS NAZTY

NAZR Mohammed wasn't used to the quiet. That was the worst part of going to work every day as a member of the Atlanta Hawks, the NBA's version of the...

A-ROD HOMERS, MUFFS POP

TAMPA - Alex Rodriguez' stroke appears to be fine, but he still needs to work on infield pop-ups. A-Rod crushed his first homer in pinstripes yesterday, a two-run shot off...