July 2, 2002
GARDINER TRUMPS DOWNTOWN BUILDOUT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amTHESE are busy times at the New York unit of Gardiner & Theobald, the London-based international construction consulting firm. It's managing the 20-floor fit-out of Brown Brothers Harriman's new headquarters...
BUSINESS' FEAR OF FRAUD IS KILLING OFF M&A DEALS
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amAMERICAN businesses are so worried about the possibility of fraud that they are very hesitant to expand through acquisitions and mergers, says one of the top investment bankers on Wall...
FASHION SHOP NEAR GROUND ZERO TO DEBUT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amThere are signs of new life near Ground Zero. While stores below Canal Street have been hit hard since Sept. 11, the owners of LoftWorks @ Lafayette believe they can...
OVITZ: FELLED BY 'GAY MAFIA'
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amDeposed king of Hollywood Michael Ovitz has finally gone off the deep end - blaming gays for his ruination. In a stunning on-the-record diatribe in the new issue of Vanity...
WEARY INVESTORS DRIVE MARKETS, DOLLAR DOWN
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amInvestors continued to turn their backs on Wall Street yesterday over its dirty-dealing image. Accounting scandals and shaky company earnings sent stocks sliding, which spread to push the greenback to...
HEARST DUMPS ANOTHER EDITOR
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amHearst Magazines President Cathleen Black has dismissed another editor, who was once deemed edgy but who floundered in the company's mass-driven environment. Marian McEvoy was bounced as editor in chief...
FEDS TO FINGER BLODGET & CO.
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amFederal prosecutors are expected to level criminal charges against some of Wall Street's former high-flying Internet analysts as soon as next week, sources told The Post. While it is unclear...
BUYERS EYE DEBT-RIDDEN VIVENDI UNIVERSAL BUSINESSES
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amAs Vivendi Universal reassembles at the top, the biggest question is how quickly it'll dump its music or studio business. The company needs to get out from under its hefty...
MOODY'S BOSS MISSED CALL: B-SCHOOL DEAN
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amBernie Ebber's isn't the only WorldCom big shot in hot water. WorldCom's board of directors is probably also in regulators' line of fire, according to Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, associate dean at...
WORLDCOM ACCOUNTING REPORT 'WHOLLY INADEQUATE,' PITT SAYS
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amAmid a widening probe into scandal-scarred WorldCom's accounting issues, the disgraced telecom also got slapped down by Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt. WorldCom had been ordered to explain...
OASIS GETS IT RIGHT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00am* OASIS "Heathen Chemistry" [ 1/2] Epic Just when you thought the well was dry, Oasis gets its act together and delivers "Heathen Chemistry" - a great retooling of the...
STARR REPORT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amWalters sitdown has O'Neal appeal Tatum O'Neal has been out of the limelight for some time now - but she can still draw a crowd. O'Neal's exclusive interview with Barbara...
I PIG OUT . . . BUT MY BREASTS WON'T GROW; LARA FLYNN BOYLE'S DIET DILEMMA...
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amWAFER-thin "The Practice" star Lara Flynn Boyle can't figure out why she's so skinny when she's got a hearty appetite for junk food - including Pop Tarts and candy. "I...
I QUIT FOR MY MULES
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amI didn't quit smoking in the name of good health - I did it in the name of expensive shoes. Even before the price of a pack of cigarettes rose...
SHOULD I STAY... OR SHOULD I GO? KELLY RIPA'S AGONY OVER SOAP ROLE CONTRACT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amKELLY Ripa has a new drama in her life: Should she stay or leave "All My Children" now that she has a highly-rated spot with Regis Philbin? Ripa, 32, is...
CAVUTO GETS HIGH FIVE
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amFOX News Channel business whiz Neil Cavuto has signed a five-year contract renewal as vice president and managing editor of business news at cable's top-rated news network. Financial terms of...
YEAH, BABY! - 5 THINGS H'WOOD IS DOING RIGHT . . .
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amIF only the stock market were doing as well as Hollywood. Fueled by megahits like "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones," movie attendance this summer is...
TRAVELER'S UPDATE
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amGo fourth! On Thursday, head to the source to get your fireworks fix. New Castle, Pa., just north of Pittsburgh, is indisputably the Fireworks Capital of America - it's the...
SOCCER SCORE? OH, DON'T ASK
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amTHERE were just too many people watching the World Cup finale to get an accurate count. According to FIFA, soccer's international governing body, more than 1.5 billion tuned in worldwide...
. . . AND NOT SO RIGHT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amSO what's Hollywood doing wrong? Studios are taking fewer risks - and that means fewer films that offer anything new or surprising. The emphasis on sequels and films based on...
IS THIS BASEBALL'S MAGIC MOMENT?
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amGO ahead, take your pick - the greatest moment in baseball was. . . Lou Gehrig's farewell speech? Babe Ruth's called home run against Chicago in the 1932 World Series?...
CONCERNED ABOUT RECENT CONTROVERSIES OVER SPIRALING DROPOUT RATES AND TOUGH STATE GRADUATING STANDARDS
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amALBANY - Concerned about recent controversies over spiraling dropout rates and tough state graduating standards, state lawmakers are planning a series of hearings this fall, The Post has learned. Until...
BACK TO ROAD FEAR
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amON Sunday evenings in summer, it's usually sound traffic-avoidance policy to avoid major highways back into the city from Long Island. So we did just that the other night. We...
LAWYER BUSTED FOR HOME ARSENAL
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA Queens lawyer who moonlighted as an auxiliary cop turned his Fresh Meadows home into a fortress, stockpiling an arsenal of illegal weapons and creating a "defense plan" to keep...
WOMEN WHO LOVE SCUM
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amARE there so few available, stable (do I dare say "nice"?) men in New York's murky dating waters that women are turning to rapists and murderers? Last week, Eric Lewenstein...
MOSQUE-ERADE - UPSTATE IMAM RAISED $6M FOR HAMAS: REPORT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amCOLONIE, N.Y. - A Muslim cleric with supposed ties to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the Hamas terror group has been serving as the leader of a large...
WHY 'SICK' OSAMA SEEMS CAMERA-SHY
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Al Qaeda operatives may be keeping Osama bin Laden out of the limelight, fearing his frail condition could harm morale among his followers, according to new intelligence reports....
WEIRD BUT TRUE
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amHere's more proof that elections have gone to the dogs: A pooch is running for Congress in Florida against Secretary of State Katherine Harris. Percy the border-collie mix is a...
RIVAL GOPER NIXES HONOR FOR D'AMATO
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - A New Hampshire senator is using his clout to block a federal courthouse from being named after Alfonse D'Amato, and some say it's retaliation for D'Amato's boost of...
LETHAL REJECTION'S THREE FATAL FLAWS
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amDO YOU support capital punishment, but fear that poor, innocent people are executed in America? Then you've probably fallen for the Three Big Myths that are passed along as gospel...
PROBED HARLEM SCHOOL BIG QUITS
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amThe Harlem schools superintendent has quit just weeks after Schools Chancellor Harold Levy ordered a sweeping probe of her district's failing schools, officials said yesterday. District 5 boss Thelma Baxter...
GROUND ZERO FORMALLY RETURNED TO PA
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amThe city turned over control of Ground Zero to the Port Authority yesterday, marking another step in its transition from crime scene to construction site. The city's Office of Emergency...
MAN SHOOTS FIANCÉE: COPS
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA woman was in critical condition yesterday after she was shot in the chest by her apparently jealous fiancée, cops said. Arcelio Sepulveda, 37, was charged with attempted murder after...
COP IN DWI RAP AFTER SMASHUP
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA police sergeant was busted for alleged drunken driving last night after crashing his car into another vehicle on the Grand Central Parkway, police said. No one was seriously hurt...
POST AWARDS GET THE BEST TABLE AT ELAINE'S
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amThe owner of Elaine's, the famed East Side celeb watering hole, thinks The Post is really cooking with its recipe to make "ordinary" New Yorkers the toast of the town....
FED JUDGE KOS DEATH PENALTY
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA Manhattan judge has declared the federal death penalty unconstitutional, likening it to "state-sponsored murder of innocent human beings." Federal Judge Jed Rakoff handed down his dramatic ruling yesterday, nixing...
NEWARK AND JFK AMONG BEST AT FINDING WEAPONS
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amSecurity screeners at two New York-area airports have gotten top marks for spotting phony weapons carried by undercover federal testers, beating dismal national results. Screeners at both Newark and Kennedy...
MIKE IN LOW-KEY HUNT FOR ED CZAR
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amMayor Bloomberg insisted yesterday he's not yet in charge of the schools - but sources said he's plowing ahead and already interviewing potential chancellors. "Until the Justice Department reviews the...
LEFT HOLDING THE BAG AMID RECYCLE DAZE
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amBuilding super John Bartolo sat in his basement office on the Upper West Side yesterday afternoon - puzzled that no one told him about the new recycling program. "I have...
PHONY GRANNY ON ATTACK IN DEMOCRATS' RADIO ADS
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amALBANY - State Democrats announced a radio advertising blitz yesterday, blaming Gov. Pataki for the lagging upstate economy in a spot that uses a paid actress masquerading as a New...
ACCUSED 'MACY'S RAPIST' POOH-POOHS DNA PROOF
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amThe convict alleged to be the "Macy's rapist" says a one-in-a-trillion DNA match "doesn't mean I raped her." Joe Felder, 39, was in an upstate prison on a robbery charge...
GAMES BIG: CITY'S GOT THE RIGHT STUFF
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amThe U.S. Olympic Committee team assessing the city's bid to host the 2012 Summer Games declared yesterday that the Big Apple has "all the right ingredients," after winding up its...
FLOATING TO A RECORD - BALLOONIST FOSSETT SET TO FINISH ROUND-THE-WORLD TRIP TODAY
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amIt looks like seven may be millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett's lucky number. The high-flying Chicago tycoon is closing in on his long-sought place in history as the first solo balloonist...
HAMPTON SOCIALITE FOUND DEAD IN POOL
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA man entertaining guests this past weekend at his East Hampton mansion was found drowned in the pool at the sprawling estate. Barton Kaplan, 42, of 52 Middle Lane, was...
'PRIEST-ABUSED' SISTERS TESTIFY
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA Suffolk County grand jury investigating sexual abuse by priests heard testimony yesterday from two sisters who charge a cleric molested them thousands of times while they were children. Based...
VOUCHER RULING A MILESTONE: BUSH
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush said yesterday that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last week allowing taxpayer money for private-school vouchers is "just as historic" as its decision outlawing segregated schools....
POP PERV'S 9/11 SLUR - GEORGE MICHAEL MOCKS BUSH
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amWashed-up pervert pop star George Michael is trying to relaunch his career with a controversial song and video insinuating that President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are gay...
'SHOW UP' THE TERRORISTS ON 4TH: MIKE
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA massive turnout by New Yorkers celebrating July 4th would be "the best way to stick it to the terrorists," Mayor Bloomberg declared yesterday. This year, there's also an added...
COS MYSTIC MYSTERY - PAL: HE BOOTED ME AFTER CONSULTING GURU
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA former friend of funnyman Bill Cosby says he evicted her from his home after 19 years because the tragic comic fell under the spell of a mysterious guru who...
VOLPE BOMBSHELL - BACKS SCHWARZ IN COURT - BUT RIPS HIM ON TAPE
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amJustin Volpe testified yesterday that Charles Schwarz took no part in the Abner Louima torture attack - even as prosecutors hit the jailed ex-cop with a bombshell tape of him...
CIGARETTE VENDORS GETTING $MOKED OUT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amWith new city taxes bringing the average price of a pack of cigarettes to a whopping $7, smokers yesterday began abandoning their usual deli and newsstand stops for cheaper sources...
FROM FIVE WITNESSES TO NONE IN SLAY TRIAL
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA Brooklyn murder trial is fast losing its eyewitnesses. One was killed over the weekend and four others have either been bribed or threatened into silence, according to law-enforcement sources....
U.S. BOMBER KILLS AFGHANS AT WEDDING
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - A "smart bomb" dropped from an American warplane yesterday reportedly killed scores of people at a wedding in southern Afghanistan, in what could be one of the worst...
WEINER WONDER VERY FRANK IN PREDICTING RECORD PIGOUT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amThis time, he'll eat more than 50. That's the bold prediction made by world hot-dog-eating champion Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi upon his arrival at JFK yesterday for Thursday's contest at...
JUDGE SHOOTS DOWN CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA Manhattan judge has declared the federal death penalty unconstitutional, likening it to "state-sponsored murder of innocent human beings." Federal Judge Jed Rakoff handed down his dramatic ruling yesterday, nixing...
DELIS FEAR CIG PROFITS WILL GO UP IN SMOKE
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amWith new city taxes bringing the average price of a pack of cigarettes to a whopping $7, smokers yesterday began abandoning their usual deli and newsstand stops for cheaper sources...
'LAW AND ORDER' JUDGE ADS ARE LAWFUL AND ORDERLY: COURT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amALBANY - Judicial candidates cannot be sanctioned for running as tough-on-crime "law and order" judges, the state's top court ruled yesterday. "Law and order is a phrase widely and indiscriminately...
HAMPTONS HORROR OVER NUDE CORPSE IN POOL
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA man entertaining guests this past weekend at his East Hampton mansion was found drowned in the pool at the sprawling estate. Barton Kaplan, 42, of 52 Middle Lane, was...
GEORGE MICHAEL MOCKS BUSH
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amPervert pop star George Michael has launched a scathing blast at America's handling of the Sept. 11 terror attacks - calling President Bush a "trigger-happy" politician who is "bullying" the...
VOLPE: SCHWARZ WASN'T THERE - BUT BLASTS EX-COP IN SECRET PROSECUTION TAPE
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amJailed ex-cop Justin Volpe testified yesterday that he alone sodomized Abner Louima in a police station bathroom in 1997, and that Charles Schwarz had taken no part in the gruesome...
SHAMED EX-COP HAS NO MOTIVE TO LIE NOW
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amFOR the second time, Justin Volpe has solved the miniseries of the shocking assault on Abner Louima. The first time, at his trial May 25, 1999, he told the Brooklyn...
COS MYSTIC MYSTERY - PAL: HE BOOTED ME AFTER GURU VISIT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA former friend of funnyman Bill Cosby says he evicted her from his home after 19 years because the comic fell under the spell of a mysterious guru who practices...
U.S. JETS KILL CIVILIANS IN AFGHANISTAN WEDDING PARTY
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - A "smart bomb" dropped from an American warplane yesterday reportedly killed scores of innocent civilians at a wedding in southern Afghanistan in one of the worst accidents of...
THIS DISGRACE TO THE BADGE NO LONGER HAS REASON TO LIE
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amFOR the second time, Justin Volpe has solved the miniseries of the shocking assault on Abner Louima. The first time, at his trial May 25, 1999, he told the Brooklyn...
CLOCK TICKING ON MET MESS
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amPHILADELPHIA - After 81 games, the Mets have all but drowned in a glass of expectations now not even half filled. Yet another first day of the rest of their...
BACK WORRIES TRACHSEL
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amMET NOTES The day after his start against the Braves last Wednesday morning, Steve Trachsel thought he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. The 31-year-old thought the...
HE'S B'WAY BOBBY : HOLIK, RANGERS AGREE ON 5-YR., $45M CONTRACT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amThat was a clap of hockey thunder over the Hudson last night, a roar by the name of Bobby Holik, whose free agent defection from the Meadowlands to Manhattan signals...
HOJO'S GETTING FEEL FOR RIDING CYCLONES
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amRookie manager Howard Johnson likes to say that his Brooklyn Cyclones are a work in progress through 13 games. Fact is, so is he. "Absolutely. It's like playing; you never...
BIRD FINALLY LANDS ON GARDEN'S FLOOR
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amSue Bird has accomplished almost everything someone can in women's basketball, from leading one of the top high school teams in the nation when she played for Christ the King...
COST-CONSCIOUS ISLES MULL AMONTE, DARIUS
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amThe addition of some high-priced mercenary talent like this year's free- agent crop offers would be nice. But the question for mid-level payroll teams like the Islanders is, are they...
NETS PUT SUMMER PIECES INTO PLACE
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amWhile assistant coach Eddie Jordan interviewed in Denver yesterday for the Nuggets head coaching position, the Nets remained busy completing details on off-season chores. Those tasks included formulating their summer...
KNICKS SET SIGHTS ON SONICS' CENTER
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amOn the first day of free agency, the Knicks were finalizing their summer league roster. Not exactly big news but the Knicks have made plenty the past week. GM Scott...
THE RICH GET RICHER: YANKS LAND MONDESI
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amLooking to upgrade in right field, where Shane Spencer and John Vander Wal have been disappointing, the Yankees last night stole power-hitting, bullet-throwing Raul Mondesi from the Blue Jays for...
RAUL'S STILL IN SHOCK, AGENT SAYS
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amAgent Jeff Moorad drove from New York to Philadelphia with Mo Vaughn yesterday. This morning he traveled the New Jersey Turnpike in the other direction to make sure everything was...
STRUGGLING WHITE VOWS TO GET IT RIGHT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES Rondell White never has played for a team as good as the Yankees. He lives in a stunning apartment near the United Nations. He loves everything about New...
NEW GUY WILL TEST TORRE
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amSITTING in his home dugout Saturday, Joe Torre reiterated he could have managed Albert Belle without polluting the clubhouse or diluting the Yankee way. The point came during a Subway...
CYCLONE BATS COME SCREECHING TO A HALT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amScrappers 7Cyclones 3 Surrender four runs in the final two innings and you're not going to win many games. Fail to get a hit in the final 42/3 innings and...
HALFWAY HOME, METS 11½ BACK
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amPhillies 6Mets 3 Shawn Estes sat in the dugout with his cap off and his hair mussed. His night was done and he looked as shell-shocked as the Met fans...
RONDELL: I'LL GET IT RIGHT
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES Rondell White never has played for a team as good as the Yankees. He lives in a stunning apartment near the United Nations. He loves everything about New...
TORRE READY FOR RISKY RAUL
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amTo THIS day, Joe Torre believes he would have been able to manage Albert Belle without disturbing the serene, professional aura around the Yankees. With the Mets swirling in chaos,...
BACK HAS TRACHSEL WORRIED
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amMET NOTES PHILADELPHIA - The day after his start against the Braves last Wednesday morning, Steve Trachsel thought he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. The 31-year-old...
STRONG WHIFF OF FAILURE: BURNITZ BLUNDERING THROUGH SEASON TO FORGET
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amPHILADELPHIA - When Jeromy Burnitz returned to the Mets, the team that drafted him, he did not want the No. 5 he had worn as a rookie. Burnitz wears No....
KNICKS TARGET SONICS' CENTER
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amOn the first day of free agency, the Knicks were finalizing their summer league roster. Not exactly big news but the Knicks have made plenty the past week. GM Scott...
NETS PUT SUMMER PIECES IN PLACE
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amWhile assistant coach Eddie Jordan interviewed in Denver yesterday for the Nuggets head coaching position, the Nets remained busy completing details on off-season chores. That included formulating their summer league...
YANKS LAND MONDESI FROM BLUE JAYS: SALARY DUMP PUTS SLUGGER IN BRONX FOR MINOR-LEAGUER
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amThe Yankees, swooping in as the money-losing Blue Jays look to dump salary, completed a deal for slugger Raul Mondesi yesterday, sending nondescript Double-A pitcher Scott Wiggins to Toronto. Mondesi,...
RANGERS SET TO SHOP
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amA CURIOUS opening day of the unrestricted market turned to night without the Rangers having extended a single bona fide offer to even one of the elite free agents who...
STUNNED DEVILS EYEING ANSWERS
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amAfter 20 years as squabbling neighbors, the Rangers finally unleashed their fiscal power on their nearest rival and dealt the Devils a mortal blow. It is unmitigated disaster for the...
DEVS BATTLING TO KEEP HOLIK
July 2, 2002 | 4:00amThe bidding war for Bobby Holik is on, paced early by Toronto and the Devils, the latter said to be ready to match the best offer their recent centerman receives....