February 15, 2006
IPO PAYS BIG FOR SCHRAGER
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amConvicted tax evader and former Studio 54 king Ian Schrager walked away from yesterday's IPO of Morgans Hotel Group a wealthier man even though he's no longer the head of...
SEC CASE HINGES ON FLIPPING KNIGHT TRADER
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amThe Securities and Exchange Commission is hoping to get a former top Knight Securities trader to testify against his one-time boss in the feds' case against one of the 1990s'...
ROOM FOR A HOTEL - TRIBECA SITE EYED; BIDDERS EYE TRIBECA HOTEL
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amAN historic building that's one of the last crown jewels of TriBeCa is now crawling with hoteliers ready to plunk down in excess of $100 million to set you up...
DISNEY BEAMS MOVIES
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amStocks of movie-rental companies got knocked for a loop yesterday by Walt Disney's launch of a new service that beams high-definition flicks into homes over the airways - for anytime...
BUDGET IS CUT - AWARD-WINNING INDIE MAG SHUTS DOWN
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amBUDGET Living has apparently run out of time and is shutting down - the kiss of death was delivered on Valentine's Day. Two months ago, Media Ink broke the news...
GATES RETAKE$ CROWN FROM GOOGLE GUYS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amBill Gates seems completely cured of his case of Google envy - at least in terms of having the biggest payday. Just one month after Google's two young founders eclipsed...
KARAOKE'S FORTUNATE FRONTMAN
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amLIKE a rock 'n' roll version of Stephen King's "Pet Sematary," the Aussie rock band INXS has been brought back to life after getting planted in the old Indian burial...
NEW PLAYERS BRING DYNAMIC SHIFT, SAME DOUBT
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amONE of the English-speaking theater's greatest actresses, the gloriously acidulated Dame Eileen Atkins, is bringing surprisingly new possibilities to "Doubt." Good plays - and John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer- and Tony-winning...
JUST A COUPLA CHEAT SKATES
February 15, 2006 | 5:00am'SKATING with Celebrities" finalists Lloyd Eisler and Kristy Swanson weren't doing all their spins and lifts on the ice. Professional-skater Eisler left his wife - who was pregnant - during...
MY BACK STAGES - TWYLA TALKS ABOUT HER DYLAN SHOW
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amSAN DIEGO - Twyla Tharp has unveiled her much-anticipated Bob Dylan project here at the Old Globe and while the reviews have been mixed, there's no question in the minds...
'I DIDN'T MEAN IT': SIMON
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amSIMON Cowell is blaming the producers of "American Idol" for transforming him from Mr. Nasty into the Minister of Mean. Cowell has been blasted for wisecracks he made about not...
STARR REPORT
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amRay's 'Garage' debut Kinks legend Ray Davies gets the royal treatment this weekend on "Little Steven's Underground Garage" (Sirius/Ch. 25), hosted by "Sopranos" co-star and Bruce Springsteen guitarist Steven Van...
A FAIRY TALE - THAT BUZZ YOU HEAR IS NEW 'NEXT TOP MODEL'
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amPETER Pan's little friend, Tinkerbell, couldn't even hope to vamp like these winged beauties. Meet the latest crop of wannabe supermodels appearing on the latest edition of "America's Next Top...
TEEN CHUB CLUB - MTV GOES TO 'FAT CAMP'
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amACCORDING to a recent study, American teens are the fattest in the industrialized world. Fatter than Germany, France, Italy, and you name it. In fact, one recent study showed that...
TOYS ARE US - MOVE OVER, BARBIE. FOR $425, YOU CAN BUY ULTIMATE I-DOLL-ATRY; THEY HELP YOU GET ALL DOLLED UP
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amBE the hero you always knew you could be. Just don't be fat - because they might not have that action figure in stock. "We used to have the fat...
OTHER VICTIM IN DEL POSTO BATTLE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amCHEF Tom Colicchio is planning to bring a branch of 'wichcraft, his upscale sandwich emporium, to the space next to Mario Batali's beleaguered Del Posto restaurant. But he says he'll...
CUCKOO FOR COCOA - SPILLING THE BEANS ABOUT WINTER'S HOT COMFORT DRINK
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amIN the past few years, restaurants have been upping the hot-chocolate ante, igniting them with hot peppers, fueling them with liqueurs and making them thick as lava. But sometimes all...
BUM & BUMMER - DEL POSTO AND MORIMOTO SHAPING UP AS THE CLASH OF THE TITANICS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amIT took three arm-weary waiters at Del Posto's ship-length service station 10 noisy minutes to whip up one order of zabaglione - and it got to my table ice-cold. At...
CANINE 'KING' IS ALL SMILES
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amMeet America's new top dog, Rufus (above, last night), a funny-faced bull terrier with a wide grin. The 5-year-old champion shocked the Madison Square Garden audience and even his handler,...
THE WACKY WAYS OF JURY SELECTION
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amTHERE were 250 people yesterday in the jury pool for John "Junior" Gotti's retrial and each got a questionnaire. Now, this questionnaire is supposed to help the judge, prosecutors and...
LIFE OF THE (THIRD) PARTIES: WHO NEEDS THEM?
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amWILL this be the year that New York's minor parties finally are forced to give up the ghost? Maybe - but even if they do survive, it will only be...
HOLY BEHIND ED-TAX PLAN
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amALBANY - Edward Cardinal Egan yesterday called on the Legislature to back Gov. Pataki's push for an education tax credit. "Here is an opportunity to help all of the children...
LOVE WHAT DOCTOR ORDERED FOR L.I. COUPLE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA disabled man and woman - who have struggled for years to overcome crippling brain injuries - met at a Long Island rehabilitation center and discovered that love is the...
MOUSSAOUI MOUTH - 'KKK & GAY' GUFF GETS TERRORIST TOSSED
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amALEXANDRIA, Va. - Convicted 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui called his fellow French citizens "homosexual crusaders" and his lawyers "KKK" and "geisha" yesterday - earning him a quick hook from the...
9 MONTHS IN JAIL FOR ARIEL'S SON
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Ariel Sharon's eldest son was hit with a surprisingly harsh nine-month prison sentence yesterday for illegally raising funds for his father's 1999 political campaign. Omri Sharon had been...
MIKE WINS KEY RULING AGAINST GAY BENEFITS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amALBANY - In a major victory for Mayor Bloomberg over the City Council, the state's highest court yesterday ruled that he doesn't have to obey a law prohibiting the city...
HOOP LAWYER IS BOUNCED
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA judge called a technical foul yesterday on Bruce Ratner's bid to build a $3.5 billion basketball arena in Brooklyn. While she refused to block the demolition of buildings within...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amMANHATTAN * Cops are asking for assistance in identifying a mugger who has attacked several women inside Lower East Side apartment elevators. The suspect (above) punched a 46-year-old woman inside...
HS PRINCIPAL-WIFE WOE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amThe city Department of Education moved yesterday to fire the teacher wife of a former principal after investigators said the couple lied about their address in order to get their...
REPORTER TRAFFICKED IN KIDDIE PORN: COPS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA traffic reporter at a Long Island radio station could be on the road to prison after federal agents charged him with possessing a huge stash of sickening kiddie-porn pictures....
DATA ON ATTA WAS NEWLY UNCOVERED
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The bombshell discovery of information on 9/11 mastermind Mohamed Atta's activities before the World Trade Center attacks is the result of recently discovered data from a secret Pentagon...
DADDY IS 'DEF' BEHIND - RAPPER $HORTS KIDS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amMos Def is most definitely coming up short on his child support. The actor and rapper yesterday said he is doing his best to make the $10,000 monthly payment to...
WIFE RIPS CHEATIN' GOPER - SLAMS GOV HOPEFUL'S 'JUDGMENT'
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amALBANY - The rejected wife of Republican gubernatorial hopeful Patrick Manning blasted her husband's "poor judgments" yesterday as she spent a sad Valentine's Day preparing to flee the glare of...
PIRRO VOWS TO FIGHT PERVS & MED FRAUD
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amTough-talking former Westchester County DA Jeanine Pirro vowed to make Medicaid fraud and the civil confinement of sexual predators her top priorities if elected state attorney general. "You give me...
SMORE CRAZY TALK FROM LOWER E. SIDE 'KILLER'
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amThe accused teen shooter in the fatal Lower East Side mugging of an actress is trying to dodge justice by pretending to be crazy - even claiming he's been visited...
AGENCY BLASTS EX-CEO - SUES OVER 'RIP-OFF'
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA Bronx nonprofit agency is suing its former CEO, charging she paid herself $300,000 a year without permission, used corporate funds to buy life-insurance policies and spent more than $1...
A VERY 'DASHING' MILLIONAIRE - $41M LOTTO WINNER TAKES MONEY & RUNS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amHe's New York's newest most eligible bachelor - but he's also the shyest. Jay Sung, 31, of Queens bolted from his own press conference yesterday after accepting a $41 million...
DOCS SAY PATIENT MUST BE WATCHED CLOSELY
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amThe 78-year-old Texas lawyer shot by Vice President Dick Cheney has a good prognosis despite having suffered a minor heart attack yesterday caused by a pellet lodged in or near...
NORMAN DUE THIRD TRIAL
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amThe state's highest court says ousted Assemblyman Clarence Norman will have to face trial - again. The Court of Appeals said yesterday they would not listen to arguments by Norman's...
JUNIOR'S JUDGE SHOWS HER BIG HEART - ALLOWS VALENTINE'S BASH
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amJohn "Junior" Gotti got a special birthday and Valentine's Day gift rolled into one yesterday - a one-night reprieve from house arrest to dine out with his family. Manhattan federal...
DAD TELLS OF TOT-STAB HORROR
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA heartsick Bronx dad, whose 18-month-old son was viciously stabbed by the boy's "Jekyll and Hyde" uncle, gave a harrowing account yesterday of the bloody rampage that was sparked over...
3 KIDS ACCUSE TEACH OF FONDLING
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA teacher was charged with sex abuse yesterday after he allegedly fondled three students in a Brooklyn elementary school. Dolph Timmerman, 51, of Queens, who also faces child-endangerment charges, turned...
JUDGE OKS 'MOB' LAWYER FOR DEFENSE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA federal judge will allow a lawyer with alleged mob ties to represent a reputed Gambino soldier, despite seeing images of him visiting a frail-looking John Gotti in prison. Brooklyn...
$2.9M IN A SNAP AT AUCTION
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA picture of a pond made tidal waves in New York last night - fetching $2.928 million, a world record for a photograph sold at auction. Edward Steichen's "The Pond-Moonlight"...
IT'S TAKEN HIM 40 YEARS, BUT CHENEY FINALLY SAW SOME ACTION.
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The elderly lawyer shot by Vice President Dick Cheney in a hunting accident suffered a "minor heart attack" yesterday caused by the birdshot lodged in his body -...
24 'PERVS' IN COP 'NET' - SOLDIER, FIREFIGHTER & ACTOR AMONG MEN CAUGHT IN WEB SEX STING
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amOne is an accomplished Army lieutenant-colonel. Another, a respected Long Island fireman. A third is a well-educated budding actor. These seemingly upstanding citizens were among two dozen of the state's...
A BLIZZARD OF TICKETS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amThe city yesterday began slapping building owners with fines for failing to shovel snow off their sidewalks. Two days after a storm dumped a record 26.9 inches of snow on...
FAKE HACK IN SNOW ATTACK
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA man posing as a livery driver drew a knife and sexually assaulted a woman desperately attempting to get to Kennedy Airport during the weekend snowstorm, police said yesterday. The...
WAYNE'S A WILY COYOTE - OLYMPIC 'DODGE' BALL
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA bleary-eyed Wayne Gretzky and his wife, Janet "High Roller" Jones, descended into a global media maelstrom at the Winter Olympics yesterday, but maintained a stone wall of silence about...
MA BEGGED BABY-STAB BRO TO STOP SLICING SON
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA distraught Bronx mom whose 18-month-old son was stabbed by her deranged brother told The Post yesterday how she begged her wild-eyed sibling to spare her child. "He grabbed my...
MISCARRIAGE WASN'T OUR FAULT: CUSTOMS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amU.S. customs officials are denying claims by a pregnant illegal immigrant who says she was denied medical care while being deported back to China - causing her to miscarry her...
FAT NICK: ROBBIN' MADE ME 'BAT'MAN
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amHoward Beach hate-crime thug Nicholas "Fat Nick" Minucci confessed that he brutally beat a black man, but insisted he was only trying to detain him for police. "The moron he...
OPEN SEASON ON SILENT DICK AFTER HIS VICTIM HAS HEART ATTACK
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The elderly lawyer shot by Vice President Dick Cheney in a hunting accident suffered a "minor heart attack" yesterday caused by the birdshot lodged in his body -...
MUSLIM MADMEN IN MAC ATTACK - RONALD STATUE BURNED IN PAKISTAN
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA group of rampaging Muslim extremists in Pakistan definitely would not like fries with that - as they torched a Ronald McDonald statue to protest the Prophet Mohammed cartoons. The...
ELIOT KO'D FED GRILLING OF AIDE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amAttorney General Elliot Spitzer personally intervened with a congressional panel to get a top aide out of testifying at an explosive hearing on pre-9/11 intelligence failures, sources told The Post...
LOW ODDS FOR BALL & CHENEY
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amDick Cheney could face a felony aggravated-assault rap - or, if his wounded buddy dies, even negligent homicide. But it would be a cold day in Texas before either scenario...
'PERV' TEACH BUSTS - 'TOUCHER' & 'TAPER'
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amTwo teachers were busted yesterday - one for allegedly fondling three 10-year-old girls, the other for inviting a teenage boy to live with him, then secretly taping him, police said...
COURT SPARES JERSEY DEPORT GIRL, 5
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA 5-year-old New Jersey girl facing deportation got a sweet Valentine's Day surprise: a federal-court ruling that lets her stay in the United States with her mom. Arianna Adan, an...
SAY SORRY, MR. VEEP - OVAL OFFICE UNDER OPEN FIRE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amON Monday, I wrote a short squib on a conservative blog suggesting that the vice president needed to come out and make a statement expressing his contrition at the accidental...
DEPORT GIRL, 5, SPARED - CAN STAY IN U.S.
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA 5-year-old New Jersey girl facing deportation got a sweet Valentine's Day surprise: a federal court ruling that lets her stay in the United States with her mom. Arianna Adan,...
A CASE OF 'EYE' LOVE YOU - VISION DOC KEEPS LID ON V-DAY SURPRISE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA New Jersey man charted out the perfect marriage proposal on Valentine's Day - asking his girlfriend to marry him yesterday while she got her eyes checked. Taking "Will You...
ARIEL'S SON GETS PRISON - UNEXPECTED HARSH SENTENCE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Ariel Sharon's eldest son was hit by a surprisingly harsh nine-month prison sentence yesterday for illegally raising funds for his father's 1999 political campaign. Omri Sharon had been...
HS PRINCIPAL-WIFE STRIFE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amThe city Education Department moved yesterday to fire the teacher wife of a former principal after investigators said the couple lied about their address in order to get their child...
FAT NICK: I DID IT, TO HELP COPS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amHoward Beach thug Nicholas "Fat Nick" Minucci confessed to cops that he brutally beat a black man, but insisted he was only trying to detain the man for police. "The...
WAYNE A WILY 'COYOTE' - HE SKATES PAST PRESS AT OLYMPICS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amA bleary-eyed Wayne Gretzky and his wife, Janet "High Roller" Jones, descended into a global media maelstrom at the Winter Olympics yesterday but maintained a stone wall of silence about...
MISCARRY NOT OUR FAULT: FEDS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amU.S. customs officials are denying claims by a pregnant illegal immigrant who says she was denied medical care while being deported back to China - causing her to miscarry her...
$NOW JOKE! SHOVEL OR PAY PRICE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amMake sure your sidewalk is free of snow and ice- because the cityWILL fine you if it isn't. Two days after a storm dumped a record 26.9 inches of snow...
JEFFERSON BACK WHERE HE TOOK FALL
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amNET NOTES AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The last time Richard Jefferson took the court at the Palace here, he wound up landing on his left wrist, effectively ending his season....
GIANTS LOOKING FOR LEGITIMATE BACKUP
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amThe Giants will soon be looking to add another quarterback, either during the NFL free-agent signing period that begins March 3 or in the NFL Draft in late April. Either...
DARYLL FORCED DOWN AND OUT
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amST. JOHN'S at RUTGERS - Tonight 7:30 - FSN; WOR (710), WQEW (1560) Daryll Hill's season came to a close yesterday and in all probability, so did his career at...
YOUNG AMERICANS - 12 NEW OLYMPIANS ON MEN'S HOCKEY TEAM
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amTURIN, Italy - Jordan Leopold was born in 1980, the year the Lake Placid miracle took place. Scott Gomez was 1 year old then. The American hockey generation inspired by...
ROGER MAY HEED MOM'S LAST WISH
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amBefore she passed away, Roger Clemens' mom wanted him to move on. Clemens said yesterday that among his mother's "final wishes" before she died last September were for the Rocket...
DUDDY SEEKS QUICK RETURN TO FORM
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amJohn Duddy is a first-round knockout specialist, but the Northern Ireland native is also a realist. On Feb. 4, he was tested against Julio Jean, who owned a mediocre 7-6-1...
ALEJO-ROD LEADS WAY FOR MOUNT
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amHS HOOPS: MSM 59 - Hayes 56 Alejo Rodriguez didn't have any visions of winning a title when he arrived at Mount St. Michael as a freshman. "I just wanted...
WAGS WON'T GO EASY ON BELTRAN, DELGADO
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amMET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - Billy Wagner is fired up about being a Met and about the World Baseball Classic. When he's wearing that USA across his chest next...
PEDRO'S IN A TOE JAM - MARTINEZ COMES TO CAMP WITH FOOT PROBLEM
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amPORT ST. LUCIE - The new haircut and new frame were on display for Pedro Martinez, who showed up for spring training yesterday with shorter locks, added weight and an...
FOR METS, IT'S ON WITH THE SHOE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amPORT ST. LUCIE - Mets fans, your spring training just got a whole lot scarier yesterday with Pedro Martinez' Tale of the Toe. Pedro put his best foot forward, carefully...
JETS WORKING HARD TO GET UNDER CAP
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amNow that their coaching staff and management team are almost completely in place, the Jets are actively working to whittle their bloated salary cap number down to something manageable. The...
JERSEY BOYS COOKING UP SOME SOAP
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amINTRIGUING, fascinating, captivating - what shall we call it? As New Jersey Turns? Desperate Coaches? Just when it seemed as if Louis Orr had gotten off the hot seat at...
ALL-STAR START FLIPS VINCE OUT
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amNET NOTES AUBURN HILLS - Vince Carter may be starting in the All-Star Game anyway. Carter, who for the first time in his career was not voted a starter by...
ROCKY ROAD - NETS MISFIRE VS. PISTONS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amPistons 85 - Nets 71 AUBURN HILLS - The Pistons finished the night far removed from the north side of 40-percent shooting. For the longest time, the league's best team...
PIRATES TAKE A HUGE STEP TOWARD DANCE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amS. Hall 71 - West Va. 64 Just as the final seconds of Seton Hall's 71-64 win ticked off the clock last night, blue-and-white clad students stormed the Meadowlands court...
TOO MANY QUESTIONS UNANSWERED
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amTURIN, Italy - Even Wayne Gretzky chuckled when the public relations flack running yesterday's press conference opened asking for questions only about hockey. Surprisingly, though, the press conference was dominated...
WAYNE TRIES TO PASS THE PUCK - NOW HE'S ONLY A GREAT DISTRACTION
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amTURIN, Italy - Eight questions out of the 12 put to Wayne Gretzky by persons with almost entirely familiar Canadian faces were about "The Great One" yesterday, not his Canadian...
BLOOM'S FAREWELL ON WAY TO NFL
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amTurin 2006 Notebook TURIN, Italy - Jeremy Bloom knows today may be his last competitive skiing event. He hopes it's not his last time in the athletic limelight. The U.S....
THE WRIGHT WAY - NETS GUARD EARNS TIME WITH SOME HARD WORK
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amAUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The Nets limped home from an 0-4 road trip at the end of January and found - oh, joy! - the Detroit Pistons waiting. The Nets...
ROCKY ROAD - NETS MISFIRE VS. PISTONS NETS
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amPistons 85 - Nets 71 AUBURN HILLS - The Pistons finished the night far removed from the north side of 40-percent shooting. For the longest time, the league's best team...
FRANCIS MAY END UP IN NY
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amThe Knicks have become one of the frontrunners for Orlando point guard Steve Francis if he is traded. As reported here Sunday, the Knicks are shopping Penny Hardaway's expiring contract...
ROSE BOWLED OVER
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amJalen Rose says he's joined a team whose players don't know what it takes to be on a winner. Rose is 0-6 as a Knick and looks for his first...
HALL FORGETS ROUT
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amSeton Hall came into last night's tilt with No. 11 West Virginia still stinging from Saturday's 42-point beating at the hands of top-ranked Connecticut. That lopsided loss, combined with an...
GRETZKY: SCANDAL 'OVER AND DONE'
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amTURIN, Italy - Another day, another continent, another whitewash by Wayne Gretzky, whose assistant coach is under New Jersey police investigation for running a sports-gambling ring, whose wife authorities believe...
RILED RAPTOR - FORMER KNICK DAVIS BLASTS FORMER TEAM
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amWhat a mess! Ex-Knick Antonio Davis continued to air the Knicks' dirty laundry, pointing the finger yesterday at Larry Brown for ruining the confidence of the team's young players with...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
February 15, 2006 | 5:00amWhat do you do when you lose $40,000 on a Super Bowl bet? Vanish! Wyoming cops say Marvin Hackworth of Gillette staged his own disappearance in the Bighorn Mountains after...