June 2, 2004

9/11 ‘DEAD WIFE’ SCAMMER GUILTY

A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty yesterday to inventing a dead wife in order to scam World Trade Center charities out of $100,000. Carlton McNish, 51, of Tobyhanna, couldn't even get...

TEARS FOR A ‘ROSE’ ; PALS AT JUILLIARD WAKE

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. - Hundreds of grieving friends of Juilliard student Sarah Fox last night recalled at her wake how the talented would-be star touched them - a sentiment eerily echoed...

FINEST, BRAVEST FLY TO FALCON’S AID

A peregrine falcon whose family calls lower Manhattan home tumbled into the street last night, sending cops, firefighters and animal-control officers rushing to its aid. "It's baby-bird season, and they're...

BRAD A REAL ART-THROB TO HS STUDENT

A talented schoolgirl who adores Brad Pitt got the thrill of a lifetime when she exhibited her paintings - and the hunky superstar fell in love with one and bought...

‘RAPE’ PUZZLE – GIRLS TELL SHIFTING TALE: COPS

Two Manhattan girls reported they were gang-raped over the holiday weekend by a group of knife-wielding thugs - but their story started crumbling under investigation, police said yesterday. They initially...

STEW’S FIANCEE HOSPITALIZED

Stewart Elliott, jockey of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones, was forced to cancel numerous appearances in New York yesterday so that he could be with his fiancee, Lauren...

ZITO WON’T CONCEDE ; TRAINER LIKES HIS DUO

NO TRAINER in the business has a more exasperat- ing history with the Belmont Stakes than Nick Zito, who has saddled five highly-regarded and well-bet horses in the classic, only...

TOTTENVILLE REACHES PSAL SEMIS

H. S. BASEBALL Tottenville wasn't supposed to be as strong as it was a year ago when it won the PSAL championship, but the Pirates are now one step away...

METS FOCUS ON EYEGLASS RX FOR KAZ

MET NOTES PHILADELPHIA - Kaz Matsui may start seeing things a whole lot more clearly. The Met shortstop is experimenting with a pair of glasses he may eventually wear in...

TWO MUCH TO HANDLE – ZEILE, LEITER LIFT METS OVER PHILS

10 Innings Mets 4 Phillies 1 PHILADELPHIA - Todd Zeile came to the Mets to be a role player. A backup. One last tour on his 15-year career. But so...

YOU CAN’T FIRE ME, I QUIT: KARMAZIN

Mel jumped before he was pushed. In recent weeks, Viacom President Mel Karmazin realized he was being cut out of the company's succession plans - and decided to vacate his...

VIACOM SUCCESSION PLAN PUTS TWO FRIENDS AT ODDS

Viacom supplanted one political drama with another yesterday. After president Mel Karmazin's resignation, Viacom laid the groundwork for three more years of boardroom intrigue by naming CBS chief Les Moonves...

WITH PATIENCE, SUMNER WINS AGAIN

SUMNER Redstone finally got his wish: Mel's gone. Now Sumner gets to keep those CBS assets he paid so dearly for - without having to keep Karmazin around any longer....

SHARI IS THE NEW POWER

With Mel Karmazin's abrupt departure, the Viacom spotlight may shift to Shari Redstone, who has assumed a bigger role at her father's company. While the elder Redstone insists his daughter...

RANDOM HOUSE BUMPS UP PUB DATE FOR BUCKLEY BOOK

CHRIS Buckley, whose day job is editing the lifestyle mag FYI for the Forbes brothers, has just handed in the manuscript for his next novel: "Florence of Arabia." Newly minted...

TONY’S FINALE A RATINGS KILLER

ANTICIPATION is building for Sunday's season finale of "The Sopranos" - and HBO is hoping for a knockout ratings punch. There's good reason to believe that will happen: The show's...

OPTIMISM’S ON ROLL, SAYS POLL

Americans say they're getting more optimistic - and that's a big plus for President Bush, a new study has found. According to a recent Harris Poll, the number of people...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN *** A teenager attempted to rob a man at knifepoint in Sunset Park, law-enforcement sources said yesterday. James Reese, 18, confronted Jin Chen on the corner of 52nd Street...

KERRY FEARS NUKE ATTACK

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry says the No. 1 threat facing America is terrorists attacking with nuclear weapons, and he promised yesterday to do everything he can to prevent it....

SHARON: PULL OUT OR LOSE U.S. HELP

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned his reluctant Cabinet yesterday that President Bush would back off his unprecedented promises to Israel if it fails to pull out of the...

YANKEL KILLER FREED

Lemrick Nelson Jr., who fatally stabbed Yankel Rosenbaum during the 1991 Crown Heights riots, today will be released from federal prison, where he served time for violating the civil rights...

NO-SEE-UMS BUG ‘EM ; TOO MANY TONY VOTERS SKIPPING THE SHOWS

ONE press agent calls it "votergate." A veteran producer says it's "a problem that has been going on for years." And a former drama critic says it's a scandal people...

ANTI-BIAS DEAL AT LAFAYETTE HS

The city has agreed to stop the "severe" harassment of Asian immigrant students that has been going on for years at Brooklyn's Lafayette HS - under a bombshell settlement of...

THE ‘PSYCHO’ PSEUDO PRINCESS; COURT ORDERS THERAPY

Pretend princess Antoinette Millard is hoping to avoid jail by ascending a new throne -a psychiatrist's couch. Millard, 40, a divorced Buffalo native, is an accused $260,000 insurance scammer who...

HOME AIDE BEAT L.I. GRANNY: COPS

A home-care aide was arrested and charged with abusing an 88-year-old Long Island woman - beating her and causing her to fall - after the abuse was caught on videotape....

PACERS GOT LICKED WITH AN UGLY STICK

AUBURN HILLS - "Beat L.A.," "Beat L.A.," The Palace crowd chanted during the Eastern Conference championship ceremony last night, in hailing their victorious Pistons. The Motown mob are the only...

HAMSTRING WOE SEND KENNY TO DL

Kenny Lofton's left hamstring has the veteran outfielder on the DL for the second time this season. In the ninth inning of last night's 8-7 win over the Orioles at...

BIG BEN TO WAVE THE FLAG

PLAYOFF NOTES AUBURN HILLS - The U.S. men's Olympic basketball team should begin coming into clearer focus today when, according to coach Larry Brown, Team USA officials will hold discussions...

SERVIS – PACE WILL BE THE KEY

Smarty Jones' ability to stay a mile-and-a-half in Saturday's Belmont Stakes is the big unknown as he guns for the Triple Crown. But it's not the distance that worries trainer...

INDY CHAMP’S ‘VICTORY LAP’ HITS NYC

Buddy Rice is not a household name yet. But he's working on it. The 28-year-old Arizona native battled long odds and the inclement weather to win the 88th Indianapolis 500...

MOOSE ANSWERS CALL FOR YANKEES

IT couldn't have been a better homecoming for the Yankees. A 12-game road trip yielded an 8-4 record, tying the most wins by the Yankees on a trip in the...

A MEMORABLE MEMORIAL DAY

I'VE had a long relationship with a Montauk-based charter boat called the Adios - one that spans more than 25 years - and while the captain and the mate have...

HUNTER: IT’S TOO EARLY TO CROWN L.A.

AUBURN HILLS - Don't give the Lakers the crown just yet, Lindsey Hunter says. Hunter, the Pistons' backup point guard, won the title with the Lakers in a 2002 sweep...

MAZ MANAGING JUST FINE

Baltimore manager Lee Mazzilli swore he knew exactly where he was going when he arrived at Yankee Stadium last night, that he didn't hesitate nor turn right toward the familiar...

KENNY EYES NET RETURN

AUBURN HILLS - Kenny Anderson wants to come back to New Jersey. Anderson, once considered the Nets' future, has been an afterthought on the Pacers' playoff bench. But when he...

KENNY CAN’T PLAY – LOFTON GETS MRI EXAM, COULD BE HEADED TO DL

"If this thing hangs on and it gets to a period of time then you have to make a decision." - JOE TORRE on Kenny Lofton's hamstring woes According to...

GIAMBI CLOSE TO RETURNING

YANKEE NOTES Jason Giambi's recovery from a sprained right ankle will take a step forward tonight when he is slated to play first base for seven innings for Tampa (Single-A)....

MEL EYES DISNEY’S TOP SPOT

Representatives for Mel Karmazin are expected to reach out to Walt Disney's board of directors soon about the possibility of the former Viacom president succeeding Disney honcho Michael Eisner, The...

FORSTMANN DEFENDS INVESTMENT CHOICES

Buyout bigwig Ted Forstmann took the stand in court yesterday to defend his firm's right to invest in two telecom startups, even if they did blow up and cost investors...

BOOGIE MAN MYSTERY – SIX FLAGS WON’T REVEAL WHO HE IS

MOVE over Mickey Mouse, Six Flags is trying to turn the mysterious dancing old guy from their new ads into the next theme park icon. In the infectious national spots...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Kevin Carlos was so excited about graduating, he did a back flip on stage - but educators in Houma, La., were not amused. Now they're making the Ellender HS senior...

STEALING MILK $$ – SCHOOL BIG LIVED HIGH LIFE ON $1M EMBEZZLE: DA

A Long Island school administrator has been busted and charged with stealing at least $1 million from her school district and spending it on luxury homes, expensive cars and other...

JETS LAUNCHING TV AIR WAR VS. MSG

The NFL Jets will counter-attack opponents of their proposed West Side stadium today by launching a battery of new TV ads touting the benefits of the $1.4 billion project on...

QAEDA’S HIGH-RISE SLAY PLOT ; PLANNED APT. BLASTS: FEDS

A Brooklyn-born terrorist plotted with al Qaeda to blow up high-rise New York apartment buildings using natural gas, the government charged yesterday. The chilling plan was approved and partly financed...

NEW TUNE FOR CITY SCHOOLS

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday announced the hiring of new dance and theater directors to spruce up arts programming in the city public schools. Joan Finkelstein, who oversaw dance programming at the...

HAPPY HUBBY A DISGRACE TO MANKIND

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Why on earth is this man smiling? The Husband from Hell strode lightly into the courtroom in a khaki suit and a love-me grin. Fourteen months...

BUSH HAILS IRAQ’S NEW TOP TEAM

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday enthusiastically embraced the "patriots" heading Iraq's new government - and said it's fine if the new leaders disagree with him, since they're not, as a...

TENANT SLASHER TALKS

A Queens man accused last year of viciously slicing two neighbors as they slept told cops he was following orders from the building's landlord, according to a videotaped statement played...

SUBWAY SHOOTING; GUNMAN HITS GEORGIA BEAUTY IN TIMES SQUARE

A model who played a bit part on TV's "Law and Order" became the center of a real-life crime drama beneath Times Square yesterday when she was shot by a...

BRAD A REAL ART-THROB TO HS GIRL

A talented schoolgirl who adores Brad Pitt got the thrill of a lifetime when she exhibited her paintings - and the hunky superstar fell in love with one and bought...

WING & A PRAYER ; CHURCH WOMAN SKIPPED DEATH VAN TO FLY

A parishioner who had been set to ride in the Bronx church van that crashed and burned in Canada over the weekend - killing three fellow worshippers - cheated death...

MAZ LEARNING PATIENCE PAYS

Baltimore manager Lee Mazzilli says he can't be Joe Torre. He can't be Don Zimmer or Jim Leyland or any other baseball man he'd played for or learned from. But...

PISTONS EARN L.A. TICKET

GAME 6 / BOX: P. 67 Pistons 69Pacers 65 AUBURN HILLS - Richard Hamilton remembered the look. He saw it in Jason Kidd's eyes after the Nets swept the Pistons...

RIVERA STRUGGLES, YANKEES SURVIVE

THIS was a Mariano Rivera we have seldom, if ever, seen: falling behind hitters, struggling to throw strikes, giving up runs in bunches. This should have been an easy night...

VALENZUELA BID DENIED

Pat Valenzuela is out and Alex Solis is in as the rider of Rock Hard Ten in the Belmont Stakes after the Los Angeles Superior Court denied P. Val a...

PISTONS HAVE THE LOOK – HAMILTON SEES KILLER INSTINCT

AUBURN HILLS - Richard Hamilton remembered the look. He saw it on Kenyon Martin's face as he danced atop the press table at the Meadowlands. He saw it in Jason...

THE LEITER FACTOR – MET DEAL(S)MAY HINGEON HOW ALHOLDS UP

PHILADELPHIA - When Al Leiter took the mound against the Phillies last night in his first appearance since May 11, more was riding on it than just a game. Leiter's...

IT’S SURGERY FOR THOMAS

Knicks power forward Kurt Thomas will undergo surgery tomorrow at Beth Israel Hospital on his dislocated right pinkie. Thomas injured the pinkie in late January but never missed a game,...

SON TAKES NEW REINS AT POLO

David Lauren, the son of designer Ralph Lauren, will add new duties to his existing corporate responsibilities as part of a senior management shuffle announced yesterday by Polo Ralph Lauren....

OIL HITS RECORD OF $42.33

Although America has plenty of oil on hand, panicked traders sent prices soaring to a record yesterday following terrorist attacks on two Saudi Arabian refinery compounds. Energy analysts say traders...

ON THE SIDE ; TOWN’S COUNTRY COUSIN

AFTER several years of scouting locations, chef Geoffrey Zakarian will open a second Manhattan restaurant. The executive chef/owner of Town will open a new place tentatively called Country sometime this...

STARR REPORT

Jill's leaving 'Live' Jillian Barberie is leaving "Good Day Live" (noon/ Ch. 5) - but will continue to co-host the show's local com ponent, "Good Day L.A." "We felt it...

BEAUTY AND THE BORED

CAMERAN Eubanks wants the world to know: "Brad [Fio renza] and I are not to gether." The "Real World San Diego" beauty was referring to a couple of racy epi...

HOME AIDE HIT L.I. GRAN: COPS

A home-care aide was arrested and charged with abusing an 88-year-old Long Island woman - beating her and causing her to fall - after the abuse was caught on videotape....

MIKE: I’LL ‘SPEND’ VOTERS A MESSAGE

Mayor Bloomberg, who shelled out $75 million to win City Hall, said yesterday he'd be "derelict in my responsibility" if he agreed to a spending limit in next year's mayoral...

‘PADDED ROOM’ SUIT DROPPED

Trespassing charges against a Hamptons woman who blew the whistle on a bizarre holding pen for disruptive students at her daughter's school last year will likely be dropped today. Susan...

WATCHDOG: TUNNEL PLAN AN $860M WEST ST. WASTE

The $860 million plan to build a tunnel under a four-block stretch of West Street has been deemed one of the most wasteful highway projects in the country, a new...

‘I SAW SLAY WITNESS MURDERED’

The suspect accused of killing an eyewitness to a murder just days before the victim was about to testify had warned he was about to open fire, a witness testified...

TEACH YANKED OVER KKK CRACKS

A Queens high-school history teacher was removed from class for making offensive remarks involving blacks and the Ku Klux Klan to students, officials said. Thomas Edison HS instructor Marie Baker...

BRIT SOAP SHOP WASHES ASHORE

CALL it 'Soap & the City.' London's best-known trendy soap, body lotion and aromatherapy shop, Molton & Brown, is opening not one, but two, stores in our sexy city -...

AUTHOR’S DEATH MAY HALT BIO

Just 10 days after the publisher Little, Brown announced it had found a writer to help historian William Manchester finish his three-part biography of Winston Churchill, Manchester died in his...

HE’S PLAYING BALL – WILPON’S METS EYE TW OR YES NETWORK DEAL

Mets owner Fred Wilpon and his financial backers are wooing Time Warner to partner in a new regional sports network, The Post has learned. Yesterday Wilpon announced he had agreed...

TRÈS SHEIK; FOR TASTY EGYPTIAN, CHERCHEZ LA FEMME

CASA LAFEMME NORTH ½ (one an one half stars) 1076 FIRST AVE. AT 59TH STREET) (212) 505-0005 'I'M sorry, but this is hysterical. Everybody's making out," my friend chuckles over...

DOUBLE FEATURE – JULIA ROBERTS’ NEW ROLE WILL BE TOUGHEST OF ALL

IF you thought Charlize Theron was unglamorous in "Monster," wait until you see Julia Roberts in her new role. Roberts and Danny Moder, her husband of two years, confirmed on...

GIFFIE HIRE HELPS RIGHT LEAKY SHIP

City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, still reeling from several high-profile defections from his staff, yesterday appointed Port Authority assistant director Charles Meara to become his chief of staff. Meara, who...

MAN SHOT, BUT DRIVES SELF HOME

A man was shot and wounded after an early-morning meeting on a Brooklyn street yesterday - then drove himself halfway across the borough, police said. The mysterious incident began shortly...

ROGER AND OUT; SHAMED POL QUITS

Disgraced Brooklyn Democratic Assemblyman Roger Green, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to submitting phony travel vouchers, abruptly resigned yesterday rather than face additional penalties. The stunning announcement was made...

WING & A PRAYER ; CHURCH LADY SKIPPED CRASH VAN TO FLY

A parishioner who had been set to ride in the Bronx church van that crashed and burned in Canada over the weekend - killing three fellow worshippers - cheated death...

TUG-OF-LOVE ENDS IN AGONY – GIRLS BAWL, MA HOWLS: ‘EVIL!’ AT HANDOVER TO DAD

The ex-Playboy model who lost custody of her twin girls for coaching them to say their father was a molester bid a heart-wrenching - and very public - goodbye yesterday,...

BONANNO RAT: I HAD TO SQUEAL

A former Bonanno capo with damning evidence against his reputed godfather testified yesterday that he had no choice but to sing to the feds once the crime family's No. 2...

2 GIRLS’ ‘RAPE’ CLAIM CRUMBLES

Two Manhattan girls reported they were gang-raped over the holiday weekend by knife-wielding thugs - but their story started crumbling under investigation, police said yesterday. They initially told detectives they...

TUG-OF-LOVE ENDS IN AGONY; GIRLS BAWL, MA HOWLS: ‘EVIL!’ AT HANDOVER TO DAD

The ex-Playboy model who lost custody of her twin girls for coaching them to say their father was a molester bid a heart-wrenching -and very public - goodbye yesterday, handing...

OPTIMISM’S ON A ROLL, SAYS POLL

Americans say they're getting more optimistic - and that's a plus for President Bush, a new study has found. According to a recent Harris Poll, the number of people who...

SUBWAY SHOOTING; MODEL WOUNDED ON TRAIN AT TIMES SQUARE

A model who played a bit part on TV's "Law and Order" became the center of a real-life crime drama beneath Times Square yesterday when a mystery gunman shot her...

CENTRAL PARK ‘SEX FIEND’ CHARGED AFTER VICTIM ID

The Central Park sex attacker thwarted by his victim's dog was charged in the assault yesterday after the woman picked him out of a lineup, police said. Tito Rodriguez, 32,...

DEREK DOMINATES ; JETER’S 2 HRS KNOCK DOWN O’S

Yankees 8Orioles 7 The Yankees and Orioles hooked up last night and two things ran to chalk: it rained and the Yankees won, thanks to a two-homer, four-hit game from...

OLD-TIMERS’ NIGHT – ZEILE, LEITER LIFT METS OVER PHILS

10 Innings Mets 4 Phillies 1 PHILADELPHIA - Two 38-year-olds were in last night's lineup for the Mets when they played the Phillies. Both were the oldest players starting for...

SMARTY FIGURES TO BE KEPT BUSY

Smarty Jones has banked $7,413,155 winning his first eight starts, and a victory in Saturday's $1 million Belmont Stakes, along with the $5 million bonus from Visa for sweeping the...

KURT AWAITS GIANTS

As expected, Kurt Warner yesterday was released by the Rams promptly at 3 p.m., but the Giants could not pounce immediately. Teams looking to add players released after June 1...

KAZ FOCUSING ON EYEGLASS REMEDY

MET NOTES PHILADELPHIA - Kaz Matsui may start seeing things a whole lot more clearly. The Met shortstop is experimenting with a pair of glasses that he may one day...

DEREK DOMINATES – JETER’S 2 HRS KNOCK DOWN O’S

Yankees 8Orioles 7 The Yankees and Orioles hooked up last night and two things ran to chalk: It rained, and the Yankees beat the Birds thanks to a two-homer, four-hit...

VINNY GOES OUT QUIETLY ; JETS’ QB MUM AFTER GETTING AX

He came here to play for his hometown team and win a championship. Vinny Testaverde realized the first dream and nearly accomplished the second, carrying the Jets to within 30...

BE’TRADE’ SCHOOL; CLOSURE OUTRAGES DRAKE STUDENTS

Angry and heartbroken students blasted the cash-starved Drake Business School yesterday for shutting its doors with no notice. "It's disgusting. I decided to change my career because of the economy....