ALBANY

CUOMO SAYS KERRY WILL WIN The former New York governor, Mario Cuomo, said yesterday that, barring some dramatic event that changes the political landscape, fellow Democrat John Kerry will beat President Bush this year.

“We’re going to win for the simple fact that the country is not better off and he has no plan for making it better,” Mr. Cuomo told the Associated Press as he made his first return to the state Capitol since leaving office at the end of 1994.

“I like Kerry’s chances better than I liked Gore’s chances,” he said.

Mr. Cuomo, who rejected chances to run for president himself in both 1988 and 1992, said Mr. Kerry will be helped by the fact that Mr. Bush has been president for four years.

“We’ll get every Gore vote, plus more,” Mr. Cuomo said. “The Democratic turnout is definitely going to be bigger and stronger and more enthusiastic than it was in 2000.”

Mr. Cuomo also said Mr. Bush would get fewer votes because “a lot of the people are disappointed by the war.” Mr. Bush, said Mr. Cuomo, had given the country “a pre-emptive war that we are still debating and that most of the people think was a mistake, with a planned occupation that has been a disaster and is getting worse…and the economy went into the garbage.”

Mr. Cuomo, who lost the 1994 governor’s race to Republican Governor Pataki, was in Albany yesterday to promote his new book, “Why Lincoln Matters, Today More Than Ever.”

– Associated Press

MANHATTAN

JUDGE DROPS ZAGAT DEFAMATION LAWSUIT A defamation lawsuit brought against the Zagat Survey by a lowly rated Manhattan cabaret-restaurant featuring cross-dressing male waiters was tossed out by a judge yesterday. Zagat was within its rights when it gave Lucky Cheng’s a relatively low grade for its food, state Supreme Court Justice Diane Lebedeff said.

“While this restaurant owner believes it has ‘hit the sweet spot’ with its menu and food choices, the Zagat reviewers suggest the menu selection misses the mark a bit, notwithstanding that the establishment as a whole offers an entertaining and engaging evening,” the judge wrote. “This disagreement over taste and fashion is not the stuff of defamation.”

Still, she said in her ruling that the lawsuit raised an issue of first impression because of Zagat’s unique method of relying upon anonymous consumer comments to build its ratings and reviews. She noted that free-speech protections in the state constitution are even stronger than in the First Amendment, ensuring that “every citizen may freely speak, write and publish … sentiments on all subjects.”

Lucky Cheng’s had filed a $10 million libel and negligence lawsuit claiming the Zagat Survey falsely assessed its food quality as low.

– Associated Press

JEWELRY DEALERS CHARGED WITH LAUNDERING DRUG MONEY In another blow to the Diamond District in Midtown, three jewelry dealers were charged yesterday with a scheme to launder drug money for South American dealers.

An indictment in federal court alleged that for a fee, Ebrahim Raphael, Hamid Delshad, and Yitzcok Hirschfeld exchanged bags filled with cash for checks drawn from the defendants’ business accounts. The transactions – disguised as jewelry or gem deals – allowed dealers to deposit the checks, then wire the funds to Colombia, Venezuela, and other destinations.

Investigators from the Internal Revenue Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and New York Police Department estimated that about $1.5 million in drug money was laundered. The defendants, who operated outlets on West 47th Street, were awaiting arraignment. Prosecutors did not have the names of their attorneys. Other recent money laundering investigations have produced three convictions and seven guilty pleas of Diamond District defendants. Another defendant, Eduard Nektalov, was shot and killed in May before he could go to trial. Police said they believe the killing was an organized crime hit.

– Associated Press