CITYWIDE

MAYOR DISMISSES REPORT THAT CITY WILL HAVE HIGHER SURPLUS THIS YEAR

Mayor Bloomberg dismissed a report yesterday from the Independent Budget Office saying the city would have slightly higher surplus this year and slightly smaller deficits in the coming years. The mayor told reporters he would rather err on the cautious side when crunching budget numbers and cited strong signs of a slowing real estate market and overall economy.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

BLOOMBERG: IF SPITZER IS ELECTED, WTC PLANS WILL LIKELY MOVE FORWARD

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday that he doubts the plans for the World Trade Center site would be scrapped if Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Eliot Spitzer, were elected. On Monday, Mr. Spitzer ripped into the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the state agency overseeing ground zero, calling it an “abject failure” during a television interview. Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday that the LMDC is not where most future decisions will be made. “It hasn’t wound down totally, but it’s spent of the money that it had,” he said.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

IN THE COURTS

CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN RACKETEERING TRIAL OF GAMBINO CAPTAIN

A prosecutor told a jury in closing arguments yesterday that an ailing Gambino captain all but convicted himself of racketeering by bragging about the family and its crimes as he cozied up to an undercover FBI agent. Gregory DePalma, breathing through a tube connected to an oxygen tank, sat with his eyes closed as an assistant U.S. attorney, Christopher Conniff, berated him as a “violent and cunning criminal.”

– Associated Press

MAN WHO PARTICIPATED IN HOWARD BEACH ATTACK TESTIFIES

One of the young men who participated in the baseball bat attack of a black man in Howard Beach testified yesterday that he joined his friends in assaulting the victim, Glenn Moore, whom he had never seen before. Frank Agostini, 19, testified in court in Queens during the second week of the hate crime trial of Nicholas Minucci, 19. “It sounded like Barry Bonds had hit a home run,” he said, when asked to describe the impact that left Mr. Moore with a fractured skull. Mr. Agostini, who is the son of a New York police officer, said he vomited repeatedly afterwards. Mr. Agostini is not being prosecuted for his role in the attack.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

LAWYER FOR ARRESTED DJ ASKS FOR DISMISSAL OF CHARGES

The lawyer for a radio disc jockey, Troi Torain, who was arrested for on-air threats against a rival hip-hop DJ’s young daughter asked a court yesterday to dismiss charges filed against his client.

– Associated Press

STATEWIDE

OFFICIALS OFFER EASY TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS FOR DIVORCE

ALBANY – State court officials are offering help to those seeking uncontested divorces. In an initiative announced yesterday, the state is offering “uncontested divorce packets” free-of-charge to people representing themselves in divorces. The packets offer “user friendly” step-by-step instructions about how to file for uncontested divorces not involving children.

– Associated Press

REPORT SAYS TAX OFFICIAL ACTED OUTSIDE OF HIS AUTHORITY

ALBANY – An official with the state Office of Tax Enforcement tried to force a Brooklyn auto mechanic from his garage so state investigators could use the space to conduct an undercover operation, according to a state Inspector General’s report released yesterday. The report said that Thomas Stanton, director of a division of the state Department of Taxation and Finance, and others made numerous threats in 2004 to prosecute the mechanic for tax law violations, even though they knew of no infractions at the time.

– Associated Press

SEARCH FOR MAN WHO JUMPED FROM CRUISE SHIP IS SUSPENDED

The U.S. Coast Guard said it has suspended its search for a New York-bound cruise ship passenger who threw himself overboard after arguing with his wife about a bar tab. Ramesh Krishnamurthy, 35, of Doylestown, Pa., had been arguing with his wife early Saturday when he jumped into the Atlantic Ocean from the Carnival Cruise Lines ship in front of his two children, a petty officer, Christopher Evanson, said yesterday.

– Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

TWO MEN SHOT, ONE FATALLY, IN BROOKLYN

Two men were shot, one fatally, after a dispute yesterday in Brooklyn erupted in gunfire. Police said the shootings – on Putnam Place in Fort Greene – stemmed from a dispute between Damon Lee, 39, and Rashid Pierre, 26, which turned deadly around 7 p.m. yesterday. Police said Lee initially shot Mr. Pierre in the arm and foot, prompting Mr. Pierre’s friend, Jayson Greenidge, to shoot Lee in the chest and buttocks. Lee was brought to Brookdale Hospital, where he died, and the other victim, Mr. Pierre, was brought to Kings County Hospital in stable condition. Police subsequently arrested Mr. Pierre and Mr. Greenidge. As of last night, charges were pending against Mr. Greenidge, and Mr. Pierre was charged with assault and criminal possession of marijuana.

– Special to the Sun

MAN ON SUBWAY PLATFORM ROBBED, STABBED

A man was robbed and stabbed inside a Bronx subway station yesterday by four men who may have been part of a gang, police said. The 45-year-old victim was assaulted around 6 p.m. near the Metro-Card machine at the D line’s 167th Street stop in Morris Heights. Police said four men wearing red clothing took his wallet, stabbed him once in the chest, and then fled southbound on Carrol Street. The victim was taken to Lincoln Hospital, and was listed in stable condition, police said.

– Special to the Sun

GIRL SHOCKED BY STRAY VOLTAGE

An 8-year-old Staten Island girl was shocked by stray voltage Monday, police officials said. Brianna Santa Maria was playing on the sidewalk on Brookfield Avenue when she stepped on a Con Edison plate, which shocked her feet. Crews had replaced wiring on a nearby street in February, and a company spokeswoman said it was now investigating that work. The immediate area where Monday’s incident took place is now safe, the spokeswoman said. Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg said he did not support fines for Con Edison in this type of accident.

– Special to the Sun