CITYWIDE

CEO Says He Was Unaware of $10,000 Hevesi Contribution

A last-minute contributor to Alan Hevesi’s campaign was not informed that he had given money to the comptroller until he spoke with his accountant. On October 30, the CEO of Greystone & Co., Inc., Stephen Rosenberg, gave $10,000 to Mr. Hevesi, who is mired in an ethics scandal over his failure to reimburse the state for having a state employee serve as a personal servant for his wife. When first told about the contribution, a spokeswoman for Greystone told The New York Sun that Mr. Rosenberg was not aware of the contribution and suspected that the newspaper had contacted the wrong “Stephen Rosenberg.” Three hours later, the spokeswoman said Mr. Rosenberg checked with an accountant and discovered that he had given to the campaign. She said the company, a private investment organization, does not have business with the comptroller’s office. Mr. Hevesi, who is running against Republican J. Christopher Callaghan, has raised more than $75,000 in the past week, according to the latest filings to the state board of elections. Meanwhile, the former federal prosecutor whom Governor Pataki tapped to review the Hevesi case and decide whether to recommend a Senate trial to remove the comptroller from office indicated that he has not completed his examination. Asked whether he was submitting his review to the governor today, David Kelley, the prosecutor said, “I wouldn’t bank on that one.”

— Staff Report of the Sun

City’s Economy Is Expanding

The city’s economy is showing signs of slowing down, but it is still expanding at a greater rate than the rest of the nation, a report released yesterday by the city comptroller found. The economy grew by 2.9% in the second quarter, down from 4.3% in the first quarter of 2006, the report found. The national rate for the second quarter was 2.9%. “Though signs of an economic slowdown are emerging, a recession is still considered unlikely,” the comptroller, William Thompson Jr., said. He said the Federal Reserve’s decision not to raise short-term interest rates should help, along with stable oil prices. Mr. Thompson’s report found that steady growth in the city’s $5.3 billion tourism industry has aided the economy, while the real estate market continued to soften. Property and mortgage tax collection was down, and the number of new housing units authorized fell 18.7% from the year before. The slowdown in transactions, however, has not brought prices down, according to the report. There were mixed signals across the board. As Mayor Bloomberg championed last week, the city’s unemployment rate fell to 5.2% in the second quarter, its lowest in 18 years. But the inflation rate reached a 15-year high of 4.7% and exceeded the nation in all but one category. While the citywide housing market appeared to weaken, commercial real estate in Manhattan remained strong. The vacancy rate fell to 7.8%, and asking rental prices rose to $43.26 a square foot.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Work To Start At LIRR Station Where Teenage Tourist Died

Work will begin this week on a Long Island Rail Road platform where a Minnesota teenager fell to her death while getting off a train, the agency said yesterday. The Woodside station in Queens is the latest to be slated for work to tighten gaps between trains and platforms, said LIRR spokeswoman Susan McGowan. Work will begin on Saturday. Similar adjustments have been made, are in progress or are planned at 10 other stations. Ms. McGowan said more stations will be added later, and that the work won’t change train schedules. In August, Natalie Smead, 18, of Northfield, Minn., slipped through an almost foot-wide gap as she was getting off a westbound train and was struck by a train. The gaps, some as wide as 15 inches, have been linked to almost 130 injuries since 2004. Ms. McGowan said the railroad is aiming for gaps of 7 to 8 inches, which would let trains pass safely. Gaps are wider where tracks are curved or worn. The LIRR is facing legal action from Smead’s family and other riders injured after falling through the gaps.

— Associated Press

One Physical Test (Not Two) for Firefighter Candidates

Candidates taking the firefighter exam next year will take one physical test, not two, before joining the Fire Department, officials announced yesterday. Previously, fire fighter candidates were required to pass a physical exam after their written exam, and again prior to entering the Fire Academy. The change will not affect candidates’ ranks on the eligibility list, officials from the Fire Department and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services announced yesterday. “We’re confident this change in procedure will ease the burden on candidates during the testing process while allowing adequate time for them to prepare for the rigorous physical test,” Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said in a statement. So far, officials said 22,384 men and woman have applied to take the written, multiple-choice test on January 20. Among them, officials said 35.5% are minorities.

— Special to the Sun

IN THE COURTS

Brooklyn Lawyer Pleads Guilty To Stealing From Clients

A lawyer pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of stealing more than $1.6 million from clients whose estates and accounts he handled. Campbell Holder, 58, of Brooklyn, admitted he stole the money by raiding the seven clients’ accounts that he controlled, said Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Mr. Holder faces 3 1/2 to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced January 3 in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court by Acting Justice Brenda Soloff. The judge said the sentence imposed will depend on how much money Mr. Holder repays, Thompson said. Mr. Holder, who had law offices in lower Manhattan and was a U.S. citizen since 1991, was charged in July with grand larceny, scheme to defraud and forgery. A native of Barbados, most of his victims were his countrymen, prosecutors said. Mr. Holder prepared wills, trusts and estates and handled divorces, real estate and personal injury cases. In some cases he named himself executor of his clients’ estates, and this gave him access to clients’ funds, prosecutors said. An investigation revealed that from January 2002 to March 2006, Mr. Holder transferred $1,623,688 from his escrow account and client trust accounts to his own general business account, prosecutors said. Mr. Holder faced up to 15 years in prison on each seconddegree grand larceny count if he had been convicted after trial.

— Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

Police Kill Man After Being Fired On

Police shot and killed a man during a gunfight in the Fordham section of the Bronx last night, police officials said. The man, who wasn’t identified, was spotted by two plain-clothes police officers committing a crime at the intersection of East 183rd Street and Washington Avenue at about 8 p.m., police officials said. When the officers confronted him, he pulled out a gun and began firing at them. They returned fire, hitting him several times, officials said. The man, who was said to be 32 or 33 years old, was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The officers were taken to Jacobi Hospital for trauma, which is standard procedure during a police-involved shooting. Neither officer was struck by a bullet. Investigators found a 9mm weapon at the scene, which they believed belonged to the perpetrator. The officers were in the neighborhood on a police operation, but police did not last night disclose the details of what they were doing.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Police Investigate Three Bank Robberies

Police are investigating three separate bank robberies in Brooklyn that took place within five hours of each other on Tuesday. In the first, around 12:30 p.m. in Brooklyn, police said a man wearing a ski hat and surgical mask entered an Apple Bank on Court Street in South Brooklyn. He demanded cash from the teller and fled, police said. In the second robbery, around 3:15 p.m., police said a 24-year-old male suspect entered a North Fork Bank on Flatbush Avenue in Mill Basin and demanded cash from the teller before fleeing. In the third incident, around 7:35 p.m., a woman in her 20s entered a Commerce Bank on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope and fled after demanding cash from the teller.

— Special to the Sun

Trio of Dead Bodies Found in Three Boroughs

Three dead bodies were found in three boroughs yesterday, police officials said. The first was a man found behind 1844 Wallace Avenue in the Baychester section of the Bronx at 9:15 a.m., police said. Detectives were unsure of his age as of last night. The second was a 24-year-old woman found at 11:18 a.m. in a basement apartment at 1064 Seneca Avenue in the Woodside section of Queens, police said. The third, a 24-year-old male, was found at 5:40 p.m. at 341 W. 44th Street in the Midtown section of Manhattan, police said. The causes of deaths were not immediately clear, and police were waiting for the Medical Examiner to conduct autopsies, officials said.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun