STATEWIDE

Spitzer Taps Francis To Be Budget Director

Former PriceLine.com CFO Paul Francis, who crafted Governor-elect Spitzer’s detailed policy positions, will be named budget director on Thursday, a person close to Mr. Spitzer said. Mr. Francis held a top post in Mr. Spitzer’s campaign. The budget director crafts the governor’s executive budget, due Feb. 1, which is the basis of the budget eventually adopted by the Legislature. Mr. Spitzer has called for $6 billion in aid to cut local property taxes as well as $11 billion in spending cuts, policies Mr. Francis helped craft and detail throughout the campaign.

— Associated Press

Bruno Gave ‘Pork’ To Firm Connected To Businessman in Probe

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno directed $500,000 in state funding to a private company connected to a businessman being investigated for providing Mr. Bruno with free air travel, state records show. The Empire State Development Corp. grant to Evident Technologies Inc., a private nanotechnology company based in Mr. Bruno’s district, received the “pork-barrel” spending at Mr. Bruno’s request. Initial funding for Evident came from an investment firm run by Jared Abbruzzese, according to a news report posted on the company’s Web site. Mr. Abbruzzese is currently under investigation by the state Lobbying Commission into whether he provided Mr. Bruno with an illegal gift when he flew him between New York City and Albany.

— Associated Press

Costs Could Reach $790M For Radio Network

The state and local governments may have to spend as much as $790 million to buy equipment to access the planned statewide radio communications system that would allow emergency and public service crews to talk to each other during natural disasters and terrorist attacks, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi’s office said Wednesday. M/A-COM, a business unit of Tyco Electronics, is building the Statewide Wireless Network. It will be paid $2 billion over 20 years to provide the system for emergency and public service crews. The state’s cost for equipment to use the network is projected to be $260 million while local governments’ costs are expected to reach $530 million.

— Associated Press

CITYWIDE

Final WTC Dust Testing To Begin in January

The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday it will launch its final Sept. 11 contamination cleanup program next month, more than five years after the attacks and following years of criticism the agency still has not done enough. The $7 million cleanup will test indoor spaces below Canal Street, west of Allen and Pike streets, and will allow residents and building owners to have the air and dust in their living spaces tested for contaminants linked to debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.

— Associated Press

IN THE COURTS

Man Sentenced to Prison In Barbershop Killing

A man convicted of killing a Navy veteran during a dispute over a haircut in a barbershop was sentenced Wednesday to 28 1/2 years to life in prison. Richard Poux, 29, was sentenced by Queens Supreme Court Judge Gregory L. Lasak in the October 2004 death of Lawrence Ennett, District Attorney Richard A. Brown’s office said. In November, a jury convicted Mr. Poux of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. According to trial testimony, Mr. Poux, a factory worker from Lake George, and Mr. Ennett were customers at The Hut, a barbershop in the Jamaica section of Queens. Although Mr. Ennett had arrived first, Mr. Poux began receiving his haircut first. An argument erupted, prosecutors said. Mr. Poux, according to testimony, struck Mr. Ennett in the head with a loaded 9mm handgun. After Mr. Ennett fell to his knees, Mr. Poux shot him once in the head at close range, prosecutors said.

— Associated Press

Queens Teacher Accused Of Trading Grades For Cash, Wine

A computer science lab instructor at a community college traded grades for cash and wine and told a student to lie before a grand jury in an attempt to cover up his lucrative scheme, prosecutors said. Elvin Escano was charged with grand larceny, falsifying business records, computer tampering and forgery in a 137-count indictment unsealed Wednesday, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Mr. Escano, 46, was arrested Wednesday after a sixmonth investigation into his conduct. In a statement, Mr. Brown said Mr. Escano used his position over a 29-month period as an instructor and lab technician at LaGuardia Community College to inflate student grades for courses and exams: In exchange for better grades, students gave him cash payments ranging from $200 to $2,500 or items such as wine and alcohol. If convicted, Mr. Escano could face up to seven years in prison.

— Associated Press

Kushner To Make Record Purchase of Office Space

The Kushner Companies will buy an office building on Fifth Avenue from Tishman Speyer for $1.8 billion, the highest price ever paid for an office building, according to a report last night on the New York Times Web site. The 41-story building is in the heart of Midtown Manhattan at Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street. Tishman Speyer will sell the building just weeks after closing on the $5.4 billion purchase of the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village housing complexes, one of the biggest real estate transactions ever.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun