Drop it, Alec!









headshot

Andrea Peyser





Let Genevieve go free!

Crack whores, wife beaters and bloviating psychos who seduce small women and bash puny photographers get treated with more dignity than Genevieve Sabourin, Alec Baldwin’s alleged stalker.

Genevieve was sprung from jail yesterday after “starstruck’’ prosecutors, as her lawyer called them, tried to keep her inside on $5,000 bail for allegedly Twitter-stalking Alec and his temporary wife Hilaria Thomas.

Smiling gamely and waving to her fans in the same designer duds she wore a day earlier, the perky and busty Canadian cutie, 40, left court. But not before taking on bully-boy Baldwin for his relentless campaign to get her locked up.





MESS: Alec Baldwin and his accused stalker, Genevieve Sabourin, yesterday in the city.

INFphoto.com





MESS: Alec Baldwin and his accused stalker, Genevieve Sabourin, yesterday in the city.




Genevieve Sabourin

Steven Hirsch



Genevieve Sabourin





“How long does he want to maintain this injustice against me?’’ Genevieve cried.

Genevieve’s new lawyer, Rick Pasacreta, said the petite, lovelorn lady was treated like a criminal slut because she allegedly stalked not a random boyfriend, but the Alec Baldwin. The prosecution’s request for $5,000 bail is more than some defendants get for bashing a puppy or human baby.

“Sometimes when people have a brush with celebrity, they get starstruck — and I’m referring to the people’s bail app in this matter,” Pasacreta told Judge Lynn Kotler.

The judge wisely freed Sabourin without bail, telling her to steer clear of the Baldwins, electronically and personally.

Genevieve emerged from the can after being led out of court in handcuffs 24 hours earlier. She was accused of violating an order of protection by tweeting, six times this month, to her beloved Alec and his wife — the 28-year-old yogi who suffers from a wicked case of Baldwin Stockholm Syndrome.

Outside court, Genevieve said she and Baldwin had an ongoing relationship on Facebook and over the phone that started with a sweaty night of passion in 2010. I wish I could stop replaying the evening with the blubberous Baldwin in my head.

Genevieve was arrested outside Alec’s East 10th Street apartment building in April and charged with aggravated harassment and stalking for doing nothing more than threatening to pay Alec a visit.

She hoped to confront him about what she insists was a one-night stand, her dumping and his future intentions. “I just announced myself to get closure,’’ she said.

But Alec wasn’t home, and Hilaria called the cops on a woman so tiny, she can barely carry her rat-sized pet Yorkie, Charlie.

“She got me arrested because she’s a rival,’’ she said.

Earlier this month, she allegedly kept up the heat with a series of tweets to Baldwin and Hilaria.

OK. Genevieve is persistent. Obsessed, even. She went too far, pursuing a man whose bedroom mirror is his most treasured asset.

But the gal has a point.

Genevieve told me exclusively, in graphic detail, about the quickie night of passion she claims to have spent with Baldwin two years ago.

She told me that when their romantic evening was done, after they’d gone to Central Park, to the theater, to dinner and to bed, the guy dumped her — with a text message!

Baldwin, 54, has admitted to having dinner with Sabourin. He has yet to deny the sex — or the unceremonious dumping.

But the relationship, or whatever, did continue via Facebook. She told me they had phone sex!

“He maintained the link,’’ is how she put it.

Alec toyed with Genevieve’s womanly affections, treating her to a one-night stand like some kind of cheap whore.

Now she wants to expose him for what he is: a cad.

I wonder, when will Alec face charges for bullying dames — even me, on Twitter?

Hey, Alec, she says you slept with her! Deal with it, creep.

And drop the charges. Let Genevieve go.

andrea.peyser@nypost.com










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City National Bank of Florida and its Spanish parent have four years to evaluate the Miami bank’s future ownership




















City National Bank of Florida, the Miami bank purchased by Bankia (formerly Caja Madrid) of Spain in November 2008, said Wednesday that its parent has a “four-year window to evaluate alternatives” for the bank’s future ownership and will work closely with management in Miami during the process.

The Spanish government has reached and agreement with the European Union related to Spain’s financial system problems, which will result in a recapitalization of Bankia and other institutions, the bank said. The agreement calls for Bankia to sell non-core assets and its holdings outside of Spain so that Bankia will emerge with a solid capital position and be more focused on its core domestic business.

“Because City National Bank is so well capitalized, profitable and well positioned in the marketplace, we are going to take our time to fully evaluate all of our strategic alternatives,” City National Bank President and CEO Jorge Gonzalez said in a statement. “This does not impact our ongoing strategy of profitable growth and diversification or our commitment to the markets we serve. Our focus continues to be taking excellent care of our clients and employees. ”





City National, founded 65 years ago, has $4.32 billion in assets and 26 branches from Miami-Dade County to the greater Orlando area.

INA PAIVA CORDLE





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Weatherman conned by SoBe “Bar Girls” now has Twitter account hijacked by Playboy fiancée




















A former TV weatherman who testified 12 days ago in a Miami federal courtroom that Latvian “Bar Girls” swindled him out of $43,000 on Miami Beach was back in the spotlight Tuesday over suggestive photos and tweets sent from his Twitter account.

John Bolaris, who was suspended from his job as a weather anchor for Fox affiliate WTXF in Philadelphia last year amid his allegations that as a tourist in South Florida in 2010 he was drugged and robbed, apparently was asleep Sunday when his fiancée Erica Smitheman drunkenly took over his Twitter account and promised to send out nude photos of herself, the New York Daily News is reporting.

The former Playboy model started her Twitter binge by writing: “Hello this is Erica…love John, he loves you all, I guess it’s ok if I send you all a naked photo or two…don’t tell my love.”





She continued to write suggestive tweets referring to her modeling past and hinting that she’d taken over Bolaris’ account while he slept, the newspaper reported.

“This is Erica, I did pose in Playboy…so what,” she wrote. “I will post my naked pictures…John has no clue... I am tweeting, he’s sleeping.”

Bolaris, who now appears on the Howard Stern radio show, has nearly 13,000 followers.

Smitheman did not post nude photos, only one suggestive one, but her offer caused a stir in the Twitterverse.

To read the New York Daily News story click here.

Bolaris last made headlines earlier this month in Miami when he testified about his misadventures in the hands of a Latvian crime ring, which used two beautiful women to lure him from a club and back to his hotel and in the process ran up his credit card, he said.

Here’s the story that ran in MiamiHerald.com on Nov. 16, the day after Bolaris testified in court:

More than two years after his “nightmare on South Beach,” former TV weatherman John Bolaris remains a little foggy about his close encounter with a couple of Latvian “Bar Girls” who swindled him for $43,000 in bogus booze charges billed to his AMEX card.

On Friday, Bolaris testified in Miami federal court that he didn’t have sex with them, though the thought crossed his mind after meeting the duo at the Delano Hotel in late March 2010. Bolaris, 55, was asked whether the B-girls suggested they go to his room at the Fontainebleau Hotel for a “threesome.”

“No, sir,” Bolaris told defense attorney Roderick Vereen. “In my right state of mind, I would not do that.” Vereen shot back: “What about in your intoxicated state of mind?”

Bolaris, who was fired last year from his job as a weatherman for FOX TV in Philadelphia, regaled a Miami jury with his tale of woe in the federal trial of four men who ran a ring of Russian-style clubs that fleeced Miami Beach tourists by deploying B-girls to seduce them.

The puppet master behind the alleged scam: admitted Russian mafioso Alec Simchuk, 46, a naturalized U.S. citizen who pleaded guilty to fraud and testified last month in the trial of his partners and associates.

In 2010, Miami Beach police and the FBI launched an undercover investigation into the B-girl network after Bolaris and other customers complained to their credit card companies about the outlandish bar tabs. A total of 18 defendants were charged in the fraud conspiracy.





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Nintendo: more than 400,000 Wii Us sold in US












NEW YORK (AP) — Nintendo says it has sold more than 400,000 of its new video game console, the Wii U, in its first week on sale in the U.S.


The Wii U launched on Nov. 18 in the U.S. at a starting price of $ 300. Nintendo says the sales figure, based on internal estimates, is through Nov. 24.












Six years ago, Nintendo Co. sold 475,000 of the original Wii in that console’s first seven days in stores. The original Wii remains available, and Nintendo says it sold more than 300,000 of them last week, along with roughly 250,000 handheld Nintendo 3DS units and about 275,000 of the Nintendo DS.


Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter estimates that Nintendo will ship 1 million to 1.5 million Wii Us in the U.S. through the end of January.


Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News


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The Complete List: 'Dancing with the Stars' Winners


The Complete List: 'Dancing with the Stars' Winners


On Tuesday night, TV personality and former Bachelor contestant Melissa Rycroft became the latest Dancing with the Stars victor! Click through the gallery for a look back at all the previous mirror ball winners.


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Stevie on line 1: Cohen holds call to soothe SAC investors’ jitters








Say it ain’t so, Stevie!

Investors worried about an insider-trading scandal that has engulfed SAC Capital Advisors want to get the straight scoop directly from the hedge fund’s billionaire boss, Steve Cohen.

SAC’s senior management is planning to hold a special call today to try to allay concerns after a former portfolio manager was charged in the government’s widespread crackdown on insider trading.

One former SAC investor, whose firm pulled capital in 2011 due to concerns about insider trading, said those remaining will “want to hear at least directly from Stevie, preferably with non-gamed, pre-sent Q&As.”




“I would want to hear about this specific dealing and why this guy was a lone wolf,” the investor said.

Last week Mathew Martoma became the ninth former SAC portfolio manager to be implicated in insider trading; three have pleaded guilty to such crimes while at SAC. But Martoma’s indictment marked the first time Cohen himself was referenced in court documents. Cohen has not been charged with wrongdoing.

The feds have been trying to persuade Martoma to become a cooperating witness.

“I don’t think Cohen saying he’s innocent will be enough” to satisfy many investors, said a hedge-fund consultant. “It’s circumstantial, but it smells bad.”

A source close to the firm said management would be on the call before the opening bell but did not know whether Cohen would be.

When indictments surfaced in the past, SAC has trotted out general counsel Peter Nussbaum and Steve Kessler, the head of compliance, to settle investors’ nerves with long discussions of the firm’s state-of-the-art compliance system.

But that won’t cut it this time.

“The compliance team and legal team are not there to protect the clients; they are there to protect Cohen,” said one hedge-fund exec.

The $14 billion hedge fund giant will not say whether the firm or Cohen is under investigation, despite reports that prosecutors have been trying to build a case against Cohen. The firm has provided trading records to the feds as part of a widespread investigation into insider trading.

“Mr. Cohen and SAC are confident that they have acted appropriately and will continue to cooperate with the government’s inquiry,” said SAC spokesman Jonathan Gasthalter.

The taint of scandal has led many investors to flee in recent years. Despite SAC’s move to lure investors by cutting its fees, the firm’s capital base has not recovered to its pre-crash level of $16 billion.

From its launch in 1992 through 2007, SAC had an annualized return of 35 percent — profits that cemented Cohen’s legendary status and fed his lavish lifestyle, including an impressive art collection. Since then, such lofty returns have been hard to come by. SAC has gained 10 percent this year, far better than its peers.

The next time investors can get out is March 31, and notice must be given Feb. 14. Even if they all flee, it won’t mean the end of SAC Capital. Today 60 percent of the firm’s capital is held by insiders, with the vast majority of that — $8 billion — by Cohen himself.

mcelarier@nypost.com










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Gift ideas for the techie on your list




















The holidays are coming fast, and if you’re like me, you’ve probably gotten very little of your gift shopping done.

Here are suggestions for a variety of gifts for the techie and the not-so-techie people on your list.

Some of these items can be found in stores and some are only available online, but you should be able to order them in time for Christmas or Hanukkah.





IOMEGA EZ MEDIA & BACKUP CENTER

What is it? A hard drive that lives on your home network so you can share files, store all your photos and music and back up your home computers. Works on Macintosh, Windows and Linux computers.

The EZ Media & Backup Center is available in 1-, 2- and 3-terabyte capacities. It is simple to set up. It lives next to your home router and plugs into the network via Ethernet.

Major features include a built-in iTunes server so your music is available to all connected computers, Time Machine support for easy Macintosh backups and Iomega’s Personal Cloud to access your data from any Internet connection.

It can also stream your video files to your TV if you’ve got a compatible streaming box or an Internet-connected TV.

Software for backing up Windows PCs is also included.

Who’s it for? Any family that wants central storage for their digital lives. This is a great home for your digital photo, music or video library.

What does it cost? One terabyte for $169.99, two terabytes for $209.99, three terabytes for $279.99.

Where can you get it? Online at www.iomega.com, Amazon, Best Buy, Apple store, Fry’s.

NETATMO URBAN WEATHER STATION

What is it? A wireless indoor/outdoor weather station that displays through an application on your Apple or Android mobile device.

There are two parts, one that lives in your house and one you place outside.

The indoor component plugs into the wall and monitors the temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, carbon dioxide level and even the sound level in decibels.

The outdoor module is battery-powered and measures temperature and humidity.

Once you connect the Netatmo to your home Wi-Fi network, you can download the free app and see your weather stats from anywhere.

Setup was easy enough, and you can set the app to notify you when carbon dioxide rises to levels that you should be warned about — which is great.

Who’s it for? Weather geeks and people who like to know what the temperature is without having to fire up a browser.

What does it cost? $179

Where can you get it? www.netatmo.com

3M LED ADVANCED LIGHT

What is it? 3M’s first foray into the home light bulb market is with the LED Advanced Light, which uses light-emitting diodes (LED) to produce 800 lumens (the light of a 60-watt bulb).

The Advanced Light has a life span of 25 years and costs just $1.63 per year if it’s turned on for three hours per day.

The bulb lights instantly and is dimmable.

It’s a little intimidating to start buying light bulbs that might outlive me, but my wallet approves.

Who’s it for? Anyone who wants to save money or wants a bulb that might not have to be changed until 2035.

What does it cost? $25

Where can you get it? Select Wal-Mart stores. For more information, go to www.3mlighting.com/LED.

STEM IZON 2.0 WI-FI VIDEO MONITOR

What is it? A small, wireless video camera that you can monitor remotely with an iOS device.





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Survivor of flea-market police shooting is charged




















Two Miami men shot Sunday by Miami-Dade police outside a flea market were identified Monday, and the survivor was charged with battery.

Michael Nathaniel Parks, 21, faces charges of battery on a law-enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence. The second man, who had been driving the van the pair had been in, and who died at the scene, was identified as LeBron Warren, 23.

The shooting took place shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday at Flea Market USA, near Northwest 79th Street and 30th Avenue. Police said the victim of a nearby home-invasion robbery followed the robbers’ vehicle to the flea market and told police about it.





Officers found a van matching the description there, with Parks and Warren inside.

When officers approached, Warren put the van in reverse and accelerated toward them, hitting a police vehicle. Officers fired, and the van tried to get away, hitting other parked cars before it came to a stop, police said.

No officers were hurt.





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Exclusive: Egyptian investor seeks to put stamp on Telecom Italia












DUBAI (Reuters) – Egyptian entrepreneur Naguib Sawiris aims to shake up debt-laden Telecom Italia and steer it towards expansion in Brazil if shareholders warm up to his proposal for a 3 billion euro ($ 3.9 billion) cash infusion.


The billionaire tycoon, who got to know Italy well when he owned the third-biggest mobile operator Wind, has put on the table a capital increase that could make him one of the biggest shareholders in Telecom Italia.












Details on the structure of the proposed transaction are scarce, but Sawiris told Reuters that he proposed that the capital increase be open to all shareholders, not just himself, and that it should be conducted around the current market price of 0.70 euros per share.


That is likely to draw the ire of other Telecom Italia shareholders, including Spain’s Telefonica and the three Italian financial institutions who together own 22.4 percent via an unlisted holding company called Telco.


They value Telecom Italia at 1.50 euros per share in their accounts, and Marco Fossati, whose family’s Findim Group SA owns 5 percent of the Italian operator, on Monday said 1.50 was the “correct price” for any capital increase.


Sawiris, going against a trend of retreating investment in crisis-hit southern Europe, said he might also bring in some of his old Wind associates to put Telecom Italia back on the path to growth.


“This proposal will provide a more stable financial structure for Telecom Italia going forward, more growth in Latin America and Brazil, and improved management through the infusion of people who have an excellent knowledge of the Italian market,” Sawiris told Reuters.


Sawiris initially approached Telefonica and the other shareholders in Telco about the possibility of carrying out a capital increase at the holding company level. He was rebuffed, so decided to approach the Italian group directly.


“We are willing to participate in the capital increase, but shareholders have the choice not to get diluted and join in putting the money,” he said.


“If they do not want to, we will come and replace them. But they will benefit from a higher stock price and a more stable company and a company that will grow.”


It remains to be seen whether his vision for the group will be shared by Telecom Italia’s management and core shareholders.


Telefonica, insurer Assicurazioni Generali, and banks Mediobanca and Intesa Sanpaolo had the Sawiris’ offer dropped onto them as a bombshell two weeks ago, insiders have said.


“Sawiris is not a man to go in without being sure he can drive the strategy,” one source familiar with the thinking of the core shareholders said.


Sawiris told Reuters he was also opposed to a current plan to spin off Telecom Italia’s fixed-line network, which is backed by some core investors as a way to raise badly needed cash, and by the Italian government as a means to speed up broadband investment.


“I believe this is a catastrophe,” Sawiris said. “If Telecom Italia does that, they will lose the only differentiator they have left in the telecom market in Italy.”


Telecom Italia is now in talks with an Italian state-backed investment fund over such a spin-off. Under the plan, the fund would take a minority stake in the new company in exchange for Telecom Italia effectively becoming a wholesaler of broadband capacity to other companies.


Proponents of the spin-off argue the move would help Telecom Italia reduce debt while accelerating the modernization of the woeful Internet infrastructure in Europe’s fourth-largest economy.


STRATEGY CROSSROAD


Telecom Italia’s board will meet on December 6 to discuss the network spin-off and whether to bid for Vivendi’s GVT, a broadband specialist in Brazil, to complement its TIM Brasil mobile business unit in the fast-growing market.


GVT’s owner, Vivendi, is seeking up to 7 billion euros for GVT, which provides fixed telephone, broadband, and TV services in 120 Brazilian cities. Preliminary bids are due in December, sources have told Reuters.


Sawiris is waiting in the wings, though he says he has not had any direct contact from Telecom Italia since sending a letter of interest two weeks ago.


However, advisers from both sides – Lazard for Sawiris and Rothschild for Telecom Italia – have been communicating, according to people familiar with the matter.


Meanwhile, sources close to the telecom group’s shareholders have complained of a lack of detail in the Sawiris proposal.


Nuno Matias, a telecoms analyst at Espirito Santo bank, said while Sawiris’s arguments about seeking growth in Brazil via the GVT takeover were persuasive, the tycoon could face an uphill battle getting the board and shareholders onside.


“Sawiris isn’t alone; there are controlling shareholders of Telecom Italia, and they have their own interests,” he said.


“If Telecom Italia strengthens in Brazil then it sets up a conflict with Telefonica.”


Sawiris pointed out that he tried talking to Telefonica.


“I met with them, but my feeling is that they are conflicted. They are happy where they are today holding Telecom Italia as a hostage and preventing it from growing into Latin America.”


Telefonica and Telecom Italia are the number one and number two players in Brazilian mobile, respectively, and also compete in Argentina. The conflict means that Telefonica cannot take part in board deliberations at Telecom Italia over the Latin American units.


Telefonica’s Chief Financial Officer Angel Vila said last week that the group wanted to remain a long-term shareholder in Telecom Italia, and opposed a capital increase.


Telecom Italia has made debt-cutting a priority since late 2008. Cost cuts and asset sales have trimmed net debt more than 4 billion euros to 29.5 billion at the end of September.


Morgan Stanley predicted its net debt was likely to stand at 27.8 billion euros at year-end, or 2.7 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), above sector averages and in the warning zone for rating agencies.


Sawiris, who sold Wind to Vimpelcom last year, wants to re-enter Italy by investing in the incumbent operator, betting on low valuations and turnaround potential in old-world telecoms.


“I’ve worked in Italy for five years and what I’ve learned that very few investors have the insight on what is the real story in Italy,” Sawiris said.


($ 1 = 0.7713 euros)


(Additional reporting by Leila Abboud in Paris and Lisa Jucca in Milan; Editing by Will Waterman)


Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News


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How Zero Dark Thirty Copied Bin Laden's Compound

Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow reteams with her Hurt Locker screenwriter Mark Boal for Zero Dark Thirty, a chronicling of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and the two opened up to Nightline about how they recreated bin Laden's compound.

VIDEO: Zero Dark Thirty Trailer

The filmmakers built a full-scale version of the compound in Jordan, and Bigelow says that everything from the carpet to the marks on the walls were taken from ABC News footage that she studied frame by frame.

"Everything we could find from that video we replicated," Bigelow said. "Every conceivable piece of information that we could find we replicated."

As to the controversy over whether or not the filmmakers received classified information to make the movie, Mark Boal says, "I certainly did a lot of homework, but I never asked for classified materials. To my knowledge I never received any."

Zero Dark Thirty, starring Jessica Chastain, Kyle Chandler, James Gandolfini, Chris Pratt and Jennifer Ehle, hits theaters January 11.

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