Last year, the federal authorities had been looking for Esther Elizabeth Reed, a woman who faked her way into attending Harvard, Cal State and most recently Columbia University, by using a dead woman's identity. Reed was on the lam, but this past weekend's murders at a mall outside Chicago led the police to Reed, who had been living in the very same town the killings occurred. In 2006, while in NYC, Reed had applied for......

At 6:30AM yesterday morning, federal agents delivered "wake-up" subpoenas to the Reverend Al Shaprton and four of his employees at the National Action Network. The FBI and IRS are looking for financial and corporate records, some dating back to 2001, as part of an investigation into Sharpton's financing of his 2004 presidential campaign as well as allegations of tax fraud. Ten people in total were subpoenaed, including a former chief of staff who left in......

Rudy Giuliani told the American public, via a sit-down with Katie Couric, that the story pointing out expenses for trips to the Hamptons - to see then-mistress Judi Nathan - were billed across a number of obscure city agencies was a "typical political hit job" and a "debate day dirty trick." He even called it a "false story," but Politco, the website that broke the story, pointed out neither Giuilani or his aides "have questioned......

Prosecutors having intimate relationships with defense lawyers happens on TV shows all the time, but a real life drama is playing out in Brooklyn. Former prosecutor Sandra Fernandez, accused of using her position in the Brooklyn DA's office to give information to her defense lawyer fiance, was arraigned on 12 counts of criminal charges. Fernandez allegedly ran criminal history and motor vehicle checks on three prosecution witnesses in cases handled by fiance - and now......

Dare we say that Brooke Astor is rolling in her grave? Yesterday, it was reported that her son Anthony Marshall and his former lawyer Francis Morrissey would be indicted for criminal activity over the handling of her will. And this morning, Marshall turned himself in at the Manhattan DA's offices, to face charges of fraud, forgery and grand larceny. Or, as DA Robert Morgenthau said, "The indictment charges that Marshall and Morrissey took advantage of......

Former Westchester County District Attorney - and one-time Attorney General candidate and potential Senate candidate - Jeanine Pirro and her husband Al Pirro have announced they are separating. Their statement to the press: "We have agreed to amicably separate. As always, our priority remains our two wonderful children. We ask that people respect our privacy. There will be no further comment." The couple has been married 32 years and have weathered through many years of......

Controversial publisher Judith Regan dropped a 70-page lawsuit on her old bosses at Harper Collins and News Corp yesterday. The $100 million defamation suit claims she was the victim of a smear campaign in order to protect Rudy Giuliani's presidential bid (read: Rupert Murdoch's political agenda). She states they asked her to lie to federal investigators about her one-time lover and former police commish, Bernard Kerik (who at the time was working with Regan on......

Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik was indicted in federal court yesterday and the U.S. Attorney prosecuting him pulled no punches describing his legal prey. "In meticulous detail, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia assembled count after count painting Kerik as a money-grubbing liar who tried to cover his tracks." Kerik allegedly had a mob-controlled contracting firm renovate his apartment for free, while telling city investigators that that same firm had no criminal ties.......

A grand jury voted to indict former police commissioner Bernard Kerik on federal corruption charges yesterday and, this morning, he surrender to the FBI in White Plains. The indictment was sealed, but the 16 counts include charges of "conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, tax fraud and making false statements." The U.S. Attorney's office, which sought the indictment, and the FBI are giving a press conference now; U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York......

Ten years ago today, Camden Sylvia and Michael Sullivan left their rent-stabilized loft in downtown Manhattan, went for a jog, rented a video and were never seen again. Today, the Daily News revisits the mystery and speaks to Sylvia's mother. Laurie Sylvia says, "I want to know what happened. Each year that goes by I think, maybe this year. I never imagined I would be doing that for 10 years." Sylvia, then 36, and Sullivan,......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck in a hit and run at Knickerbocker and Gates Aves. in Brooklyn, a wall collapse at Cromwell Ave. in the Bronx, and an escaped prisoner at 107th Ave. and 131st St. in Queens. Firefighters had to rescue a Queens cemetery worker who was buried up to his waist after a cave-in occurred in a 20-foot-deep pit where he was working. The cave-in broke the man's leg......

Two men were arraigned for trying to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from billionaire Mayor Bloomberg. Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau outlined the two schemes: Odalis Bostic forged two checks from Bloomberg's personal Bank of America account. One was for $190,000, the other was for $230,000, and both were "issued in the name of the mayor’s financial manager, Geller & Company," according to CityRoom. Bostic deposited them into two different bank accounts, but when Bank......

What is the lawsuit about, Kenneth? Dan Rather, the controversial former CBS anchorman best known for his strange pseudo-folksy “Ratherisms”, funny moments in the paths of hurricanes, and being mugged by someone who demanded “Kenneth, what is the frequency?”, is suing his former employer CBS, three of its executives, and its parent company, for $20 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages. He claims that they violated his contract by not giving......

One would think that dropping some serious cash at a high end auction house would be a safe bet. Today it's being reported that an art dealer in Chelsea did just that and ended up with a counterfeit piece! Christie's is now being faced with a $7 million lawsuit that charges them with knowingly selling the art dealer a fake Jean-Michel Basquiat painting. Page Six reports:Tony Shafrazi, who was Basquiat's primary dealer, says he bought......

Restaurants owned by the Cirpiani family, including the Rainbow Room, may lose their liquor licenses. Earlier this month, patriarch Arrigo Capriani and his son, Giuseppe Cipriani, who is the CEO of Cipriani U.S.A. Inc., pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges. They agreed to pay a $10 million settlement, but now that they are convicted felons, the State Liquor Authority can strip their company of its liquor licenses. The Post explains that "state law forbids convicted......

The NY Times reports that Governor Eliot Spitzer is working on an "ambitious and potentially expensive push to expand health coverage to nearly three million more residents." With 15% of the state's residents uninsured, universal health care was one of Spitzer's campaign promises last year. He has also openly criticized the state's health system, saying billions of dollars are pumped into a "broken system with no deliverables and no accountability." According to the Times, Spitzer's......

David Rakoff is the author of the hilarious and best selling essay anthologies Fraud and Don't Get Too Comfortable, countless articles that have appeared in publications such as Vogue, GQ, and Salon, and has contributed to NPR's This American Life. Gothamist sat down with the writer to discuss his genesis and his moments of doubt. Why did you start writing and how did you pursue it? It all comes out of a bullying and narcissistic......

A note to anyone writing under a pseudonym: Don't let the pseudonym become larger than life. After deliberating for a couple hours, a jury came to a verdict in a film production company's lawsuit against Laura Albert, who wrote novels under the name JT Leroy. A tipster at the Federal Court just gave us the scoop:Jury verdict in: Laura Albert and Underdogs Inc. are both liable for fraud and for breach of contract. Damages: $110,000......

The doctor we wrote about Friday, who was connected to three separate cases of patients infected with hepatitis C, apparently has a less-than-stellar reputation. Dr. Brian Goldweber had his medical license suspended for three years in 1999 after he "botched" anesthesia in several patients and altered records in one case, according to the New York Post. The Dept. of Health has contacted approximately 4,500 patients of Goldweber to recommend they get tested for infectious diseases.......

When we last left our anti-hero Tommy Gavin he was drugged and out cold burning in a house on Long Island thanks to Sheila, the wife of his dead cousin who was quite angry after Tommy decided not to retire. In tonight's return, Tommy is accused of arson and insurance fraud, may or may not be the father of the baby of his estranged wife who he is living with and has to face the......

A Manhattan company called EMH Group LLC that auctioned jewelry over eBay.com under the name Jewelry by Ezra agreed to a $400,000 settlelement of charges that it engaged in a practice known as shill bidding. That practice involves fakes bids being used to drive up the prices of auctioned items. WNBC is reporting that the jeweler was instructing its employees to secretly bid on items their employer was selling, so that the end sale price......

A man who posed as a police officer in Suffolk County and NYC has been indicted on 54 counts, from first-degree rape to fraud. Twenty-four year-old Terry Henry was held without bail, and one law enforcement source called him a "serial killer in the making." Henry was initially arrested for impersonating a police officer and stealing his landlord's car earlier this year, but investigators found that he used realistic police gear and a car with......

A semi-brilliant scheme to fool a health insurance provider by claiming 20 fake brain surgeries has been busted by the federal prosecutors. A group of people scammed Group Health Insurance out of over $300,000 over four years. Most notably, city employee Stanley Canella claimed he, his wife and four sons had nine brain surgeries during that time. The NY Times says it's unclear whether it's the "nine operations" that "piqued the interest of federal investigators"......

A Lower East Side woman was charged by the Queens DA's office for not delivering English bulldog puppies after customers paid for them. The Queens DA's office believes that Janet Goris never actually had any puppies when she advertised on various websites that she was looking for to find puppies a "loving home" and requested that interested parties only pay the shipping costs. Of course, the shipping costs were $300-400 a pop. The Sun has......

EVENT: McSweeney's Presents an all-star benefit will feature an indie-rock supergroup made up of Dante Decaro and Hadji Bakara (of Wolf Parade), Nick Diamonds and Jamie Thompson (of Islands), Amber Webber (of Black Mountain) and Syd Butler (of Les Savy Fav). Authors Joshua Davis (Underdog), David Rakoff (Fraud) and Rodney Rothman (Early Bird) will also be on hand. And that's not all! Daily Show correspondent John Oliver will be on hand for some laughs. All......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a missing child report at Fulton and Warwick Sts. in Brooklyn, a shooting on 143rd St. in the Bronx, and an overturned auto at Kent and Flushing Aves. in Brooklyn. Some high-profile bloggers are calling for an online code of conduct. Not us! Did you see that graphic of Sponge Bob and KY? "Dashing Diva" nail salons are inflicting NYC-homegrown retail standardization on the rest of the country for......

We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. Torontoist Special Report: Rosie to Trump: "Fire 300 Bicyclists for Fraud!" On DCist: Students Go Wild for Slogans, Secrets and Sexual Harassment The action was thick......

Two years ago, many people were intrigued when an NYU senior had to miss his graduation - because he and his mother had committed $43 million in hedge fund fraud. Hakan Yalincak's parents had even pledged $21 million to NYU, giving the university a $1.25 million check as a start. But now that Yalincak and mother Ayferafet Yalincak have pleaded guilty, the next chapter in the saga is Chapter 7: Bankruptcy and a request from......

Yet another intriguing chapter in the life of former police commissioner Bernard Kerik: WNBC reports that he rejected a plea deal from the feds. The deal would have allowed Kerik to plead guilty to tax fraud and illegal eavesdropping - plus serve jail time - and in return, the feds would have dropped their criminal probe. And the probe includes quite a laundry list: "allegations of mortgage fraud, tax fraud, conspiracy to eavesdrop and making......

Premiering tonight on the Sundance Channel is a six part reality series about a tattooed, pierced alterna-preacher Jay Bakker, called One Punk Under God. As the only son of TV evangelical preachers Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Jay had a pretty troubled childhood what with the scandals over Jim's illicit affair and accounting fraud, the Bakkers subsequent divorce and Jay's descent into substance abuse. However, now Jay has his life more on track with a......