James Colliton, who pleaded guilty to statutory rape, is suing American Express for telling the authorities his whereabouts when authorities were looking for him. Colliton, who had made $500,000/year at white shoe law firm Cravath, Swain & Moore, had paid a women to have sex with her underage daughters and was suspected of having a "harem" of underage girls in a Manhattan apartment--while his wife and family lived in Poughkeepsie. Colliton was found in Canada,......

Thank you, NY Times, for updating us on the activities of George Elmer Pataki. Although Pataki has been out of politics, he still spent $1.4 million from his political action committee on "Broadway theater tickets, gatherings at the Yale Club and payments to political loyalists and advisers." Now, Pataki's PAC was formed in Virginia, which has, according to the NY Times, "no limits on contributions" and a "light regulatory touch in terms of spending." A......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Gothamist. Cloverfield, the new JJ Abrams movie where a skyscraper-sized monster descends upon New York City. In theaters on 1/18. No Dice, with an extended run at the Soho Repertory Theatre. The Whitney Museum, host of Kara Walker's amazing "My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love" show. Rubin Museum of Art, the only place for Himalayan art at sea level. New......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Gothamist. No Dice, with an extended run at the Soho Repertory Theatre. The Whitney Museum, host of Kara Walker's amazing "My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love" show. Rubin Museum of Art, the only place for Himalayan art at sea level. New York Dish, offering a chance to win a $50 American Express Gift Card. Hoovers, where you can find company......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Gothamist. The Whitney Museum, host of Kara Walker's amazing "My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love" show. Rubin Museum of Art, the only place for Himalayan art at sea level. New York Dish, offering a chance to win a $50 American Express Gift Card. New York Choral Society, which will be making beautiful music at Carnegie Hall on December 20th. Busted......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Gothamist. Dewars Repeal Day, celebrating our freedom to drink as we please. Go Eight, bringing us a blowout Hannukah Party on Saturday Night. The Whitney Museum, host of Kara Walker's amazing "My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love" show. Rubin Museum of Art, the best spot for Himalayan art. Sony Card, perfect for funding your holiday purchases. Love is a Mix......

Okay, so we've heard about how Rudy Giuliani's mayoral administration billed his police security detail expenses - accrued during trips to the Hamptons, possibly visiting then-mistress Judi Nathan - to various obscure city agencies. And then there are reports that Nathan, now married to the former mayor, used her NYPD security detail to chauffeur friends and family. Naturally, now there's talk of the police security expenses of Giuliani's then-wife Donna Hanover. The Post's David Seifman......

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......

Up above you have Park Slope #17 and Carroll Gardens #13, respectively. Jennifer Loeber is bringing nude photography close to home with her series that show different Brooklynites in the flesh, in their apartments. They could even be your neighbors! And her inspiration? It came from a flasher on the subway, of course: "The idea to shoot nude portraits came about as I rode the NYC subway and pretended not to notice, across the......

After two years in service and almost as long as media gossip fodder, Times Select, NYTimes.com's service that offered access to the rich archives of the New York Times through a paid subscription modeled, is officially dead. The service put certain current online content behind the Times Select wall, such as columns by Op-Ed writers, and there was much criticism, even from within the Times, about restricting access the paper. There had been rumors about......

We all knew the real estate bubble was causing insanity, but we should have known it's encouraged people to divorce. There's a NY Times Styles section article about some who wait until the market's at its peak to divorce - that way, they can benefit from an even bigger profit when selling their homes. There are quotes from Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker, who showed that couples with a drastic rise in net worth were......

American Express developed an interesting promotional tool that combines good press and good works with a dash of American Idol-style competition thrown in for good measure. The Members Project has been a winnowing contest where AmEx cardholders (or "members") have selected five charitable causes from a large number of entries. The single charitable project that then receives the most votes among the five will receive as much as $5 million from American Express to continue......

When we saw it on the wine list at Cru, we rubbed our eyes in such disbelief that you could almost hear that signature squeaky sound if you listened closely. There it was, a 1989 Zind-Humbrecht Muscat Goldert from Alsace, France. It went against everything we were taught to know about Muscat. We were told that wines made from the Muscat grapes were best enjoyed young. That the fresh floral and grapey aromas would grow......

April 27: Taste of the Lower East Side This fundraiser, their sixth annual, benefits the Grand Street Settlement's Youth Programs and features 35 of the neighborhood's favorites. $120 tickets are available at the door, 7-11 pm, Puck Building, 295 Lafayette. April 30: Dining for Darfur Join in Andrea Strong's dine out fundraiser this Sunday, when participating restaurants will donate 5% of their gross sales to the International Rescue Committee’s humanitarian relief efforts in Darfur and......

It's Oscar Night and Gothamist is here. Tonight, it'll be a joint effort, from our resident film guru Karen Wilson and our resident Oscar freak Jen Chung. We hope you weigh in with what you think! KW: I have my popcorn, my diet coke -- I am ready for the spectacle and the excess. JC: ALL RIGHT! I just took extra Vitamin C - I'm waiting for some food delivery. 6:36PM Isaac Mizrahi has NOT......

The FBI raided the offices of State Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin, suspecting him of helping electrical contractors to win city streetlight and traffic-signal bids. McLaughlin represents a part of Queens in the State Assembly and is also the president of the NYC Central Labor Council (that West 15th Street was also raided), and has been a supporter of Mayor Bloomberg. Right now, two electric companies have about $162 million of city contracts for street lights with......

Now that the holidays are over, the hangovers subsiding and thoughts of American Express bills floating in our heads, the transition back to the real world can be a startling experience. Say goodbye to fresh baked cookies in the shape of snowmen or warm apple pies to fill our tummy and hello to promises of visits to the gym. Being one not to adapt to change all that well, Gothamist has decided to make......

- DMX was sentenced to jail! Imagine the inmates yelling "What's my name!" - The New York Rowing Association is looking for volunteers to help look for missing rower Jim Runsdorf - Manhattan User's Guide has an awesome list of murals around the city - get thee to the 21 Club! - Frustration with subway delays goes to whole new level, via Overheard in New York - New York Giants owner Wellington Mara died this......

The Post ("BIZ BOOB BUSTS BANK FOR BABES") and the Daily News ($lap dance!) are having a good time at the expense of Robert McCormick, who apparently managed to blow through $241,000 in one drunken night of partying at Scores. McCormick, CEO of Savvis Communications and a 38-year old father of three kids, was in from Missouri and celebrating some business his company had just closed. Scores claims that after the tab hit $10,000, they......

Forget OPTO, the best reason to ride the L train might be its status as "the love train." American Express released survey results saying that New Yorkers claim the L is the "hot spot" for meeting new people. Among the 600 people questioned, 30% said the L was the best. Gothamist has a few theories of our own. First, the L is so crowded at certain times that you're virtually on top of your fellow......

Food and Wine Annual Cookbook 2005: An Entire Year of Recipes by Dana Cowin & Kate Heddings (American Express, 2005). Gothamist likes coleslaw as much as the next person, but sometimes the familiar can be a bit too, well . . . familiar. Which is why we were interested to try a kaleslaw recipe we found in New York-based Food and Wine magazine's 2005 cookbook roundup. Yes, kale, the lesser-known but delicious dark green leafy......

Karen Quinn, Author of The Ivy Chronicles...

The James Beard Foundation seems to have gotten past the drama of the past year, and managed to announce its 2005 award winners. Local honorees include: - American Express Best Chef, New York City: Andrew Carmellini, Café Boulud - All-Clad Bakeware Outstanding Pastry Chef: Karen DeMasco, Craft - All-Clad Cookware Outstanding Chef: Mario Batali, Babbo - Ecolab Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional: Joseph Bastianich, Italian Wine Merchants - Illy Best New Restaurant: Per Se -......

If you're wondering who's going to star in the next Superman movie, you're not alone. Then again, it's entirely possible you didn't know or don't care. Superman, who? The casting for the lead role in the movie has gone down the crapper. The list of leading men has run the gammut, from Nick Cage, to Jason Behr, to Henry Cavill. It turns out that Warner Brothers even posted a listing on Craigslist for the role.......

The Downtown NYC River to River Festival is offering Meals to Music, which highlights many of the area's restaurants. For American Express Card holders, there is a special promotion for prix fixe meals from July 9th through July 23rd, offering a $20 lunch and a $30 dinner. For those of us without an AmEx, we can still join in the fun. See the River to River website for details on the various specials that each......

If you miss Seinfeld (somehow, through the hundreds of reruns that are in syndication), then check out American Express's webisodes that have Jerry Seinfeld and Superman - voiced by Puddy himself, Patrick Warburton! The webisodes are five minutes each, with the first one starting in a diner - and the director is Barry Levinson. Watch the websiodes here; there is also a "behind-the-scenes" look at the filming. Jerry Seinfeld also admitted that he was thinking......

If you live at Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town and illegally have a pet, watch out: The owners are asking housing employees to snitch on animal owners. The Post has the memo distributed to PCV/ST employees: Any [maintenance] worker who reports the existence of an illegal pet in one of the apartments will receive an award if their report leads to either the successful repossession of the apartment or the successful removal of the......

Martin Scorsese has produced and narrated a documentary about the Statue of Liberty that will air tomorrow night, January 15, on the History Channel. "Lady by the Sea," will be part of a commercial-free, three hour block of programming devoted to the Statue of Liberty, in an effort to raise the $5 million need to reopen the monument. The Statute of Liberty has been closed since September 11, 2001, due to security financing and other......

It's getting a little too easy to point out some of the issues with The Restaurant, but since the Post and the Restaurant are going to town on the crass product placement, we'd be remiss not to weigh in as well. The Post says that Coors, American Express Open, and Mitsubishi paid $200,000 for each advertister slot, plus the article details how Rocco got a $350,000 fee for the series. One restaurant insider tells......

A nice kickback from the TriBeCa Film Festival is the American Express commercial with Martin Scorsese in it. As Jason Gay of the Observer succinctly describes it: In the spot, Mr. Scorsese, a famous perfectionist, tears through a stack of snapshots at a drugstore, trying to find the ideal one from his nephew’s 5th birthday party. Unsatisfied, he phones his nephew and asks him how he’d like to "turn five again." Ad Age interviews director......