"Affinity crimes" are an economic form of crime that is the exact opposite of Randy Newman's modern standard—prosecutors say they are on the rise, and are warning that while you should keep your enemies close, maybe you should start keeping your so-called friends at a secure distance. "It's someone saying, 'You can't trust Wall Street, but you can trust me. I'm one of you -- I'm from your church, I'm from your neighborhood, I'm from your same ethnic background,'" explained Micki Shulman, deputy chief of the Manhattan DA's Major Economic Crimes Bureau. more ›

If you've been following along with any of the various scandals simmering around Democratic State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr.—whose defection was instrumental in returning control of the Senate to Republicans and put him next in line to be Governor (should tragedy befall David Paterson)—then you get why some people think he's "really an unsavory character," in the words of Baruch College political analyst Doug Muzzio. But we may have figured out the cause of his troubles: multiple personality disorder. more ›