Shel biz as usual

ALBANY — Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver yesterday defended his decision to be featured as the “honored guest” at a fund-raiser for the chairman of a legislative ethics panel reviewing Silver’s hush settlement of Vito Lopez’s alleged sexual harassment of young staffers.

“The speaker, as leader of the Democratic conference, routinely allows members to use his name for fund-raising purposes,” his spokesman, Michael Whyland, told The Post.

The fund-raiser next week is for Assemblyman Charles Lavine (D-LI), who notes on the invite that he chairs the Assembly Ethics Committee, one of two legislative committees weighing possible sanctions against Lopez and Silver.

NY Post: Chad Rachman

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver

The same committee must also decide whether to release a report by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, the state’s ethics watchdog, on the case.

Staten Island DA Dan Donovan, the appointed special prosecutor for the case, has asked the committees not to release JCOPE’s report until his team concludes its criminal investigations.

Silver approved a $103,800 “confidential” Assembly payment to settle harassment claims that two female staffers had brought against Lopez.

Silver later stripped Lopez of his leadership duties and called for him to resign after a separate ethics probe concluded that Lopez groped and abused two other female staffers.

Government-watchdog groups say the timing of the fund-raiser is suspect and gives the appearance that Lavine, rather than being an independent monitor, is beholden to Silver.

“The fact that it’s just business as usual is not the standard we want applied,” said Susan Lerner of Common Cause New York. “There is a pervasive culture in Albany that upsets most New Yorkers, that their elected representatives don’t see this as a problem.”

Lerner said her group is closely watching the Lopez case to see if the creation of JCOPE was an adequate measure for enforcing government ethics.

“We have concern that it’s not sufficiently removed from [Silver’s] appointed control,” she said.

Silver’s spokesman insisted the fund-raising has nothing to do with the investigation.

“We’re confident that the commission has found no legal or ethical violation by Speaker Silver or his staff,” Whyland said.

Silver said he hadn’t seen the report. By law, it would have been released to him had he been the target of the investigation, sources told The Post.

bdefalco@nypost.com

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Tom Hudson: China’s new leaders plan quiet transition

If everything goes smoothly, you won’t hear much out of China in the new week. And that’s the way its new leaders want it. Even though the world’s second largest economy officially seats a new president and premier, the beginning of China’s parliamentary session on Tuesday comes without the usual pomp and circumstance. Instead, China’s new leaders hope to show their own version of austerity. For instance, there will be no booze at official meals.

The party leaders want a sober beginning to their terms as the hope for a more sober Chinese economy. They want to avoid any significant pronouncements that could threat China’s gentle economic recovery. The country’s biggest trading partner, Europe, continues to struggle, tensions with Japan have been rising and Chinese workers have been demanding (and in some cases getting) pay raises. Chinese home prices have heated up again as the Beijing government moved late last year to stimulate its economy.

It came after China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in 13 years. The new government knows that its political stability depends upon a steady economy. With choking air pollution, a horrendous record on food safety and sanctioned corruption, the new slate of leaders taking their seats this week would like to reduce China’s reliance on exports to fuel its economic expansion, reassure its trading partners it wants to play fair and stoke a steady and sustainable rise of living standards.

Since early December as the stimulus efforts began, the Shanghai Stock Exchange index has shot up 21 percent. Electricity production is rising and manufacturing has rebounded too. But the political volume has been muted.

Tom Hudson is a financial journalist based in Miami. He is the former co-anchor and managing editor of Nightly Business Report on public television.

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’Les Mis’ touring company works out to stay in shape at Wilton Manors gym

Even if you’re a Broadway dancer in top shape, it’s not easy looking good and staying fit when you’re on the road with a show like Les Misérables.

"Touring is a difficult life because you’re constantly moving," said Trinity Wheeler, production stage manager for the Les Mis touring company, playing through Sunday at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami.

"It’s not like you can go to a grocery store and have a kitchen and cook the foods that you want and have a consistent workout schedule. We created something that is consistent for the cast," said Wheeler, who is also a certified trainer. "Eating out every meal and stuff can be challenging to stay healthy. Being healthy and on tour is a goal we all try to accomplish."

Thursday morning, Wheeler held a “Guns of the Barricade” boot camp at Steel Gym in Wilton Manors. The workout session allows cast members and others to stay in shape while they’re on the road, Wheeler said.

The Les Mis touring company has 89 people who travel with the show: cast members, crew and musicians, according to Wheeler.

"It’s a large group of people that have this nomadic lifestyle," he said. "Having fitness incorporated into it, you feel better, you wake up, have more energy. It’s been really great for us as individuals, but also for the show."

Among the touring cast members: Wheeler’s partner, Alan Shaw, who plays Joly. The couple own a house in Fort Lauderdale’s Poinsettia Heights neighborhood.

" Les Mis is three hours long and we do eight shows a week. I realized early on because I’ve been with the show over two years now that if I don’t take care of my body and if I don’t eat right and if I don’t really stay on top of it, I can’t do eight shows a week," Shaw said. "We’re onstage in front of 2,000 people on average every night. You have to look your best. It’s part of our job."

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The CW Says Goodbye to 90210

The CW's remake of the '90s hit show 90210 will reportedly end its five-year run in May.

PICS: The High School Hotties of 90210

According to Us Weekly, the show (starring AnnaLynne McCord, Shenae Grimes, Matt Lanter, Jessica Stroup and Jessica Lowndes) has been canceled due to meager ratings.

The show has reportedly averaged 1.23 million viewers this season, being overshadowed by new hits The Vampire Diaries and Arrow.

"The CW has had five great seasons with America's favorite zip code, 90210," CW network president Mark Pedowitz announced in a statement. "I'd like to thank the talented cast, producers, and crew for all their hard work and dedication to the series. We are very proud of the West Beverly High alumni."

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Escort jumped from sixth-story window to escape captors who enslaved her: prosecutors

Two men held a female escort worker enslaved in apartments on the Upper West Side and Harlem, forcing her to have sex with multiple customers until — desperate to escape — she jumped from a sixth-story window, prosecutors said in describing a horrific rape-kidnapping case yesterday.

The unnamed woman had gone last November to an escort job at an apartment on West 92nd Street and Columbus Avenue — only to have her “john” steal her cellphone, money and identification, telling her, “You’re not leaving the apartment — you’re working for me and making me money.”

That first “john,” — allegedly Benjamin Gaston, 36 — struck the woman and held a pillow to her face when she protested, prosecutors say. The woman repeatedly snuck 911 calls on a cellphone she found in the apartment, but couldn’t give an accurate address, and police were unable to save her, officials said.

Gaston allegedly took the woman the next night to a second apartment on West 149th Street, where there were six or seven additional men waiting to have sex with her, including co-defendant Johnny Jackson, 53.

“You do what I say in there,” Gaston allegedly threatened her again.

Instead, she climbed out of a window of the sixth-floor apartment — attempting to use her jacket as a rope, but instead falling to the ground, breaking both of her legs and her back, according to the complaint against the two men who have been arrested as co-defendants in the alleged rape-kidnapping so far.

Jackson told cops that his only involvement was in lending his apartment out so Gaston could bring “a girl” over for prostitution. “She was OK with it,” he insisted. “She didn’t want to leave.”

“My client is an honorably discharged Marine — that’s all I feel comfortable saying right now,” Jackson’s lawyer, Arnold Keith, said after Jackson and Gaston pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court.

“The facts of this crime are truly heinous,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., said after the arraignment. “These defendants are accused of holding a woman hostage in order to essentially enslave and prostitute her.”

litaliano@nypost.com

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Banah Sugar company says it will pay debts

Banah Sugar’s executive director, Yurek Vásquez, said the company will make payments to the more than 200 people and companies it owes money to, after the beginning of a reorganization process supervised by a federal court was revealed.

“This is a reorganization that gives us time to pay our providers,” Vásquez said. “Our intention is to continue working with them, fulfill our duty to them.”

Vásquez spoke to El Nuevo Herald for the first time after the sugar company filed for bankruptcy last week under Chapter 11, which allows continued operations while restructuring.

On Monday, several representatives of creditors expressed outrage at Banah’s non-compliance, accusing it of making payments with checks without funds.

Vásquez, who took over the leadership at Banah in November, said that the previous administration of the company faced “management problems.”

“One of these problems was a flawed communication between the previous administration and providers,” Vásquez said. “The fact that payments were pending did not mean that they were not going to get paid, but no one heeded the providers, nobody explained a payment plan to them so they would know when they were getting paid.”

Banah’s former executive director, Diego Leiva, told El Nuevo Herald he retired from the sugar company in October after learning the background of owner Alex Pérez, who served four years in prison for cocaine trafficking.

But Vásquez said Leiva did know about Pérez’s past and the real reason he left had to do with a mutual agreement after management problems were detected.

“I came to make an evaluation of the company and, after seeing the poor performance and deficiencies, I decided to make staff changes,” Vásquez said. “Leiva agreed with the changes, which included his resignation.”

The company operates with 15 employees. He said the size of the staff would depend on growth of production and new markets.

He said Banah is “now more efficient,” with a plant that can produce 24 million bottles of liquid sugar a year. Before, it imported liquid sugar at substantial cost.

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Friday is the deadline for homestead exemption applications

Friday is the deadline to apply for a homestead exemption or other property-tax break with the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser.

Two new exemptions are on the books. One aims to cut the tax burden for low-income seniors who have lived in their homes more than 25 years. The other is for the spouses of police and fire-rescue workers who have died in the line of duty.

Homeowners can apply for homestead and other tax cuts at the Property Appraiser’s offices or by calling 305-375-4091 for forms.

Information and online filing for homestead exemption also is available at the Property Appraiser’s website at http://www.miamidade.gov/pa/.

A homestead exemption excludes $50,000 of the assessed value of a primary residence from taxation and caps the annual increase in a property’s assessed value at a maximum of 3 percent.

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ET at The Sunset Sessions: What do Fun The Black Keys and Jason Mraz Have in Common

When I'm driving home from work listening to the radio I sometimes wonder, How do these radio programmers know what new music is out there? I hear the constant streaming of Top 40 hits, but where are the underground singer-songwriters? Where can radio and music lovers find the new IT group or artist that is going to blow up? Well I found the answer and I have three words for you... the Sunset Sessions.

PICS: New Music Tuesday!

For over 16 years, the sessions have opened their doors to new and upcoming artists, and you won't believe the list of alumni: Grammy winners Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat, The Zac Brown Band, The Black Keys, and Fun., just to name a few, and did I mention they are all Grammy winners?

Michele Clark, who founded the Sunset Sessions, wanted to create an event that would bring together music supervisors, radio programmers, music managers, all in one place to discover artists and bands no one else is playing.

This past weekend I got to spend some time in San Francisco with some of music's most talked about new artists and groups including the much buzzed about, AlphRev and Saints of Valory. When I arrived at the Grand Hyatt Hotel right in the center of downtown you could feel the energy of the musicians as you stepped into the many rooms and stages to watch the various artists. Though they were all music industry professionals there on business, at the end of the day they are all music lovers in search of new music.

The Parlotones, the multi-platinum selling Johannesburg-bred quartet, who has shared the stage with bands like Coldplay, say that the event has "a cool vibe, everyone's music lovers and meeting each other so it's just a cool vibe." Kansas born rock band, Gooding, who were at the sessions for the first time, said "one of the things that makes it very special is the quality of not only just talent, but the people ... there's just a lot of passion here."

The opportunity is very different than other music industry events as rock and roll songstress, Anna Rose, says "it's rare, you don't get to sit in front of people like this and play ... especially for an independent musician like myself." Country spitfire Emily Bell says that the music professionals "really accept all these up and coming artists with open arms."

The Sunset Sessions have also gathered artists all over the world to come and showcase their music including Sweden's Anna Bergendahl, who performed for the first time in the US during the sessions, Keith Harkin from Ireland, Chris Assaad from Canada, and they even went to the island of Hawaii to bring singer songwriter Anuhea to join the fun; throughout her career she has jammed with the likes of Bruno Mars and Ziggy Marley.

I wasn't sure what to expect but after a full weekend of new music, I was refreshed and cannot wait to see where this year takes all of these new and amazing artists.

To see what other up and coming artists like Faulkner, Savannah Philyaw, and Fernando Perdomo, had to say about the Sunset Sessions and their performances watch the video above and follow @sunsetsessions on Twitter or go to sunsetsessions.org for more details on the next Sunset Sessions in Carlsbad, California.

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Cannibal cop plotted with goat-slaughtering 'butcher' to kill wife: feds

Cannibal cop Gilberto Valle plotted to slaughter his future bride with the help of a depraved Pakistani “butcher” who bragged about his skills — and even sent the officer a video of a goat’s throat being slit, the feds said yesterday.

In an online chat with Valle last year, a nut job who called himself Aly Khan said he “would love to slaughter a girl and make her meat,” according to a transcript read aloud in Manhattan federal court in testimony by FBI Agent Corey Walsh.

“I killed few goat to see what happens to the animal and how its done,” Aly Khan wrote in a typo-filled, sadistic back-and-forth with Valle, according to documents entered into evidence.

Gilberto Valle

GRISLY: This video of a goat butchering was sent online to Gilberto Valle by an alleged co-conspirator.

“i fond it easy. Its just to use some arm power to lay it down. tie it a little and cut its throat.”

To back this up, Kahn sent Valle a graphic YouTube video of someone slitting a goat’s throat halal-style, in an effort to educate the cop about butchery and show him that anyone can do it with a little practice.

The video is so sickening, prosecutors have been barred from showing it to the jury. Only a still picture of a knife against a goat’s throat in the moment before slaughter was entered into evidence.

Valle — who met Aly Khan on a Web site for human-meat-obsessed perverts — wrote in one chat that he was “trying to pick out a girl who i can send over” before saying “i can talk my girlfriend into going to india,” where Walsh said Aly Khan claimed to live.

“If you bring her here, i promise i will make a good meal for you,” Aly Khan wrote in January 2012 about Kathleen Mangan, the woman who would become Valle’s wife about six months later.

The butcher said he would kill Mangan as humanely as possible, adding, “i can’t resist her meat.”

“Will you participate in the slaughtering process with me,” Aly Khan asked.

“Absolutely,” Valle, 28, wrote back.

“I have longed to butcher and cook female meat.”

The two also shared twisted plans to humiliate Mangan. They would “tie her down spread eagle” and take turns raping the woman, mother to Valle’s baby daughter.

“It would humiliate her. do you have something to keep her mouth open? otherwise she will bite,” Aly Khan wrote

“Hell yes,” Valle replied.

He added, “She is a sweet girl. I like her a lot. But I will move on.”

While Aly Khan claimed to be a butcher in India, Walsh said the feds actually traced his IP address to an unspecified location in Pakistan.

After Valle said that his girlfriend was a vegetarian, Aly Khan remarked that “her meat quality be slightly less.” “She will taste like a tasty goat, . .” he added.

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Knight Foundation holding IdeaJam Saturday

The Knight Foundation is hosting a free Knight News Challenge IdeaJam Saturday in conjunction with a nationwide contest it is running on open government that is seeking innovative ideas to improve the way citizens and governments interact ( www.newschallenge.org) through information and technology. Winners will get a share of $5 million and support to make their projects happen. The local IdeaJam will be at 3 p.m. at The LAB Miami, 400 Northwest 26th Street in Wynwood. It’s part of a full day of activities for The LAB’s grand opening from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., including a shark tank for entrepreneurs. To register for the IdeaJam and the grand opening events: http://cirqueducowork.eventbrite.com/

Nancy Dahlberg

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