Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Your Commute Just Got Creepier | Here's some news you'll find disturbing (unless you have a really weird fetish, in which case you won't). It turns out you're more likely to be groped on the subway these days. Complaints of subway sexual abuse are up four percent this year, although arrests are down six percent, according to the NYPD. Manhattan is the worst borough, and the stations at Grand Central Terminal and 14th Street are supposedly the choicest stomping grounds for these miscreants, who are typically most active during the morning and evening rush hours since they love it when the subway cars are crowded. So keep your wits about you. Unless you fall into that other category, in which case you now know where to be and when. [NYP]

Standard Hotel: Too Sexy for Its Own Good, Perhaps | All that unbridled sexual energy at the Standard has a downside, it seems. A guest staying at the hotel was arrested on Saturday after he forced himself on a maid and has since been charged with attempted rape, sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment. Needless to say, when the hotel was informing guests that the Standard was "all about sex all the time" and "you're our star," this wasn't quite what they had in mind. [NYP]

Bernie Kerik: Convicted Felon, Devoted Dad | Former police commissioner Bernie Kerik almost went crazy in prison these past couple of weeks. But now he's going home! A judge released Kerik on bail today pending his sentencing in February on the eight felony counts he pleaded guilty to last week. So it's a good day, right? Not entirely. Not only will he remain under house arrest until then, a judge put the kibosh on Kerik's request that he be allowed to leave his house to walk his kids to school. "This is not home confinement with morning strolls and afternoon strolls," the judge responded. [NYT]

The Taint Spreads to SAC | The growing insider trading scandal involving hedge funds has made its way to the offices of SAC Capital, the firm founded by one of the industry's most powerful figures, Zamboni-loving billionaire Steve Cohen. One of the 14 new defendants charged today, Richard Choo Beng Lee, seems to have started his crime spree when he was employed by SAC. [BI, Reuters]

Bernie Pleads Guilty | Former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik has taken the deal offered to him by prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to eight counts against him, including tax fraud and making false statements to the federal government, and he now faces between 27 to 33 months in prison. [CNN]

Insider Trading Scandal Expands | Another 14 people have been implicated in the growing investigation into insider trading by hedge funds. A number of the people indicted today have ties to Raj Rajaratnam, the founder of Galleon Group who was arrested a couple of weeks ago; all of them, it's safe to say, just had their days ruined. [WSJ]

Bernie Kerik Has a Big Decision Ahead of Him | Bernie Kerik is no longer crazy, apparently. After displaying behavior that "put him at risk" and spending 10 days in a psychiatric facility, New York's former police commissioner was allowed to return to a regular prison cell at the Westchester County Jail yesterday. More

The Curious Case of Brian Schroeder | Did you hear about Brian Schroeder, the Harvard Law School grad who set fire to the 9/11 chapel early Saturday morning, either as part of a "drunken prank" or because "someone slipped something into his drink"? The good news is Schroeder finally scraped together $3,000 in bail money and got to go home last night. The bad (though hardly surprising) news: Not only is Schroeder quickly turning into this week's tabloid whipping boy, his job offer at the law firm Sidley Austin—which coincidentally once had its offices in the World Trade Center—has been rescinded. But at least now he'll have plenty of time to continue his world travels. [NYDN, NYP, NYDN]

Raj Rajaratnam Could Use a Vacation | Hedge fund mogul Raj Rajaratnam managed to post $100 million in bail, but his lawyer asked a judge today to reduce it to $25 million  as well as given Rajaratnam permission to "travel freely in the contiguous 48 states." How else is he going to enjoy his country house in Connecticut and condo in Florida while he's still a free man? [NYT, WSJ]

Local Newsers Make the News | This isn't shaping up to be a very good day for local TV news personalities. Mike Sheehan, the former cop and Fox 5 reporter who was dismissed from his job this spring after crashing his car into an NYPD horse has pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges. Meanwhile NY1 political anchor Dominic Carter goes to court today on charges he beat up his wife. [NYDN, NYP]

According to the Post, ex-publicist/alleged hacker Ali Wise doesn't have too many friends these days:

Pals of former Dolce & Gabbana mouthpiece Ali Wise -- who used her access to designer swag to leverage friendships on both coasts -- are rushing from her side like rats from a sinking ship after she was charged with hacking into female rivals' voice mails.

But clearly not all of Ali's pals are jumping ship. An unidentified friend sent along these thoughts on the case last night:More

Bernie Kerik Sent to Jail | Former NYC police commissioner Bernie Kerik is on his way to jail this afternoon. A judge revoked bail in his trial on conspiracy and fraud charges today after he concluded that Kerik could not be trusted to honor an order barring him from disclosing confidential information related to the trial. (The judge described him as a "toxic combination of self-minded focus and arrogance," which sounds about right.) Fortunately for Kerik, the trial is taking place in Federal District Court in White Plains, not in Manhattan, so he won't have spend the forseeable future confined to a cell in a building that was once named the Bernard B. Kerik Complex. That could have been a bit awkward. [NYT]

Insider Trading Scandal Rolls On | The biggest insider trading scandal to hit Wall Street in years may be about to get even bigger. Bloomberg reports that as many as 10 more people could be charged in connection with the case as early as next week. More

If you'd marked down October 19 as the day when socialite/publicist Ali Wise would finally appear in court to face charges she allegedly hacked into another socialite's voicemail earlier this year, please note that the prosecutors asked for a little more time to prepare their case today and the judge adjourned it to January 14, 2010. See you then!

Rajaratnam: 'I'm Innocent' | Billionaire hedge funder Raj Rajaratnam was arrested on Friday morning on charges he participated in one of the biggest insider trading schemes in recent memory, one that netted him at least $25 million (but possibly millions more since the investigation continues.) Fortunately for Rajaratnam, the high-profile bust didn't end up depriving him of a weekend of freedom. By the end of the day, he'd been released on $100 million bail—the highest in history—and had to give up his passport and agree not to travel more than 110 miles from New York City. And today? He was back in the office for what must have been the awkwardest Monday morning meeting ever, telling employees that he's innocent and plans to fight the charges against him.