VIDEO: This Horse Hates Chickens...I Think

This NY Teacher is Collecting $100,000 a Year for Nothing

A Queens NY teacher who collects a $100,000 salary for doing nothing spends time in a Department of Education "rubber room" working on his law practice and managing 12 real-estate properties worth an estimated $7.8 million, The Post found.

Alan Rosenfeld hasn't set foot in a classroom for nearly a decade since he was accused in 2001 of making lewd comments to junior-high girls and "staring at their butts," yet the department still pays him handsomely for sitting on his own butt seven hours a day.

In 2001, six eighth-graders at IS 347 in Queens accused Rosenfeld, a typing teacher who filled in for an absent dean, of making comments like "You have a sexy body," asking one whether she had a boyfriend and making others feel uncomfortable with creepy leers.

Because the Department of Education could not produce all the students as witnesses, he was found guilty in only one case. A girl testified that Rosenfeld stopped at her locker, where she was standing with a friend, and "said I love him because I talk to him so much."

A DOE hearing officer gave him a slap on the wrist -- a week off without pay -- for "conduct unbecoming a teacher." He was cleared to return to teaching.

Instead, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has kept the scruffy 64-year-old in a Brooklyn rubber room, deeming him too dangerous to be near kids, officials said.

The DOE can't fire him.

"We have to abide by the union contract," spokeswoman Ann Forte said.

So Rosenfeld simply collects his $100,049 salary -- top scale for teachers -- plus full health benefits and the promise of a fat pension, about $82,000 a year if he were to retire today.

His pension will grow by $1,700 each year he remains. He could have retired at age 62, but he stays.

He has also accumulated about 435 unused sick days -- and will get paid for half of them when he retires.

With city teachers trying to negotiate a 4 percent pay hike, Rosenfeld stands to get the raise.

All this largesse comes as Mayor Bloomberg threatens to cut 2,500 teachers to help close a $4 billion budget gap.

Meanwhile, the multimillionaire Rosenfeld lords over the rubber room, where he is the oldest and most veteran of 100 teachers.

He reports promptly at 7:30 a.m. to the cavernous "reassignment center" on Chapel Street and spreads out at a table cluttered with used paper cups, plastic utensils, bags of food, news clippings and files.

He "smells like he hasn't taken a shower in months," an insider said.

A licensed attorney since 1973, Rosenfeld frequently talks on the phone to clients and other lawyers, insiders say.

"He's always working," one said.

City rules forbid staffers to conduct business on DOE time.

He refers to himself as "Dr. Rosenfeld" and often insults fellow teachers, calling them "losers" and "deadbeats."

He also doles out legal advice to his rubber roommates.

"He's very smart. He helps everybody in the room with their DOE cases and outside legal cases," a colleague said. "He doesn't charge them, but people buy him food, take him out to dinner."

Rosenfeld oversees a real-estate empire that includes family homes in Queens worth an estimated $7.8 million, according to city records.

The Post found he holds the deeds to 12 properties, mostly one-, two- and three-family homes in Forest Hills, Rego Park and Glen Oaks.

He co-owns a three-family brick home on 67th Road in Rego Park with a market value of $1 million, records show.

A $674,000, two-story building on Saunders Street in Rego Park is listed as his address and has a shingle outside marked "Alan M. Rosenfeld, Attorney at Law." A smaller shingle underneath reads, "Lic. Real Estate Broker."

After joining the DOE as a substitute 41 years ago in 1968, he went full time in 1970, teaching at several Queens elementary and middle schools until the 2001 charges.

The DOE responded to questions about Rosenfeld in a statement, saying Klein had ordered "a handful" of such teachers to stay out of classrooms because they posed a risk to kids.

"This is not an ideal system, but given the realities of cumbersome state laws and the union contract, we need to balance our obligation to safeguard children with our legal obligation of fairness to teachers," it reads

the Geezer Bandit Strikes Again!

The aging bank robber dubbed by the FBI as the Geezer Bandit has struck again, according to the FBI and the San Diego Police Department.

Wednesday's robbery of a San Diego National Bank in Point Loma was the sixth robbery attributed to the same robber in the last six months.

The robber presented a demand note and flashed a silver-and-black semiautomatic weapon, the FBI said. The bandit is described as a white man about 60 to 70 years old.

The robberies have occurred over a broad area, including Rancho Santa Fe, La Jolla (twice), Santee and the Carmel Mountain neighborhood.

A $16,000 reward is being offered for the arrest and conviction of the robber.

VIDEO: Cliff Clavin on Jeopardy

JOKE:Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Heaven, God was missing for six days

Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Heaven, God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel, found him, resting on the seventh day. He inquired of God, "Where have you been?"

God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds. "Look, Michael, look what I,ve made." Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?"

"It's a planet," replied God, "and I,ve put Life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance."

"Balance?", inquired Michael, still confused.

God explained, pointing to different parts of earth. "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth while southern Europe is going to be poor; the Middle East over there will be a hotspot.

Over there I,ve placed a continent of white people and over there is a continent of black people," God continued, pointing to different � continents.

"This one will be extremely hot and arid while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."

The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a large land mass and said, What's that?"

"Ah," said God. "That's Florida, the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful lakes, rivers, streams and climate. The people from Florida are going to be modest, intelligent and humorous and they are going to be found traveling the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking and high achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as diplomats and carriers of peace."

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then proclaimed, "What about balance, God?" You said there would be balance!"

God replied wisely, "Wait until you see the idiots I'm sending them from the North every winter!

Family Dog Saves Children from Deadly Snake

Zena the staffordshire terrier is being hailed a hero after saving her three young Australian owners from a menacing tiger snake.

Zena the warrior dog leapt to the defence of the Schultz children Brendan 7, Jared, 6, and Sarah, 3 stopping the deadly reptile from sliding through an open screen door into the rumpus room where the children were eating their dinner at about 6.30pm on Tuesday.

The siblings' screams of terror on seeing the snake soon turned to tears and cries for help to save their pooch at their Bannockburn home.But Zena's lightning-fast reflexes snapped the snake's spine , preventing it from striking and killing the much-loved pet.

"It was terrifying," mother Patricia said. "I walked into the rumpus room to ask the kids if they wanted anything else to eat and this snake was making its way along the screen door towards the opening.

"The children saw it at the same time. I screamed, the kids screamed and Zena came from no where. She was amazing.

"She gave it one quick snap and then continued to struggle with it. It was barely moving after Zena had let go, so my husband was able to finish it off with the rake."

SCARY: Boy Steals Gun Then Shoots Neighbor's Dog for Barking

He's accused of stealing a rifle from one neighbor and then using it to shoot another neighbor's dog. And he's only eleven years old.

Spotsylvania Virginia County Sheriff's Department was called to investigate the shooting of a German Sheppard on Monday. The dog's owner told deputies he heard a gunshot and went to investigate.

He found his dog on the front porch bleeding with a wound to the neck. The home is located off a private road in a rural part of the county, and deputies say they have never responded to a complaint in that area before.

Investigators spent the day talking with other neighbors, some who say they heard the shot, while animal control officers rushed the dog to a nearby veterinarian clinic.

Later that evening, one of the neighbors who had said she had heard the gunshot, called the Sheriff's Department to report finding a rifle in her backyard.

When deputies arrived she told them she had already questioned her eleven year old son who admitted to her he shot the dog because it had been keeping him awake at night.

JOKE: the Funeral

A funeral service is being held for a woman who has just passed away. At the end of the service, the pall bearers are carrying the casket out when they accidentally bump into a wall, jarring the casket. They hear a faint moan. They open the casket and find that the woman is actually alive!
She lives for ten more years, and then dies. Once again, a ceremony is held, and at the end of it, the pall bearers are again carrying out the casket.
As they carry the casket towards the door, the husband cries out, 'Watch that wall!'

Relentless Woman Fights For 14 Cents Owed

LIVERMORE, CA

You've heard it said before "it isn't about the money, it's about the principle. Here's a story that proves that.

Janet Maitland is nothing if not a good telephone services consumer. Back about a decade ago, she got her long distance phone service through Costco. It was called TTI and it offered a smoking deal.

"They offered a deal where it was 5.4 cents a minute and they broke it down into 6-second increments, so we are talking little tiny bills here. I've got one here that is for 2 cents," she said.

She had put $5 on account and nearly a decade later, she still has 14 cents left. But then out of nowhere, that 14 cents disappeared. She called several times and was told the money would be sent or charged back to her credit card, or that the money would not be returned.

"It is 14 cents, but it is my 14 cents, and they were after me for 2 cents. They sent me a bill for 2 cents, they expected their money," Maitland said.

The customer service reps seemed to be getting fed up over these 14 cents. But eventually, one representative agreed to help.

"He gave me his direct number, it was a chat line and no surprise, he wasn't there," she said.

It turns out TTI is an obscure company in an obscure town. TTI was formerly known as MCI and is now a subsidiary of Verizon Business Global LLC, an obscure division of Verizon.

"It appears Verizon took on a pre-existing condition," she said.

Verizon corporate tracked down the obscure subsidiary and agreed she was owed 14 cents and Verizon was willing to pay up.

Soon after, Maitland got a check for 14 cents.

"I am very pleased. I knew it was coming.

Mechanic Traveling 163 MPH in Porsche Crashes in Florida

Routine maintenance on a 2008 Porsche Boxster took an unusual turn Thursday, when a Sanibel mechanic took the car on a wild test drive, reaching an estimated 163 mph, and crashed it.

Kenneth Kasten, 50, owner of the Sanibel Shell service station, was driving the Porsche on McGregor Boulevard near Punta Rassa Road at 6 a.m. when he lost control and flipped the car into some mangroves, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The Porsche - owned by Nanelle Wehmann of Sanibel - was the only vehicle involved in the crash, which occurred in a 55-mph limit zone.
The FHP estimated the damage to the Porsche at $50,000.

Kasten wasn't seriously injured and left the scene before emergency crews arrived, Cpl. George Kantor of the FHP said. Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor in the crash.

Authorities arrived on scene to find the car smashed, abandoned and upside down.

Initial reports were that the car was stolen, but Kantor said it quickly became clear that Kasten had permission to drive the car.
Wehmann said she has been bringing her vehicles to the Sanibel Shell for years and was surprised to learn about the crash.

"I'm just thankful he wasn't hurt," she said.
Kantor said because Wehmann knew Kasten would drive the car, Kasten wasn't charged with theft.

Kasten was found a few hours after the crash hiding in a nearby parking lot and was given a notice to appear in court on charges of willful and wanton reckless driving and leaving the scene of a crash.

Fort Myers attorney Sean O'Halloran said first offenders on such charges could face a combined maximum penalty of $1,000 and 150 days in jail.

"Any sentence will consider a prior criminal history," said O'Halloran, who is not involved in this case.

Kasten has had seven moving violations since 2000, according to the Lee County Clerk of Court.
Kantor said Kasten admitted to speeding.

"I told him how fast we determined he was going, and he said that was about right," Kantor said.

Kantor said Kasten told him he was speeding because he was upset, but Kantor didn't specify why Kasten was upset.

A call to the service station to reach Kasten was met with a "no comment" and a hang-up.

Wehmann said she doesn't hold any ill will toward Kasten or his business.

"He's a good guy," she said. "It was just an unfortunate accident."

And Wehmann is still willing to bring her vehicles back to the station.

"I have no reason to think I wouldn't," she said. "It's a well-respected place."