Nobody is supposed to get away with it.
But whacky Robert Durst may hold a special distinction in the annals of crime. The former real estate mogul allegedly has gotten away with murder, not once, not twice…but several times.

A jury in Galveston, Texas failed to convict him in a grisly murder a few years back. And though some topnotch detective work by New York state police investigator Joe Becerra revived suspicions that Durst murdered his wife, Kathie, at their home in South Salem in 1982, no indictment in that case has ever been handed down.

Over the years, books and films about Durst’s cross-country (and cross-dressing) escapades have been produced. But he continues to fascinate.
And this Sunday,at 8 p.m. MSNBC will air the latest Durst documentary entitled, “The Untouchable.”

Becerra, who’s based in Hawthorne, appears in the documentary.

Is developer Lou Cappelli misunderstood? That’s what he thinks. And so does his glamorous wife, Kylie, who says the press has it all wrong about him.
In an article published in the latest issue of “The Wag”:http://www.westchesterwag.com/, entitled “At Home With Real Estate’s Power Couple,” the Cappellis mildly take the ink-stained wretches (that would be me) to task.
The piece, which delivers tidbits on how and where they met, offers this little digression:
“They brood together on the medi’s unfair (as the Cappellis see it) portrayla of Louis as a real estate giant trampling the little guy. ‘Why is that these newspapers don’t write about the positive?’ asks Kylie. ‘The philanthropy, it’s a process—it’s a commitment that Louis is making to the places he develops. There’s room for everyone. Before City Center (in White Plains) there were few places to eat. Now there are restaurants all over, the arts are thriving, and the hospital is doing better.’ ”

Spousal loyalty is commendable, but a general response can be summed up with the old saying that the role of the press should be to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Guess which group Lou belongs to?

But here’s another thing. It’s no secret that Cappellli had wanted to shut down the drop-in shelter for the homeless at the Grace Church Community Center, which is just a short walk from his Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residence set to open in White Plains next month.
That’s the skyscraper, you might remember, which will include two $200,000 Bentleys to transport the wealthy denizens to their country clubs.

God forbid they have to look at homeless people on the way.

The point is that in the world of mega-development, philanthropy is not a quiet endeavor. It may be cloaked in a charitable purpose but it is also transparently self-serving, not unlike a campaign donation.

Ah, there’s nothing like getting “mugged” with an overly punitive parking ticket…but this is the age we live in, folks. The money raised from parking violations seems to be nothing more than a random tax to fill municipal coffers.
The trend appears to be getting worse.
Submitted for anecdotal consideration: John Steward, recently informed me that while on vacation, he took his family to the New Roc City movie complex to see “Transformers.” He paid $2.50 to park his car in the garage for two and a half hours. The movie lasted three hours.
Sure enough, when he got back to his car Steward found a ticket. The fine? Fifty bucks.
So for a few hours, the total cost was $52.50. Tthrow in the cost of movie admission, and it was pretty expensive trip.
Westchester County is getting more like Manhattan every day.

Check this out…It’s a video column I did for RNN-TV about the water bills in Yonkers.
I’ll be posting more of these in the coming days. Download:

Hillary Clinton’s fundraiser tomorrow in Port Chester is attracting more than just deep-pocketed Democrats. Also showing up will be anti-war picketers from “NoWar Westchester”:http://www.nowarwestchester.org/, a group dedicated to ending the war in Iraq.
Clinton voted in favor of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Ever since it became obvious that the war was mishandled and increasingly unpopular with the American public, she’s been dancing around the issue by criticizing President Bush’s performance and policy. At the same time, she’s never quite apologized for her vote, despite challenges by her Democratic opponent, John Edwards who regretted his pro-war vote in 2003.
Though Hillary is ahead in the polls, NoWar Westchester, which has regularly held peace viigils in White Plains, hasn’t let her off the hook.
Tomorrow’s protest will be staged at 8 a.m. at 800 Westchester Ave.

The “High Noon” radio program returns today on WVOX after a two-week hiatus.
Tune into 1460 AM or log on to www.vox.com and listen as we discuss the race to the White House with political strategists Jeffrey Binder and Mike Edelman.
The show starts at 12 noon. And you call with questions or comments at 914-636-0110.

Update: Here’s the podcast of today’s show.

[audio:http://lohud.com/audio/reisman/reisman090607.mp3]

I was driving in White Plains earlier this morning and saw a Westchester Bee-Line bus go by that carried the words, “Dragon Coaster.”
That, of course, is a reference to the popular ride at the county-owned Playland Amusement Park. The venerable Dragon Coaster has been free of controversy, but the fact that it is being advertised in such a way begs the question: Was there a bus named after the amusement park’s most fatal attraction, The Mind Scrambler?