Chinese dissident ‘Bugged’ at NYU

Five electronic devices presented as gifts to Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng by purported US supporters were secretly loaded with software intended to spy on the blind dissident, according to Jerome Cohen, an NYU professor who has been his mentor.

Chen — who got an NYU fellowship when he arrived in May 2012, only to see it ended by the school last week — received an iPad and at least one smartphone with secret programs to track his movements and communications, Cohen said.

NYU technicians found the spyware.

Among Chen's first visitors to his Greenwich Village apartment was Heidi Cai, the wife of activist Bob Fu. She brought an iPad and an iPhone as gifts.

AFP/Getty Images

INTRIGUE: Chen Guangcheng, who fled to New York from China, received the spyware-laden gifts from purported supporters, his mentor says.

The devices were screened by the NYU techs within a few days and were found to have been loaded with spyware.

"These people supposedly were out to help him and they give him a kind of Trojan horse that would have enabled them to monitor his communications secretly," said Cohen.

The iPad was cleaned up and returned to Chen at his request.

"This is the first time I've heard of spyware," said Fu, who called the allegations "ridiculous" and "like an 007 thing."

"We knew that the first thing after they arrived, they'd want to call their family members, so we wanted to provide communication devices, iPhone and iPad," Fu said.

Later, surveillance programs were found on three additional devices given to Chen, a second source said.

Both Cohen and the source believe the spyware was deliberately installed.

The snooping programs allowed a third party to secretly connect to an internal GPS — turning a gadget into a tracking device.

There was also hidden, password-protected software that backed up the contents to a remote server, the source added.

Cohen and the second source said that when Chen was told that people he believed to be his supporters were very likely spying on him, the dissident became "furious" and "very upset."

Chen came to New York after making a dramatic escape from house arrest to the US Embassy in China.

Last week, Chen said that NYU bowed to China by ending the fellowship.

His supporters suggested that the university was wary of displeasing the Chinese authorities because of its plans for a campus in Shanghai.

The school strongly denied the allegations, and said the fellowship had always been intended last only a year.

NYU also declined to discuss specifics of the spyware.

"I do remember hearing about it," said spokesman John Beckman.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click For Restrictions

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My pal, a real good fella

I Met Jim for the first time at the read-through when I first got hired for "The Sopranos."

The first scene I ever did on the show was at the store Satriale's, where Bobby walks in and says something like, "To the victor belongs the spoils," and Tony says something like, "Get outta here before I shove your quotation book up your fat f--king ass!"

He was trying his best to scare me, but you didn't have to do much acting with Jim, because it was all there — he was a big, intimidating guy, but he was really trying to help me the best he could because I was nervous.

Splash News

BOSOM BUDDIES: Steve Schirripa (left) hanging out with "Sopranos" soul brother James Gandolfini in Tribeca.

It was my first scene with all the stars of the show, and I didn't know anyone. Jim made me feel at home immediately. That's the way he was — he was the boss, not only on the show, but he was the leader, and it trickled down.

He always tried to make you better, which sounds like a cliché, but it's true.

I remember another early scene I had, with Uncle Junior, Dominic Chianese. It was late at night in Newark — I remember it like it was yesterday — and when we called it a night, Jim drove by with his driver in his SUV, and as he went by, he waved at me and I said, "I'll see you, Jim." And he had the driver back the car all the way up, got out, hugged me and said, "We'll see you again."

I'll never forget that.

Jim was a deep thinker; he thought about every nuance, every word he said as Tony Soprano. It was like, "Should I be standing or sitting when Tony says this?" or "Why would I be there?"

But in real life, he absolutely was not Tony Soprano, not in any way, shape or form.

Jim was always lots of fun on the set and was very friendly with the crew, more comfortable with his Teamsters driver than with the suits. He liked to go to dive bars and hang out with everyone. You didn't see Jim out very often with big celebrities because he was a regular guy, a Jersey guy.

We used to joke about being the same size. We wore what we called "The Uniform," which was jeans, a black Tommy Bahama shirt and a T-shirt. We'd say, "We're gonna wear 'the uniform.' " And he would say, "I'm starting to lather up" when he was sweating.

We did that great fight scene in the lake house at the beginning of the last season. One of the reasons it's such a great scene is that we were such good friends, and we said to each other beforehand, "Let's try to make this as real as we can, go as far as we can without killing each other." When his hands were around my neck, it was very realistic.

One time, I had to make him laugh, in that scene where Bobby wears the hunting outfit. And Jim says, "I don't know how you're gonna make me laugh at 7 in the morning," because nothing is funny at 7 in the morning.

So I got this giant dildo, the size of an Italian bread, and when I turned the corner, and the camera was on Jim, I was twirling it around and he laughed and fell onto the counter. You can see it in the show, and it was very much a real laugh.

I worked with him quite a bit, especially toward the end of the series, and we were all very good friends. He was a really generous guy. Jim had a bit of a contract dispute on Season 4, and when the season started, he called each of us into his trailer and gave 15 or 16 of us $33,333 apiece, and all he said was, "Thanks for sticking by me." There are a lot of TV stars who made a lot more money than Jim who never did that.

Another time, we were doing a personal appearance in Vegas — Jim was a beautiful guy but not too comfortable doing that kind of thing — and if he felt he hadn't been nice, if he felt he'd been short because everybody was always clawing at him, he would go back and make it right.

Anyway, we had the same business manager, and Jim said to me at the appearance in Vegas, "Hey, you did most of the work," and he said to our business manager, "Give him $10,000" — just like a guy would buy you a beer. That's a good guy, man.

Jim adored his family. He had a party for his daughter, who none of us had ever met, a few months ago. There were around 200 people there, with his friends from all walks of life — his friends' friends, neighborhood friends, his wife's friends, nieces, nephews, his sisters, brothers-in-law, aunts, uncles. He was very happy with his baby, holding her and hugging her. I think he was a little scared at first, since he was around 50 when she was born.

It's a shame she's not gonna get to know her dad.

Jim was a great husband, a great father and a great friend to anyone he touched. If you needed something, Jim was there. He took care of a lot of people. He was an incredible actor, but was so much more than people know. He was very much a brother to me and to so many others.

He always cared about the other guy. I remember one year, at the Emmys, they wanted a certain amount of "Sopranos" people onstage, and Jim said, "It's either all of us or no one." Yes, he was the star, but he acknowledged that he couldn't do it alone.

We had a lot of laughs, and I want to give a toast to him: Until we meet again, my friend.

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TV wife Edie’s sad tribute

James Gandolfini's TV wife yesterday remembered the man who played burly tough guy Tony Soprano as generous and caring in real life.

"He was a man of tremendous depth and sensitivity, with a kindness and generosity beyond words," said Edie Falco, who played Carmela Soprano.

The tumultuous HBO marriage saw its share of ups and downs.

But Falco said, "The love between Tony and Carmela was one of the greatest I've ever known."

Falco, who was "shocked and devastated" when she heard that Gandolfini had died, spent six seasons playing the matriarch of the Soprano clan and said she was "lucky to have spent 10 years as his close colleague."

"My heart goes out to his family, as those of us in his pretend one hold on to the memories of our intense and beautiful time together."

And Vincent Pastore, who played "Big Pussy" on "The Sopranos," recalled one fond memory of Gandolfini sharing his wealth after he got a raise.

"Me and about five other actors, we got a check," Pastore said on the Sirius Radio show "Editor's Hour with Jess Cagle."

"I called up Jimmy and said, 'What's this?' and he said, 'Well, you know, I got a raise and I wanted to send you guys some money.' Who does that?" Pastore asked.

He said that from the initial script readings, Gandolfini was a "leader."

"I mean it's just what he did. He just drove us into this unity as a family and when we went to work it was a joy and he's gonna be missed," Pastore said.

Another "Sopranos" co-star, Michael Imperioli — who played Christopher Moltisanti — said "Jimmy treated us all like family with a generosity, loyalty and compassion that is rare in this world. Working with him was a pleasure and a privilege."

Gandolfini's on-screen daughter was "heartbroken" when she heard the news and remembers always looking up to the father figure.

"I spent 10 years of my life studying and admiring one of the most brilliant actors, yes, but more importantly, one of the greatest men," Jamie-Lynn Sigler told Us Weekly.

Brad Pitt, who starred in three movies with Gandolfini, said he was "gutted by this loss."

He added that he admired "Jimmy as a ferocious actor, a gentle soul and a genuinely funny man."

jsimeone@

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'Sopranos' star James Gandolfini was boozing and gorging himself on the night he died: source

"Sopranos" star James Gandolfini, who struggled with booze addiction in his final weeks, scarfed down a decadent final meal that included at least eight alcoholic drinks, The Post has learned.

Gandolfini guzzled four shots of rum, two pina coladas, and two beers at dinner with his son — while he chowed down on two orders of fried king prawns and a "large portion" of foie gras, a hotel source in Rome said.

The Emmy Award winner had attended several Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on Perry Street in the West Village, but people who saw him there "didn't think that he was serious about getting sober," said a source familiar with the matter.

HBO

IN THE DRINK: Alcoholic James Gandolfini, in a scene from "The Sopranos," was knocking back booze at his hotel the night of his sudden death in Rome.

"I can confirm he has been known to blow lines and drink like an Irish sailor on weekend leave," said another source.

Photos of Gandolfini in Rome show the actor looking haggard in the days leading up to his death — and he spent a lot of the time with a drink in his hand.

Hours before he keeled over from a massive heart attack, the actor sat down for a 7 p.m. meal with his son, Michael, 13, at the Boscolo Exedra Roma hotel's outdoor restaurant.

Gandolfini, 51, first ordered a pina colada with two additional shots of rum on the side.

He followed that up with an identical round — a pina colada and two shots — and then downed two beers, the source said.

Gandolfini also enjoyed back-to-back orders of fried prawns slathered with mayonnaise chili sauce — as well as a heaping portion of foie gras.

He ate the entire meal himself. Michael had his own dinner and two virgin pina coladas, the source said.

Nearly "everything [Gandolfini] ordered was fried. Obviously, that's going to cause problems with your heart," the source said.

About three hours later, Michael discovered his dad in cardiac arrest in their fourth-floor room.

Six men carried the barechested actor — who was wrapped in a blanket — out of the room, a hotel source said.

Paramedics frantically worked on him on the ride to Umberto I hospital, where doctors spent 40 minutes trying to save him before pronouncing him dead.

The head of the emergency room said Gandolfini appeared to die of natural causes, but officials plan to perform an autopsy.

The previous night, Gandolfini dined al fresco with his son at Sabatini in Rome's Trastevere neighborhood, downing a Campari and soda and a red wine.

"I remember him because he was a very nice person," said his waiter, Andrei Burca, 25. "He had a big smile, a big laugh and looked happy."

Gandolfini's body is in the Rome city morgue, and the US Embassy will make arrangements to return his remains.

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Mets on deck at Braves

TONIGHT — 7:10,

SNY, WFAN

(660 AM, 101.9 FM)

LHP Jon Niese

(3-6, 4.15) vs.

LHP Mike Minor

(8-2, 2.68)

Mets begin a three-game series at the Phillies tomorrow.

INSIDE THE MATCHUPS

METS: Niese has been dealing since mid-May. The left-hander has allowed just seven earned runs in his past five starts,

a stretch of 32 ²/3 innings (1.93 ERA).

BRAVES: Minor's six-inning, four-earned-run performance against the Giants Saturday snapped a streak of eight quality starts in a row. The 25-year-old has given up more than three runs twice this season.

STAT SO?

METS: When Zack Wheeler took the mound Tuesday, he became the first Met born in the '90s to appear in a game — he was born May 30, 1990.

BRAVES: Atlanta's rotation has not only been stellar, but healthy, too. The Braves were the last big-league team to use a sixth starting pitcher this season.

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Sizzling Suzuki powers Pinstripes in opening win

Ichiro Suzuki isn't quite as hot as his right field counterpart in this series, Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig. But Suzuki is on a terrific run himself.

"At the plate, in the field," Yankees catcher Chris Stewart said of Suzuki's performance in yesterday's 6-4 Game 1

Yankees victory in The Bronx. "[He] did it all."

Suzuki ranked as the Yankees' best player in the early game. He racked up three hits, drilled a solo homer, slapped a two-run single and robbed Adrian Gonzalez of extra bases with a magnificent leaping catch.

Although he went 0-for-3 in the 6-0 nightcap loss, Suzuki is raking in his last seven games, batting .400 (10-for-25) and collecting four multi-hit games. For the season, the 39-year-old still has just a .665 OPS — well below league average. But this has been a welcome surge.

UPI

Ichiro Suzuki leaps to make a catch at the wall in the eighth inning during the first game of yesterday's doubleheader.

"I haven't changed anything," he said. "I haven't done anything different."

The Yankees' offense is an injury-ravaged disaster, so a Suzuki spurt would be enormous.

"He has the ability, as we've talked about, to get really, really hot," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said yesterday.

After arriving in a trade from Seattle last July, Suzuki posted just a .714 OPS in his first 51 games with the team. But in the remaining 16 games of the regular season, he exploded, delivering a staggering .969 OPS.

Asked yesterday whether he could sense if he's about to embark on a hot streak, Suzuki replied, "I have no idea. Maybe you could ask a fortune teller."

Suzuki was out-dazzled yesterday by Puig, the remarkable Cuban rookie who produced four hits, a homer, a bunt single and a stolen base, ran the bases as if he were Rickey Henderson and nearly threw out Thomas Neal at first base on a single — from right field.

But Suzuki did his part to match in the opener. He singled and scored a run in the second inning, then smacked a fastball from Hyun-Jin Ryu over the right-field wall in the sixth for a 3-0 Yankees lead — his first homer in 116 at-bats.

Suzuki dumped a bases-loaded two-run single to left in the seventh inning to make it 6-2. And in the eighth, he leaped at the wall to snare Gonzalez's drive, slamming into the fence and handing the Yankees a big out.

"He was huge today," Lyle Overbay said.

The strong stretch continues for the formerly struggling former star. Suzuki is scorching.

mark.hale@nypost.com

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Hughes pounded in 2nd game as Yanks settle for split

This time, it wasn't the home run that ruined Phil Hughes' night. Instead, it was five first-inning singles, a pair of doubles in the third and two more hits in the fifth.

Regardless of the details, it was another subpar outing from Hughes in the Yankees' 6-0 loss to the Dodgers, as Los Angeles salvaged a split of yesterday's split doubleheader in The Bronx following the Bombers' 6-4 victory in the afternoon.

Hughes — a free agent at the end of the season — allowed five runs in six innings and fell to 3-6. Hughes has won just once in his last seven starts, and his ERA ballooned to 5.09.

Paul J. Bereswill

Phil Hughes

When asked when he needed to start seeing more consistency out of Hughes, manager Joe Girardi said, "We need all our players to be consistent," Girardi said. "He's struggling with that."

Though Ivan Nova is pitching well at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Michael Pineda's rehab is going well, Girardi said Hughes' spot is not in jeopardy.

"I haven't really thought about moving Phil out of the rotation," Girardi said.

Hughes also said it's not on his mind.

"My number one priority is pitching well every five days," Hughes said. "That's really all I worry about."

The day got off to a pretty good start for the Yankees, who were playing host to the Dodgers for the first time since the 1981 World Series, with manager Don Mattingly in the visitors' dugout.

There was a chant from the Bleacher Creatures to the former first baseman, a brief video tribute and other mentions of his name throughout the doubleheader.

Each time, Mattingly tipped his cap to the crowd before his struggling team got the win in the nightcap.

"It was pretty cool,'' Mattingly said of his first game at the new Stadium. "It's a good feeling to know people appreciated the way you played. … I always said this is a special place."

It's a place where Cuban sensation Yasiel Puig felt comfortable in.

The right fielder hammered the ball all over the field in both games and homered to lead off the seventh against Adam Warren in the nightcap.

By then, Hughes already had coughed up five runs, and with the hapless Vernon Wells hitting cleanup and spare part Thomas Neal behind him, the Yankees' offense had little chance of closing the gap — even against former Mets lefty Chris Capuano.

The Yankees collected just three singles and the only one that left the infield was Robinson Cano's hit to center in the fourth. But he was gunned down at second by Andre Ethier on a play that seemed like it took Cano forever to get to the base.

"He just took too wide of a turn and I'm not sure why," Girardi said.

It turned out to be the Yankees' last hit of the night.

The loss took some of the luster away from a strong performance in the first game by Hiroki Kuroda, who improved to 7-5 by outpitching Dodgers' starter Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Like Hughes, Kuroda, who has an impressive 2.78 ERA, hadn't won since May — though he has pitched much better than his fellow right-hander.

Yesterday, Kuroda gave up two runs in the seventh and the Yankees held on, with Mariano Rivera picking up his 25th save after some shaky bullpen work from Preston Claiborne and, to a lesser degree, David Robertson in front of him.

But the doubleheader ended with another reminder of how easily the Yankees offense can go silent — and how even now, no one knows what to expect from Hughes, who can't seem to survive when everything isn't working.

"That is a craft," Girardi said. "When you don't have your best stuff, being able to get six or seven good innings. That's something pitchers have to figure out."

dan.martin@nypost.com

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For Mets, it’s back to cold reality

ATLANTA — We now return you to your regularly scheduled schlock.

Super Tuesday was everything the Mets could have wanted, with Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler dominating the Braves in a doubleheader sweep, but then came last night and an almost inevitable crash to earth.

Shaun Marcum disintegrated in the middle innings, sending the Mets to a 5-3 loss at Turner Field that reminded everyone it's still 2013 and this team has significant holes.

Marcum (0-9) became the first Mets pitcher to lose his first nine decisions in a season since Anthony Young started 0-13 in 1993. The only other pitcher in franchise history to lose as many as nine straight decisions to start a season was Bob Miller, who began 0-12 in 1962.

AP

NINE INCH NAILED: With last night's 5-3 loss to the Braves, Shaun Marcum is the first Mets pitcher since Anthony Young in 1993 to start a season with an 0-9 record.

"It seems like every mistake is getting hit," Marcum said after allowing five earned runs on six hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings. "You can't locate your fastball, it makes it difficult to pitch."

With manager Terry Collins contemplating who should be bumped from his six-man rotation, Marcum has certainly emerged as a consideration. The right-hander followed a dud against the Cubs last Friday in which he surrendered six earned runs over 5 2/3 innings with last night's struggle.

"He's had some rough starts, but he's also pitched very well at times," Collins said. "When we came back in the game [in the fifth], I really thought he was going to give us some more innings."

After the Mets had scored three runs, two unearned, against Kris Medlen (4-7) in the fifth to make it 3-3, Marcum never escaped the bottom of the inning. Jordan Schafer scored from third on a wild pitch before B.J. Upton stroked an RBI double. Carlos Torres then replaced Marcum and pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings.

The Mets had tied the game with three runs in the fifth, using a Medlen throwing error as the catalyst for the inning. With runners on first and second, John Buck hit a comebacker, which Medlen threw away in his attempt to nail lead runner Marlon Byrd at third base. Byrd and Lucas Duda both scored on the play and Kirk Nieuwenhuis' ensuing RBI single made it 3-3.

Chris Johnson's three-run homer in the fourth against Marcum gave the Braves a 3-0 lead. Marcum allowed consecutive singles to Upton and Dan Uggla with two outs before Johnson cleared the left-field fence for his fourth homer this season.

Wheeler will rejoin the Mets soon enough — he is scheduled to hop a flight to Chicago on Monday and take the ball against the White Sox the following night — but until then Collins wants the rookie pitcher to remain diligent.

The right-hander was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas following his major league debut on Tuesday as a procedural move, giving the Mets added roster flexibility through the weekend. Wheeler, who fired six shutout innings against the Braves, had joined the team as a 26th man afforded by the fact the teams played a doubleheader.

Wheeler traveled to Tucson, Ariz., yesterday to join the Las Vegas team.

"One of the things I told him [Tuesday] night was, 'You've got to make sure you don't skip your work,' " Collins said. " 'You've to do what you have to do to make sure you're ready.' "

mpuma@nypost.com

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Long Island captures Empire Challenge

New York City produces the area's top prospects, but Long Island still plays superior football.

For the second straight year, the Island turned the Empire Challenge — the annual showcase pitting the top football players in the area — into a laugher, routing the city, 40-8, in front of 9,869 at Hofstra University's Shuart Stadium Tuesday night.

New York City boasted the showcase's top prospects, players headed to Division I programs such as Connecticut, Fresno State and Miami while Long Island's kids are sprinkled among Football College Subdivision programs like Stony Brook and LIU-Post.

Their final high school football memory was one they will cherish — the first time either side has won three in a row in the 18 years of the game.

"We wanted to make a statement," said Uniondale High School running back Will Stanback, the game's MVP after rushing for three touchdowns and 138 yards on 12 carries. "Coach told us before we entered this game, this could be history. Three games in a row, nobody ever did that."

Long Island started fast — they led 13-0 less than five minutes after the opening kickoff — and never looked back. If not for three first-half interceptions, the Island would've led by far more than the 19-0 margin at halftime.

Quarterback AJ Otranto of Floyd got the scoring going with a nine-yard keeper. LIU-Post recruit Brian McKean of Connetquot, another quarterback, scored on a five-yard keeper then executed a pretty hook-and-ladder in which he threw a pass in the flat to Stanback and scored on the toss back down the right sideline from 18 yards out.

"We drew it up early in practice, we knew it would work," McKean said. "It was just a matter of when we would run it."

The city, meanwhile, struggled mightily to do much offensively, with starting quarterback Matt Domina of Erasmus Hall suffering a serious ankle injury in the first quarter and Brooklyn Tech running back James Gales missing the game with a broken foot. Boys & Girls' signal-caller Keon Marsh threw three first-half interceptions. Thomas Jefferson standout Kendall "Speedy" Thomas sparked the city's first score with a 75-yard kickoff return and Miami-bound Augustus Edwards of Tottenville scored on a five-year plunge, but by then it was 26-8, and the game was out of hand.

"It [stinks]." City team coach and Erasmus Hall head man Danny Landberg said. "Listen, I'm a football coach. I'm a competitor. You don't want to be in that situation ever. It definitely is a embarrassing feeling."

Stanback, who has signed with Central Florida, put the game completely out of reach with a highlight-reel 87-yard rushing touchdowns, tied for the second longest in the game's history, making it 33-8 early in the fourth quarter.

The five boroughs has come a long way on the gridiron in recent years, producing All-Americans each of the last five years, and has two more this coming season in Erasmus Hall running back Curtis Samuel and Lincoln defensive tackle Thomas Holley.

Long Island, however, has proven to be better in the annual rivalry.

"Honestly, I think it's discipline," Stanback said. "We all come to practice, we're here on time early. Some guys are here an hour before. We really clocked the first week of practice."

zbraziller@nypost.com

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Kimye kid’s katchy name

The world has its next reality-TV star: Kaidence Donda West.

That's the name of Kim Kardashian's 4-day-old baby girl with rapper Kanye West, according to the gossip Web site Mediatakeout.com.

If true, the name would be a tribute to Kanye West's mother, the late Donda West, to whom he dedicated his song "Hey, Mama."

The Web site claims it got the name from a nurse at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.

It's in keeping with the Kardashian family tradition of giving their girls names beginning with the letter K.

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