Another player in the Bernie Madoff saga has fallen. His longtime auditor, David Friehling, pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to charges of securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, making false filings with the SEC, and obstructing or impeding the administration of the Internal Revenue laws (among others).

Despite the plea, Friehling still told U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, "At no time was I ever aware Bernard Madoff was engaged in a Ponzi scheme."

To say that it's been a difficult decade for New York City, and the nation at large, would be an understatement. In New York, more than 100,000 lay-offs in the financial community stemming from the bursting of the leveraging bubble and closure of key financial institutions has led to the city's worst recession in more than two decades.

However, the financial and economic crisis that has slowed New York's economy, surprisingly, has not resulted the loss of one city title -- that of financial capital of the world. 29% of respondents to a survey listed the city as the leading global financial center, with the city that never sleeps topping both Singapore, 17%, and London, 16%, according to a Bloomberg Global Poll. The poll of 1,452 Bloomberg subscribers was conducted October 23-27.

The mayhem in the media industry continues. The Wall Street Journal, a News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS) property, is closing its Boston bureau and sending nine employees into the wind. The newswire and MarketWatch operations are going to stay open in Boston, however, with no headcount impact.

The Journal doesn't have any plans to close other offices, according to a memo by managing editor Robert Thomson: "there are no plans, nascent or otherwise, to close any other U.S. or international bureau." The WSJ will still support an "investigative function" in Boston, but the New York-based Money and Investing team will cover Boston's mutual fund industry, which boasts such heavy hitters as Fidelity.

At the same time, magazine company Time Inc., owned by Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) is looking to cut $100 million in expenses, and layoffs will undoubtedly figure into the equation. The company that owns Time, Fortune, People and Sports Illustrated – and falls under the same umbrella as AOL, which owns BloggingStocks – is feeling the squeeze of a media recession that's even worse than the regular recession we've all been battling for what feels like decades.

Toys R Us bought FAO Schwarz in May and is now ready to do something interesting with it.

It's a pretty bold move for a tough retail market. Toys R Us is opening FAO Schwarz boutiques in some of its stores. It's also relaunching the upscale toy seller's website, FAO.com. A year ago, this would have been suicide, but now, it might work out. With retailers in every sector fighting for an edge, this move may beef up the Toys R Us in-store experience, with the online play helping it reach higher-spending consumers that may not have access to an FAO brick-and-mortar spot.

A year ago, Manhattan homeowners lived within the firm grasp of the worst recession in 70 years. A skyrocketing real estate market seemed ready to come back to Earth, as carnage in the financial services industry – which spread to just about every other business – decimated incomes and net worths throughout the city.

From the second quarter to the third, this year, the sale of co-ops and apartments spiked between 46% and 69% according to several reports from the real estate business. Sales are still lower than last year, but the recovery has been nothing short of amazing (to the chagrin of those of us who had dreams of one day moving up from the rental class).

Prudential Douglas Elliman reported a price increase of almost 2% from the second quarter, though the median was down 8% to 18% from last year – to the $760,000 to $850,000 range. Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel Inc., a real estate appraisal and consulting firm, calls this good news, but cautions that it doesn't mean we're at the bottom.

Lincoln, Neb., is the best place in the country for job-hunters. A new survey by headhunting firm Manpower (NYSE: MAN) reports that 21% of employers there plan to add employees in the next quarter, with only 4% looking to cut. That 17% spread (which Manpower calls the "net employment outlook") is tops in the United States.

Flint, Mich., on the other hand, is at the other end of the spectrum: 26% of employers are planning to chop jobs, while only 9% are forecasting new positions.

On Thursday morning, Citigroup (NYSE: C) announced that it is going to lower the number of U.S. retail outlets, limiting the banks to six major metropolitan areas. The Wall Street Journal reports that the bank will also limit its lending mainly to wealthy customers. Citigroup chose to take this step in order to control the amount of its consumer lending, limiting its transactions to credit cards and jumbo mortgages.

According to the report, Citi will release its plans in October, when we should learn that the bank will be a presence mainly in New York, Washington D.C., Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. That said, it turns out the plan could be contingent upon approval from the U.S. Government. The report notes that some Citi executives are concerned the government may not issue approval.

Disgraced Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff's (former) Montauk, Long Island home is no longer on the market. A buyer willing to pay more than the $8.75 million asking price has picked up the property, only two weeks after the U.S. Marshals Service listed it for sale.

Anne Lacombe, spokeswoman for the Corcoran Group, a real estate broker involved in the transaction, said the home was under contract for more than asking but did not have information on the exact amount, buyer or closing date, according to the Associated Press.

Albert Gonzalez is calling it quits. Accused of masterminding the largest identity theft in the United States ever, he has agreed to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. Separate charges filed in New Jersey, however, remain.

The 28 year-old faces 15 to 25 years in prison and will forfeit $1.65 million and a Miami condo (in addition to $1.1 million already seized). If the judge accepts the terms, this would be the longest sentence ever recorded for a hacking case.

So, how would I fix ESPN? There is a reason I am talking about this topic today. My idea was sparked by an interview conducted by Darren Rovell with ESPN The Magazine's general manager Gary Hoenig. The interview focused on a new promotion that offers the magazine and ESPN.com's pay site (Insider) for a year for $1. The offer is for current subscribers only, requires you to sign up for auto pay on credit card, and is one heck of a deal. This is actually a good move, because the customers should realize how nice both of these subscriptions are (I have had the magazine, and it is decent) and pony up the money for subscriptions when the time comes. I have never used the Insider, but it boasts extra knowledge for subscribers, and the subscription wall has cost me some valuable fantasy football knowledge in the past.

Everyone knew that the government's "cash for clunkers" program would be enticing to potential auto buyers, but no one, including the U.S. government could have predicted just how popular the program would be.

Auto makers and dealers have seen a vast response to the program, but now some dealers are starting to wonder when the government is going to keep its end of the deal, and have decided to remove themselves from the popular program.

Damien Hirst has gotten to the point where the sound of his own voice isn't good enough – now he needs a record of his thoughts for the ages. He and fellow artist Richard Prince (who actually has some talent) discuss the pains of the art market in Requiem II, which is scheduled to be published by Other Criteria this fall. Of course, Hirst is one of the publishing house's founders, making one wonder if this is the only most effective way for him to get a book published.

If a recent interview with ArtNews is any indication, Requiem II will contain the insights you'd come to expect from an artist of Hirst's caliber. My personal favorite: "Yeah, we ain't gonna sell as much art, art shows are gonna get better now the focus shifts away from money."

Brilliant.

Both the U.S. Commerce Department (new home sales, starts) and the National Association of Realtors (existing home sales) publish housing data, and it behooves investors, buyers and sellers to stay abreast of real estate developments, nationally, and regionally, via reports published by these organizations.

Then there are those other "metrics of significance" that further flesh-out real estate market conditions.

This is not an abstraction: buildings large and small are showing gaping vacancies. Storefronts are empty. Entire buildings sit waiting to be occupied. In Manhattan, retail vacancies have reached their highest rates since 2001. For the second quarter of this year, vacancies hit the absurd height of 12.4%, thanks to unemployment trends that won't quit and consumers reluctant to pry open their wallets.

Retailers are being hit just like the residential market.

Looking for new digs? Well if you're a person or a couple of means, you could snare film producer Bob Weinstein's place on Central Park West in Manhattan, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday (Subscription required).

The 6,500-square-foot, 14-room duplex is in the glamorous Beresford Building and features six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a family room, formal dining room, two balconies, three fireplaces, and a library, the Real Estalker notes.