Inqlings: Alycia Lane's pincher has a past

If CBS3 exile

Alycia Lane

sues over her December arrest, she will not be the first to go after the New York plainclotheswoman who made the collar and accused Lane of using a slur against her.

In her eight years on the NYPD, Officer

Bernadette Enchautegui

has been a defendant twice in federal court in New York in connection with arrests. One civil-rights case, filed in September 2003 by a Brooklyn couple, was dismissed. The other, filed by a New York man in January 2006 over an incident in 2005, led to a $20,000 settlement last summer. The officer and the city did not admit wrongdoing; none of the arrests led to convictions.

Contacted Friday, Lane's Philadelphia attorney,

Paul Rosen

, said he was aware that Enchautegui had been accused of using excessive force.

Lane's New York attorney,

David Smith

, notified New York City's controller that if he sued - and such a suit would seek $5 million-plus - defendants would include the city, the NYPD, Enchautegui, and at least a half-dozen other officers.

The March 5 notification was procedural, as Smith had 90 days from Lane's Dec. 16 arrest to get the ball rolling. In his filing - first reported Friday by the New York and Philadelphia Daily Newses - Smith alleges false arrest, unlawful imprisonment, conspiracy, libel and defamation. Smith said Friday that whether to sue had not been decided. A spokeswoman for the New York City Law Department acknowledged receipt of the filing but had no comment pending a review.

Lane, fired Jan. 1 from her $700,000-a-year anchor job, suffered "economic injuries," the filing says. A felony assault charge was dropped in court last month as the District Attorney's Office agreed to an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal; if Lane stays out of trouble for six months, her record will be wiped clean.

Meanwhile, Rosen is contemplating a civil claim against CBS3.

The

Chieftains

performed yesterday at the Kimmel Center in the duds they flew to town in. USAir misplaced their luggage, including band founder

Paddy Moloney

's priceless uilleann pipes. Fiddler

Sean Keane

just introduced his instrumental solo by saying, "This is a lament ... for our luggage."

Looks as if

Vince Fumo

campaign spokesman

Ken Snyder

won't miss a beat. With Fumo out of the state Senate race, Snyder will interview tomorrow to become paid lip for candidate

Larry Farnese

- though Farnese campaign manager

Renee Gilinger

said Friday that she was not sure she could afford him. Snyder had discussed working for Farnese when he ran for

Babette Josephs'

state House seat, but he went to Fumo when Farnese decided to go after the Senate seat.

Senate candidate and electricians' union head

John Dougherty

plans to slam-dunk bagels at today's Coaches vs. Cancer 10th annual tip-off breakfast at the Palestra.

Center Citizen

Hilda Bacon

called younger brothers

Kevin and Michael

and asked them to play a benefit concert for Bancroft NeuroHealth, where she is director of events outreach. The Bacon Brothers will do two sets April 4 at the Zellerbach at the Annenberg Center. Also planned is a reception catered by Max & Me's

Harry Spivak

, Kevin's childhood friend, who will serve at least a half-dozen bacon dishes. (That's the six degrees.) Tickets, $35 to $60, through

» READ MORE: www.pennpresents.org

.

Six restaurants - Los Catrines/Tequila's, Devil's Alley and Byblos in Center City; Haru in Old City; Gayle in Queen Village; and Rae in University City's Cira Centre - are selling glasses of tap water for a buck today through Saturday. The Schuylkill Punch will benefit UNICEF's Tap Project, a drive for access to safe water in more than 90 countries.

CBS3 reporter

Jim Osman

, producer

Jim Barry

, and photog

Andrea Korff

took third place in the National Headliners Awards' public-service category for a story last spring about alleged mistreatment of patients at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Philadelphia. The reporting put the trio in hot water with the feds, who accused Korff of roughing up a female officer who had asked the crew to stop videotaping without permission. Also Headliners-related: The Inquirer's editorial board won second place in the Journalistic Innovation category for its "Great Expectations" project.

CW Philly starts a "Philly's Next Top Model" contest tomorrow at

» READ MORE: www.CWPhilly.com

. Grand prizes include a trip to Beverly Hills and a walk-on role on a CW Philly special.

The Federal Communications Commission wants $10,000 from a West Philadelphia radio "pirate" for broadcasting illegally at 97.7 FM under the assumed call sign WSKR. When caught last year,

Mike "Stone" Campbell

, also known as Monroe Campbell, took the unusual step of writing to Sen.

Arlen Specter

(R., Pa.) instead of responding to the FCC letter. Specter's office, in turn, forwarded the letter to the FCC. In his letter to Specter, Campbell said the FCC had lost his construction-permit application. Specter's office confirms that it forwarded the letter but did not offer support to Campbell's case. The phone number on Campbell's letter was disconnected last week.

The Sixers'

Lou Williams

is easing into his radio career, as he hosts noon to 4 p.m. Sundays on WPHI (100.3) with sidekick

Izzo

. Williams is donating salary and personal-appearance money to his foundation. Besides spinning records, he has been dropping cute stories. While discussing the rookie hazing of 76ers forward

Thad Young

, Williams let on that when he was a rookie two seasons ago,

Allen Iverson

took care of him - except for the time AI dumped a bucket of water on his head when the team was in Europe. He also said that his first major purchase as an NBA player was a Charger – and that within days he got a ticket for speeding. Or was that traveling?