Blamer vs. Kramer

"Kramer received a large bruise next to his right eye. Twenty minutes after the fight, the bruise had grown to a swollen area half the size of a golf ball," London's report concludes.

"First and foremost," responds Kramer's publicist, "we absolutely and totally deny that Thomas made anti-Semitic remarks. He doesn't do that. There are two sides to every story."

And two sides to every mogul, as spin doctor Rubin, the fourth in a succession of publicists Kramer has hired since moving here, doubtless is aware. While Rubin is still bullish on Kramer's grandiose plans to build a casino and a $1000-per-night luxury hotel (the developer has abandoned plans for a European-style village), others on South Beach are less sanguine. Just two months ago, in fact, Kramer received a three-page letter that included death threats. The missive, on file with Miami Beach Police, was signed "Travis Bickle," an allusion to the sociopathic assassin in the film Taxi Driver.