Names and faces

NEW YORK (AP) -- Robert Iler, who plays the rebellious, pot-smoking son of a mob boss on HBO's "The Sopranos," pleaded guilty Tuesday to mugging two youths and stealing $40.

Iler, 17, admitted to misdemeanor petty larceny in return for a sentence of three years' probation. Iler was granted youthful offender status, and his record will be sealed.

A co-defendant, Alban Selimaj, 17, entered the same plea.

The two were originally charged with second-degree robbery for the incident last July 4. A conviction on that charge carried a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

Iler told the judge he and Selimaj spotted two youths walking toward them and decided to "hassle" the pair. Iler was arrested a few blocks away.

After the plea, Iler's manager, Jeff Mitchell, read a statement in which the actor apologized "for all the grief and trouble everybody went through."

A third suspect, Michael Cournede, 20, still faces trial on the robbery charge. He has pleaded innocent. A fourth suspect who was 15 was turned over to juvenile authorities and his case is being handled by Family Court.

Iler portrays the troubled Anthony "A.J." Soprano Jr. on the HBO television hit about gangland life, "The Sopranos."

Giuliani hired to lobby against criminal charges for Merrill Lynch

NEW YORK (AP) -- Merrill Lynch & Co hired former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to lobby the state attorney general, who has threatened to bring criminal charges over the firm's business practices.

Giuliani provided the nation's largest investment firm with legal analysis and placed a call to New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer just before Spitzer released the results of his 10-month investigation into Merrill Lynch earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Spitzer embarrassed the firm hours after the call by making public a series of internal e-mails suggesting that analysts were recommending clients buy stock in some companies even when the analysts had grave doubts about those companies.