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New Martha Comes In Like a Lamb . . .

Marcia Cross learns how to properly fold a T-shirt on
Marcia Cross learns how to properly fold a T-shirt on "Martha." (By Anders Krusberg -- Martha Stewart Living Television Via Ap)

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Good grief, Evil Martha has jumped back in Cross's body!

Every day in every way, Martha grows Lambier and Lambier!

Make it stop! Aargh!!!

* * *

"A Rhodes scholar, NFL player and an inventor are among Donald Trump's 'hand-picked' cast of 18 young entrepreneurs on the fourth season of NBC's 'The Apprentice,' " the network boasted recently about the upcoming edition of its Thursday reality series.

But viewers won't be tuning in to see the Rhodes scholar, the NFL player or even the inventor. No, viewers are right now on the receiving end of media reports that another of the contestants is a former Las Vegas stripper. One of her former clients, according to thesmokinggun.com, was convicted of murdering three people in botched robbery attempts while trying to get money to continue paying her $500 to $1,500 a night to lap-dance for him.

Or is it "on him"?

The Web site yesterday broke the story of Alla Wartenberg, who NBC says in her bio is a "self-made multi-millionaire" who "owns a chain of upscale Dolphin Court Salons & Day Spas in Las Vegas." NBC says Wartenberg was "born and raised in Kishinev, Moldavia, formerly of Russia" and "moved to the U.S.A. with her parents in 1988 to fulfill the 'American Dream.' . . . At age 19, she purchased her first building, and at age 23 she was one of the youngest pioneers of the spa boom."

The Smoking Gun said Wartenberg -- whose maiden name was Kosova -- also worked at Las Vegas's Palomino Club. Robert Acremant was a regular who paid her up to $1,500 a night for lap dances, the Web site said, citing her 2002 testimony in Acremant's trial for one of the murders. According to press accounts, Acremant has been convicted of murdering the three people and is in prison in Oregon.

Efforts to locate Wartenberg yesterday were unsuccessful. NBC declined to comment about her and referred a call by The Post's John Maynard to The Donald himself.

"I just heard about it. And the fact is that we just finished shooting the show and it's phenomenal -- better than 1, 2 or 3," Trump told The TV Column.

We tried harder to get him to focus on Wartenberg.

"Alla is attractive and very, very cunning, a very smart person who is very exciting on the show," he said.

"We did not know of the extent of her past. But she's a very powerful-type woman."

The fact that she's a former stripper comes out in the course of the show when, during one of the "boardroom" sessions, Trump asks her if she used to strip.

"She's made a lot of money -- she's a rich woman; she may have been a stripper, but she's somebody that wants to make good and that's what 'The Apprentice' is all about," Trump philosophized.

Besides, he notes, "she hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing -- in the traditional sense."

I really do love Trump.


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