In 2004, a government witness in the Peter Gotti trial testified Giuseppe Cipriani paid Gotti $120,000 to keep the unions out of the Rainbow Room, of which he'd recently taken control. Cipriani was never charged with any crime — "a bunch of crap" was how he described the allegation. But two years later, he pulled out of a plan to build a catering space at Pier 57 because, he said, he was annoyed by "bureaucracy," which would have included a thorough probe of his past business practices by the Department of Investigation.

DESSERTS ONLY: Life in the Hamptons is about to get a little sweeter. On Friday, Dylan Lauren will open an East Hampton outpost of Dylan's Candy Bar. Located on Main Street, the 1,000-square-foot store will feature a sampling of the merchandise available at the original Upper East Side emporium. "It's actually a minibar," Lauren explained, "and East Hampton is the perfect place to open a cousin to our New York City flagship." Other mini Candy Bars are planned for Aspen, Colo., and Newport, R.I. For the moment, however, the entrepreneur is focused on ensuring this week's opening of the East Hampton store will be a VIP event: her father Ralph will be on hand, as will "Chocolate the Bunny," the chain's mascot.

OUT AND IN: Retailers Fred Segal and Ron Herman are pulling a switcheroo in Las Vegas. Segal, who is Herman's uncle, revealed plans last year to open his third retail location, a 100,000-square-foot store inside a $2 billion W Hotel scheduled to open in Las Vegas in 2009. But in May, when Las Vegas-based development company Edge Group pulled out of the project, which was a collaboration with Starwood Hotels, Segal said sayonara as well. Herman, on the other hand, recently said he will open a 3,000-square-foot store in Las Vegas at the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace on Aug. 9. The store will carry women's apparel and accessories, including the Olsen twins' debut ready-to-wear line, The Row.