Daily News from New York, New York • 6

(0 pan bUvlU uvl mi mm (51 Former FBI big Kallstrom backs DeVecchio THE FORMER head of the FBI in New York insists that ex-G-man Lindley DeVecchio is innocent of charges that he helped fuel a top mob capo's mur EXCLUSIVE BY ANGELA M0SC0NI DAILY NEWS WRITER adding there were many "checks and balances" to ensure DeVecchio and Scarpa's "close working relationship" remained aboveboard. Hynes' office says it has the evidence to prove otherwise. "We are prepared to go to trial," said; a Hynes spokesman, Kallstrom is backing a Web site to raisei James Kallstrom Lindley DeVecchio tions were voluminous and took literally years to complete." He added, "I don't proclaim to know everything that the district attorney might know, but from what I do know, I don't believe he's guilty of those charges because they've been thoroughly investigated before." Prosecutors have painted an entirely different picture, accusing DeVecchio of taking payoffs from Scarpa and supplying him with inside information that led to four underworld slayings. DeVecchio's close relationship with the informant, prosecutors say, helped enhance his stature within the FBI while giving the Colombo chieftain license to kill with impunity. Kallstrom acknowledged handling informers is "a tricky business." But he categorically denied there were payoffs.

"Of from her rescue; Kevin Clifford. probe and the first World Trade Center has known the embattled agent more than 30 years. He dismissed the corruption charges brought by Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes as a hodgepodge of old accusations that had been thoroughly investigated by the Justice Department and the FBI. The probes failed to uncover enough evidence to charge DeVecchio with a crime or even to discipline him. "There was no finding that any of those charges were valid," Kallstrom said.

"From my knowledge, the two investiga- MoDy gets a big hug yesterday funds for DeVecchio's legal defense, joining scores of! active and retired tai agents, m- eluding Joe Pistone, who went! undercover in the Maiia as Don nie Brasco. "We put a Web site up to try tft help with his legal expenses, and I lent my name to that because I believe he's innocent," Kallstrom said. awns the cat, is a3 smiles. kt -I, 'f J'-K-- course not," he said, bristling. He added that the bureau had no knowledge that Scarpa, allegedly with DeVecchio's tacit blessings, was orchestrating a series of killings that left the streets of Brooklyn awash in blood.

"The notion that the FBI knew Scarpa was out killing people is preposterous," said Kallstrom, Jennifer Myers, whose famSy derous reign. Speaking out for the first time on the controversial case, James Kallstrom defended DeVecchio's handling of killer mobster Gregory Scarpa Sr. and called the former agent a "hard worker" who risked his life going undercover to help smash the Mafia. "Lin DeVecchio is not guilty and did not partake in what he's being charged with. It's as simple as that," Kallstrom, who now serves as senior counterterror-ism adviser to Gov.

Pataki, told the Daily News. "His work went a long way toward the success of the FBI task force breaking up La Cosa Nostra as we knew it." Kallstrom, who was the face of the FBI through major cases such as the TWA Flight 800 Tax reprieve for procrastinators IF YOU'VE BEEN putting off getting your 2005 tax returns in order, procrastinate no further tomorrow is tax day for most Americans. But not for New Yorkers. Because April 15 fell on Saturday, all U.S. taxpayers got an automatic grace period of two days, until tomorrow, April 17.

But since tomorrow is Patriots Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts, and since taxpayers of New York State and some other states in the Northeast file their returns to a processing center in Massachusetts, they don't have to file until Tuesday. Residents of Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia also will get one extra day. If that's still not enough, taxpayers can ask for a six-month extension for filing. Don Singleton ns hitting MEGA MILLIONS lottery officials are bracing for strong ticket sales this weekend the estimated jackpot is now more than a quarter of a billion dollars. While there were 1.5 million winning tickets in Friday's drawing, nobody matched all six numbers to claim the big prize.

The jackpot now stands at an estimated $265 million. If there is a single winning ticket in Tuesday's drawing, the lucky person will be able to take annual payments of $10.1 million for 26 years or a one-time payout of about $148.9 million after taxes. The winning numbers in Friday's drawing were 8, 10, 18, 29 and 33, and the Mega Ball number was 10. Don Singleton yyj Suirg ffeli post fei BY VERONIKA BELENKAYA and PAUL H.B. SHIN DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS MOLLY THE CAT basked in the lap of luxury yesterday, catching up on some much-needed meals and TLC after being trapped for 14 days in a hollow wall.

The 11 -month-old black cat who was pulled Friday night from the mazelike innards of a West Village building chowed down on sardines and extra helpings of grilled turkey-flavored Fancy Feast, her overjoyed owners said. "She's doing exceptionally well. She's in great shape. I'm amazed," said Peter Myers, who owns the British deli where the curious cat got herself into a jam. "She sat on Kevin Clifford, 33, the Queens sandhog who pulled Molly out of the 5-by-3-foot hole behind the counter, also stopped by to check on the playful mouser.

"If that ever happened to me, I hope they would keep working that way," said Clifford, who got a hero's welcome from the Myers family. However, not all New Yorkers were toasting the kitty's owners, concerned friends said. "They got hate mail. People say they neglected and abused the cat," said Nancy Hager, 65. Hager's daughter Anne, 27, who works at the store, said that couldn't be further from the truth about the owner.

"He loves the cat," she said. With Jenny Clevstrom vbelenkayanydaifynews.com my lap last night, watching herself on TV, nodding off." "She's a little dehydrated and very hungry, said Myers' daughter, Jennifer, 28, who put up Molly for the night at her West Village apartment with her two other cats. "I don't think they realized what a celebrity they had in their presence," she joked. Molly's vet said other than a bit dehydrated, the cat appeared healthy, Myers said. A steady stream of well-wishers and cat fanciers stopped by the store yesterday, Myers of Keswick, at 634 Hudson to cheer the rescue.

"We knew it was a happy ending, so we wanted to come see the cat," said Richard Wissak, 47, who brought his 5-year-old daughter, Maya. CO CM o..