When Troy Brown was arrested outside Queens College on Jan. 5 and charged with a double homicide at an Astoria supermarket in December, the career criminal told police he "chose" to set up squatters’ quarters in a building on the college campus because it was "convenient."

QConfidential has learned that Brown told detectives he chose to live in a hallway on the Flushing campus because he "has friends" who live in the nearby Pomonok and Electchester.

Brown, 40, said the location of his college "residence" made visits to his friends "convenient." In fact, he had lived in a hallway at Electchester for a time several months ago – because he was near his friends, he told police.

Brown left Electchester when he was chased by private security guards. He took up residence at the college almost immediately thereafter. College security guards chased Brown at least twice in the weeks following the Dec. 17 murders, dismantling his "residence."

Police said he had posters of naked women on the walls, a mattress, lamp and radio, a hand-held television and clothes in the hallway niche, where he secured his privacy by putting "crime scene" tape across the entrance.

Brown said he took the tape off the site of a crime scene set up by police in Flushing and used it to fence off his home.

Expectations of a novel steeped in blood, guts, and chilling frights usually precede the release of the latest from Stephen King. The same has been true of the film "Hannibal," with some cannibalism and a nice Chianti to boot. Anthony Hopkins, as the evil Dr. Hannibal Lecter has returned with abandon.

While Jonathan Demme’s prequel "Silence of the Lambs" deservedly won the Oscar for Best Picture, "Hannibal" is downright dumb. Well, there’s dumb and then there’s dumber.

Two young parents were guilty of the latter having brought their infant daughter to a pre-release screening of "Hannibal" at the Sony Lincoln Square on the Upper West Side. A third of the way into the film, during one of the many grizzly, nightmarish scenes, the infant began to cry. A man sitting a few seats away, wolfing down candy, popcorn and soda, got up and walked out. Moments later he returned and so did the theater manager with flashlight in hand.

The couple and their child soon left the theater. When asked by QConfidential what had transpired, the manager said, "This guy came out to get a refill of Coke. Then he came over to me complaining about the baby crying, and the baby being brought to ‘Hannibal’ in the first place.  And the guy was Stephen King, the writer."

QConfidential asked the best-selling novelist what he thought about the film and the gore. King, walking with a limp due to the near fatal car accident that he was in last year, answered, " It was okay, but it was done in bad taste." Hannibal the Cannibal couldn’t have said it any better.

(Left) Does Charlie from ABC's "The Mole," look familiar? The dude is from Breezy Point.

(Right) The other guy is terrorist Osama bin Ladin. His group had an office in Flushing.

A recent episode of ABC’s reality-based series "The Mole," revealed that one of its contestants actually claims some roots in Queens.

Charlie, who heretofore has been described to the media as a retired detective from New York, is actually a local. Isn’t that just like the networks to lump the greatest borough along with the rest of them as if there’s no difference at all?

Following an on-air reunion with his wife Bernadette, the 63-year-old Irish flatfoot revealed the two lovebirds met ages ago back home — in Breezy Point.

Set in several countries spanning two continents, the game features 10 contestants in a quest to gather money and determine which member is the mole — the saboteur planted to specifically throw a monkey wrench in the group’s operations.

Each week a contestant who knows the least about the identity of the mole must leave the show. Of course the Queens mug is still in the ever-thinning bunch, and could very well turn out to be the hated saboteur. Only time will tell.

Charlie is one of the few other greater New Yorkers to pop up on a reality series this season.

CBS’ "Survivor" features two, including the chiseled Manhattan personal trainer Alicia Calaway, 32, and lawn-guy-land bartender Kimmi Kappenberg, 28, who has apparently assumed the Fran Drescher role of her tribe—awesome body, annoying voice.

It’s amazing how much government bodies and agencies don’t know, or aren’t willing to tell us.

Sure, some information is bound to slip through the cracks, but when representatives of a militant Arab organization with a fondness for terrorism take up residence in Queens, somebody ought to know about it.

That’s right, for the past few years representatives of the Taliban, rulers of Afghanistan, have been operating an office out of Flushing, which the State Department recently requested they close in conjunction with U.N. sanctions.

The sanctions, spearheaded by the U. S. and Russia, were tightened in December after the Taliban failed to hand over reputed terrorist Osama bin Ladin, who is wanted for his alleged role in blowing up U.S. embassies in Africa.

Several recent calls attempting to pinpoint the office’s location came up empty. Community Board 7? Clueless. The 109th Precinct? Hadn’t the foggiest. Even the Afghanistan Consulate in Manhattan – though they confirmed its existence and claimed it’s since been closed – couldn’t offer an address. Come on guys!

Of course a phone number to the Taliban office was available at the touch of the button. Log on to www.taleban.com and they’ve got all the information our local agencies apparently don’t. Bless the ‘net.

Calls to the office were unanswered.

QConfidential has learned from a Met insider that they are "positioning themselves to pull off a string of trades, most notably one that would land them Anaheim’s all-star first baseman Mo Vaughn.

The catch is that he had surgery last week on his left arm that the Angels are saying could sideline him for all of 2001. Steve Phillips (the Mets GM) though, is still tempted to pull the trigger on a Vaughn deal while his value is down."

Of course Phillips might be shooting himself in the foot if Vaughn doesn’t make it back this year. Phillips re-signed Matt Franco and signed free agent Jim Leyritz to platoon at first as security until Vaughn returns.

Privately, Phillips thinks that Anaheim’s "medical report on Vaughn is a p.r. exaggeration in case the trade backfires on them. When healthy, the ex-Bosox hero can carry a team on his rather broad shoulders.

Sent to us by email, the Office of the President website at:
http://www.whitehouse.org/president, picturing the father where the son should shine, turns out to be a spoof.