Queens insurance man sues over book that gives slimeball character his name

Douglas Heimowitz fears his sterling reputation is being smeared by the like-named professional gambler in "Lay the Favorite, A Memoir of Gambling," by cocktail waitress-turned-author Beth Raymer.

"Our client is the only individual in the United States bearing the name Douglas Heimowitz," lawyer Betty Tufariello says in papers filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Heimowitz and Raymer are acquaintances and she thought using his name for the unsavory character would be funny, Tufariello said yesterday.

The suit cites several examples of how Heimowitz and the bookie are exactly alike: They're both Jewish, both 6-foot-4, both hail from Queens and both attended Queens College in the early 1980s.

Heimowitz never had the nickname "Dink" like the book's character, though.

Because the book is nonfiction, Heimowitz fears people will think he and the gambler are the same person.