March 12, 1976

New NYS law allowing Pres candidates' names to appear on NYS primary ballot may run afoul of Fed Voting Rights Act, which places special sanctions against any changes in election laws affecting Manhattan, Bronx and Bklyn (S)

Nursing home promoter Bernard Bergman pleads guilty to $1.2-million Medicaid fraud charge and to charge of bribing Assembly majority leader Albert H Blumenthal; Blumenthal, who was indicted last Dec 5 on charges of perjury regarding his use of influence on behalf of Bergman, is arraigned on superseding indictment that alleges receipt of bribes and misconduct; pleads not guilty; proceedings are result of plea bargaining between Bergman, Justice Dept and special state prosecutor for nursing homes Charles J Hynes; Bergman agrees to cooperate with grand-jury proceedings against others and pleads guilty to crimes bearing maximum of 8 yrs in prison; prosecutors, in return, agree to dismiss indictments against his son Stanley and to grant family immunity from further prosecution for past nursing home activities; Hynes' chief asst Howard Wilson mistakenly tells Justice Aloysius Melia that his office is moving to dismiss indictment against Bergman son, Stanley Steingut; Assembly Speaker Steingut is under indictment on charge of influence peddling and has testified to long relationship with Bergman; indictment also says that Blumenthal made false representations in support of Bergman's application; Bergman earlier appeared before Fed Judge Marvin E Frankel to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud Govt and conspiracy to file fraudulent tax returns involving Towers Nursing Home to obtain unwarranted Medicaid payments totaling $1.2-million and to conceal profits of hidden partnership that owned operation; illus (L)

Brig Gen Abdel Aziz al-Ahdab, Moslem comdr of Beirut mil garrison, proclaims himself mil gov of Lebanon on Mar 11 and demands resignations of both Pres Suleiman Franjieh and Prime Min Rashid Karami within 24 hrs, TV address; calls on 99-member Parliament to meet in 7 days and elect new Pres; proclaims state of emergency in Lebanon and orders curfew; says he will turn power over to new Pres; Franjieh scores demand; Ahdab's action comes after Moslem deserters seize 3 more garrisons, 2 in Tripoli and 1 at Nabatiye; Karami hints he will resign; Syrian mediators left for Damascus shortly before seizure of TV and radio station; Ahdab endorses Saed's amnesty offer; al-Khatib rejects it; accuses Christian comdrs in army of bias against loose alliance of leftists, Moslems and Palestinians who fought in recent civil war; there are unconfirmed repts that Ahdab had support of Air Force comdr Col George Gharib; there is no sign of opposition to Ahdab's action from Palestinian troops stationed in Beirut; there are repts of fighting between Moslem deserters and Christians in Zghorta; illus of Karami and Ahdab; map (L)

NY-NJ Port Auth bans Concorde from Kennedy Internatl Airport; acts after Brit Airways and Air France make known intentions to begin passenger service to airport on Apr 10 and training flights within wk; bans flights until after 6 mos of evaluations of Concorde operations elsewhere; Brit and French say announcement of Concorde service was designed to force agency to act so as to allow basis for ct challenge in event flights were denied; note, in lr to Auth Chmn William Ronan, that agency does not have legal power to refuse landing rights since permission already has been granted by Fed Govt; Ronan says agency's action was taken solely on basis of Concorde's noise and liability of agency to damage suits; says flights are not going to be permitted; says whether Port Auth has right to ban Concorde will have to be tested in cts; opinion of legal experts over whether agency has power to ban Concorde noted (M)

Kissinger addresses Boston World Affairs Council; receives council award honoring late Christian A Herter