May 14, 1993

I HAD always associated the Hotel Pierre, one of the world's most elegant hostelries, with Bobby Comfort, who masterminded the robbery of its safe-deposit boxes for something in the neighborhood of $10 million in cash and jewelry in the dark early morning of Jan. 2, 1972. The first time I ever happened to be in the hotel, some 10 years after that front-page heist, it was Comfort who gave me a personal guided tour, for a book I was writing about him. Recently, a little more than 10 years after Comfort's excursion with me, my wife and I took a room in the hotel for a weekend. It was done purely to investigate the Pierre's pleasures, and not its vault.

Americans rich and poor would face important changes under the tax bill approved by the House Ways and Means Committee. Page A18.

Herman Badillo dropped out of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary yesterday and Rudolph W. Giuliani, the Republican challenger, said he was seeking an alliance with Mr. Badillo running for city comptroller instead. The sudden elaborate maneuvering showed the crucial importance of Hispanic voters in this year's mayoral race and could spell trouble for Mayor David N. Dinkins, who defeated Mr. Giuliani by just 2 percentage points with strong Hispanic support in 1989.

NEW YORK CITY A FORTUNE BUILT ON POVERTY Through a network of not-for-profit organizations, Ramon S. Velez has long dominated the antipoverty programs of the most downtrodden part of the South Bronx, America's symbol of urban poverty and powerlessness. In no small part because of his social-service work, he is also a millionaire. He has practically written the book on how to seize power and use it in an impoverished neighborhood, how to pull the interlocking levers of social services, politics and personal gain. First of two articles, A1. BADILLO DROPS OUT OF MAYORAL RACE Herman Badillo dropped out of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary and Rudolph W. Giuliani, the Republican challenger, said he was seeking an alliance with Mr. Badillo running for city comptroller instead. A1.

The surprisingly sharp rise in the Consumer Price Index yesterday jolted the bond market, sending Treasury prices down sharply and the yield on the 30-year bond to its highest level in more than a month. But the rise probably is more troublesome for the Federal Reserve. The nation's central bank has to decide much sooner than expected between two courses: whether to raise short-term interest rates to signal its resolve against inflation or to blink at the higher prices and keep interest rates where they are to assure that the economy is moving ahead at a moderate but steady pace. Results of Decision A Fed-led rise in short-term interest rates could slow the economy while reassuring traders and investors that the central bank was opposed to any signs of resurgent inflation. The combination of expected slow growth and a tough Fed could bring longer-term rates lower. But a Fed that does nothing while inflation appears to be moving higher would push long-term interest rates higher.