November 6, 1993

Armand P. D'Amato, who was convicted of mail fraud in payments he received from a military contractor to lobby his brother, Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato, was sentenced today to five months in prison and five months in home detention. It was the minimum punishment that Mr. D'Amato could receive under Federal sentencing guidelines, but Mr. D'Amato's lawyers said that both the conviction and the sentence would be appealed. In the meantime, Mr. D'Amato remains free on $10,000 bail.

To make the air cleaner, life will soon get more complicated for the owners of 5.8 million cars and other vehicles in New York City and vicinity. Beginning in 1995 or 1996, those vehicles will have to undergo a new emissions test every two years at one of 37 new inspection stations, at a cost of $25 per test, New York State announced yesterday.

The White House strategy in challenging Ross Perot to a debate on the North American Free Trade Agreement is based on a calculation that the trade measure is in trouble in Congress and can be rescued if the opposition can be closely identified with Mr. Perot, President Clinton's advisers said today. "The more the face of anti-Nafta is Ross Perot, the better off we are," a senior White House official said. The view in the White House, buttressed by opinion polls, is that Mr. Perot's public standing has dropped significantly this year.

Taking his message of reconciliation to areas of New York City that supported his opponent, Rudolph W. Giuliani said yesterday that he would reconsider his pledge to abolish the Dinkins administration program that directs a share of city contracts to minorities and women. And in another issue of particular concern to black and Hispanic New Yorkers, Mr. Giuliani reaffirmed the promise he made to give the new civilian police complaint review board at least a year to work before considering any changes.

An attempt to revive negotiations over Haiti's political future collapsed today when military leaders failed to show up for what was scheduled to be the start of two days of talks aimed at restoring the country's exiled President, the Rev. Jean-Bertrand Aristide. With the diplomatic efforts now seemingly at a dead end, there was no immediate indication what further steps the United States and the international community might take, if any, to force the military rulers of Haiti to give up power. Dante Caputo, the United Nations special envoy here, who organized the abortive meeting, said at a news briefing later that the talks should continue, but there was clearly no timetable for their revival.