May 11, 1994

Raiding an apartment where they believed a fugitive from Florida was hiding, three Mount Vernon police officers stole $10,000 from a gym bag filled with cash last week and the incident was captured on videotape, Federal prosecutors said today. The officers, including the department's chief of detectives, left the apartment unaware that they were the victims of an elaborate F.B.I. sting operation. But today, all three were arrested on Federal corruption charges, including stealing Federal funds. They each face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, if convicted.

In spite of last-minute concerns expressed by members of the Senate over the weekend, President Clinton has settled on Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt as his nominee to the Supreme Court, officials said today. A senior White House official said there was a "95 percent chance" that Mr. Babbitt, a former Arizona Governor and Attorney General, would be Mr. Clinton's choice to replace Justice Harry A. Blackmun, who is retiring at the end of the current term. Other advisers said Mr. Clinton was satisfied that Mr. Babbitt could face down any objections.

Talk about paradise. Now, along with its palm-fringed beaches, dazzling orchids and turquoise lagoons, Hawaii even has chocolate. Cacao is being cultivated on the Island of Hawaii, and the chocolate produced from it is receiving high praise from chefs for its fruity aroma, silky texture and intense, lingering flavor. They say the chocolate, the first ever grown commercially in the United States, can hold its own with the best in the world.

Companies California's Pacific Gas and Electric is preparing for a new world of power, getting ready to compete with rivals that will be allowed to sell power to large customers in 1996. [ Page D1. ]

The state's top court ordered New York City today to pay more than $3.5 million in fines to 5,000 homeless families that have been forced to spend nights on tables, chairs and floors in city offices rather than in suitable shelters. Advocates for the homeless said the 7-0 ruling by the Court of Appeals was a stinging condemnation of former Mayor David N. Dinkins's management of homelessness policy, and said that it could undermine plans by his successor, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, to overhaul the shelter system. Coming less than a week after Mr. Giuliani announced a tough new homeless plan, the ruling, critics said, served as a reminder that New York's courts will force the city to provide emergency housing immediately to families in need. Advocates Are Confident Mr. Giuliani said last week that the city would begin denying shelter to homeless families who refuse to participate in drug and alcohol treatment and job training programs. But advocates for the homeless, including those who filed the lawsuit that led to today's ruling, have predicted that New York's courts will not allow homeless families to be tossed into the streets. They said that today's ruling reinforces their case.