November 3, 1994

A Florida jury took only 20 minutes today to convict Paul J. Hill of two counts of first-degree murder for shooting to death a doctor and an escort outside an abortion clinic last summer. On Thursday, the jury of six men and six women will consider whether to recommend that Mr. Hill, a former Presbyterian minister and a militant opponent of abortion, be executed in Florida's electric chair.

The Suffolk County District Attorney today called a news conference to defend himself against accusations that he had tried to silence top county officials he has been feuding with by threatening to humiliate them with grand-jury investigations. In response, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the County Legislature called on the District Attorney, James M. Catterson Jr., to step aside pending the outcome of investigations into a $17 million county car-leasing deal that was drafted by his son and involved a longtime family friend.

The garage mechanic who eventually led investigators to the man suspected of shooting at a van full of Hasidim on the Brooklyn Bridge described yesterday how he frantically tried to tell the F.B.I. that the gunman was in his shop -- only to be rebuffed. Twice he called; first he was told to give his information over the phone, which he refused to do, and when he called again he was told someone would be sent out to talk to him. Finally, the F.B.I. agreed to send someone to meet him on a street corner, but no agent ever showed up, the mechanic, Amir Abudaif, testified.

The Quaker Oats Company, which itself had been rumored as a takeover target, announced an agreement yesterday to buy the Snapple Beverage Corporation, for $1.7 billion, or $14 a share, in cash. The combined company, which would pair Snapple with Quaker's Gatorade, would create the third- largest nonalcoholic beverage marketer in North America. The announcement came as Snapple, a Long Island success story that once was a Wall Street darling and the toast of iced-tea fanciers, reported that its third-quarter profit had plunged 74 percent on 6 percent lower sales.

The Economy Corporate takeovers are back, but without some of the flash and excess of the 1980's. This year is likely to be the second biggest for mergers and acquisitions, after $335.8 billion in 1988. Companies that slashed costs in the early 1990's are now looking to increase their revenue, and acquisition is an easy way to do it. [ Page A1. ] Manufacturers are beginning to raise prices as the recovery picks up speed, the Federal Reserve said in its September survey of regional economies, known as the beige book. [ D1. ]