August 12, 1997

Federal law enforcement officials announce arrest of 29 suspected members of Mexico's most powerful drug trafficking syndicate; say syndicate, once headed by late Amado Carrillo Fuentes, trucked tons of cocaine and marijuana to New York City and carried back millions of dollars in illegal drug profits; say arrests highlight latest strategic shift by Mexican drug barons, who have graduated from transporting cocaine and heroin for Colombians to distributing much of drugs themselves (M)

ON AUTO INSURANCE -- Responding to polls that show New Jersey voters remain unhappy with high auto insurance rates, Governor Whitman has revived her plan to cut rates for consumers who give up their right to file lawsuits for pain and suffering. B5. COMPLAINT FILED -- Ruth W. Messinger has filed a challenge to Mayor Giuliani's re-election campaign over a Metrocard ad that features the Mayor. B3.

State investment in private building projects increased 79 percent during first half of 1997, indicating continued growth in New Jersey's economy (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Dr Luis Caplan kept his general practice going for several years after his cancerous left leg was amputated in 1990; he closed door to his medical office in South Bronx for last time on June 2, 1995; Caplan, who was 58 at time, applied for Social Security disability insurance; he received $1,235 in disability checks every month; Social Security Administration informed him in March that he was not entitled to payments and he had to pay back $24,813.90 in benefits he had received; SSA rules say that if person who has been on disability insurance returns to work, he has total of four years in which to decide if working with disability is too difficult; if he does not stop working by then, Federal Government considers him unhindered by disability and ineligible for benefits; photo (M)

Market Place column on practice of 'soft dollars' at brokerage firms that is meant to improve quality of service that investors receive from mutual fund and other money managers; says it also can be a way for brokerage companies to reward those managers for steering stock trades their way; holds critics charge system is open to abuse because many services provide no direct benefit to investors who pay commissions that finance them; practice is under review by Securities and Exchange Commission; diagram (L)