November 17, 1997

Little-known Grand Rapids Art Museum will soon make art history, mounting exhibit of works of Perugino, including nine paintings that have never before left Italy; paintings from Umbrian National Gallery in Perugia will join two dozen others lent by American institutions for the display; museum curators are withholding judgment on importance of show until they see it and its catalogue, but none of institutions that lent work to show would have done so had they not been persuaded of its potential; Grand Rapids and Perugina have sister-city relationship, explaining choice of museum for show; photo (M)

Merchants fear that credit card fraud, left unchecked, could stifle growth of Internet commerce; Internet merchants, especially those selling software for immediate download, have biggest financial risk in such crime; credit card companies usually hold merchants fully responsible for any fraudulent purchases made when signature on card cannot be verified; on-line merchants are seeking software solutions to problem; some have developed their own computer programs to flag potentially fraudulent transactions, and they are marketing this software to other Internet merchants (M)

Anthony Tommasini reviews concert of National Symphony at Carnegie Hall, with flutist James Galway as soloist (M)

Article discusses backgrounds of Marta Nelson, 17, and Erica Colon, suspects in murder of taxicab driver Elhadji Gaye during robbery attempt on Upper East Side of Manhattan; photo (M)

New York Giants defeat Arizona Cardinals, 19-10; photo (M)