August 19, 2002

Ben Brantley reviews Roundabout Theater Company production of Rodgers and Hart musical The Boys From Syracuse, with new book by Nicky Silver and directed by Scott Ellis; photos (M)

Interview with Public Theater producer and director George C Wolfe, who comments on his recent successes, including Topdog/Underdog, Elaine Stritch at Liberty and musical revue Harlem Song; photos (M)

Leslie Camhi reviews Two Young Americans: The Patriot and the Taliban, A&E Investigative Reports episode produced by The New York Times and Granada Factual USA (M)

Thousands of civil patrollers who committed atrocities at height of Guatemala's civil war in early 1980's are seeking payment from government for deadly service, alarming many in country where 36-year war ended with mostly unfulfilled promises for victims and nothing for patrollers except their demobilization; say they were forced under threat of death to leave farms and villages to work with army in routing leftist guerrillas; many see themselves as pawns cold war who were useful in holding Communism at bay then cast aside when wars ended as world's attention turned elsewhere; have not given up old networks, despite demobilization, raising fear that they could re-emerge to resolve complaints with weapons and anger amid festering social and economic problems; map; photo (M)

Article explores connection between Charles A Gargano, chairman of Empire State Development Corp and close adviser to Gov Pataki, and several shaky businesses, for which he has served as director; says it is unclear why Gargano would be willing to risk his reputation by becoming involved with these companies, one of which has been accused of fraud; Pataki spokesman defends Gargano and his track record as economic development leader; companies have donated heavily to Republican party and given Gargano stock or securities, although it is not clear what they may be worth; chart illustrates rise and fall of Eagle Building Technologies, where Gargano served as director until just before SEC investigation; photo (M)

Malenny Mendez, 10, dies after being shot at party in Bronx; police are searching for gunman; in separate incident, four-year-old Katherine Crisantos is injured when gun is accidentally fired at party in Bushwick, Brooklyn; photos (M)

Federal prosecutors say Russian mobster Mani Chulpayev has been one of most important cooperating witnesses in history of Russian organized crime, turning in one of most remarkable mob turncoat performances in memory; his betrayal has yielded more than dozen felony convictions, solved scores of violent crimes and helped bring down as many as 10 Russian organized crime brigades; he is latest in parade of informants whose abundant cooperation with government in recent years has shed remarkable light on inner workings of Russian crime in America and, prosecutors say, substantially blunted its growth; decade ago, many feared Russian crime groups in US would be ultimately linked to burgeoning organized crime groups in former Soviet Union; law enforcement and independent experts say they seem to have only tenuous and incidential links to criminal groups in Russia; photos (M)

Israeli and Palestinian officials agree that Israeli troops will begin trial withdrawal from reoccupied territory in Gaza Strip and Bethlehem, in West Bank, on condition that Palestinians take responsibility for reducing tensions in areas; agreement, reached in four-hour meeting between Israeli defense minister, Benjamin Eliezer, and Palestinian Authority minister, Abdel Razak Yehiyeh, is first effort at cease-fire in current conflict negotiated directly between Israel and Palestinians; map (M)

Candidates for New York Democratic gubernatorial primary H Carl McCall and Andrew Cuomo meet in their first of at least four planned debates; they avoid attacking each other, agreeing on several key issues, and reserve ire for Gov George Pataki; photo (M)

Pope Tackles Liberalism Pope John Paul II told a crowd of two million people in Cracow, Poland, that mankind was going astray by letting science and cultural liberalism eclipse God's will. PAGE A3

Federal government decides not to press ahead with major study of hormone replacement therapy in older men, citing health risks; move follows discovery that testosterone can fuel growth of prostate cancer and increases red blood cell production, possibly increasing risk of clots that can cause heart attacks and strokes; hormone has been trumpeted as possible antidote for aging and way to get lean and muscular body; use is soaring; doctors wrote 1.5 million prescriptions for testosterone and drugs like it in 2001, up from 806,000 in 1997; experts say men taking drugs are participating in vast, uncontrolled medical experiment (M)

Scene described at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, as 50 college cheerleading squads participate in Spirit Week cheerleading competition; photos (M)