[NOT FOR PUBLICATION NOT TO BE CITED AS PRECEDENT]

                 United States Court of Appeals

                     For the First Circuit









No. 98-2134



                         REINALDO RIVERA,



                      Plaintiff, Appellant,



                                v.



                        KENNETH S. APFEL,

                 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY,



                       Defendant, Appellee.







           APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT



                 FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO



         [Hon. Salvador E. Casellas, U.S. District Judge]







                              Before



                      Selya, Circuit Judge,

                 Bownes, Senior Circuit Judge,

                   and Stahl, Circuit Judge.

                                

                                

                                

                                

     Salvador Medina De La Cruz on brief for appellant.

     Guillermo Gil, United States Attorney, Lilliam Mendoza Torro,

Assistant United States Attorney, and Nancy B. Salafia, Assistant

Regional Counsel, Social Security Administration, on brief for

appellee.









May 26, 1999







                                

                                



            Per Curiam.  Reinaldo Rivera appeals from the final

  decision of the Commissioner of Social Security denying him

  disability benefits.  After careful review of the briefs and

  administrative and district court records, we affirm,

  substantially for the reasons given by the district court in

  its decision dated June 30, 1998 and by the magistrate judge in

  a report and recommendation dated April 16, 1998, which the

  district court approved and adopted.

            Affirmed.