[NOT FOR PUBLICATION NOT TO BE CITED AS PRECEDENT]

                 United States Court of Appeals

                     For the First Circuit











No. 98-2229



                     JUAN RAMON FREIRE-ROLON,



                      Plaintiff, Appellant,



                                v.



                   CARMEN FELICIANO-DE-MELECIO,

                  SECRETARY OF HEALTH, ET AL.,

                                

                     Defendants, Appellees.

                                

                                

                                

          APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

                                

                FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

                                

       [Hon. Juan M. Perez-Gimenez, U.S. District Judge]

                                

                                

                                

                             Before

                                

                     Torruella, Chief Judge,

                Campbell, Senior Circuit Judge,

                   and Lynch, Circuit Judge.

                                

                                

                                

                                

     Ricardo L. Torres Munoz on brief for appellant.

     Carlos Lugo-Fiol, Solicitor General, Edda Serrano-Blasini,

Deputy Solicitor General, and Roxanna Badillo-Rodriguez, Assistant

Solicitor General, Department of Justice, on brief for appellees.











June 8, 1999







  

            Per Curiam.  Upon careful review of the briefs and

  record, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its

  discretion in dismissing the complaint for failure to

  prosecute.  We reach this conclusion essentially for the

  reasons stated by the district court in its Opinion and Order

  dated August 11, 1998.  Plaintiff's long-standing inactivity,

  in addition to his failure to respond to defendants'

  dispositive motion, justified the dismissal.  See John's

  Insulation, Inc. v. L. Addison & Assoc., Inc., 156 F.3d 101,

  108-10 (1st Cir. 1998).  Plaintiff's insufficient excuses and

  undeveloped appellate arguments do not convince us otherwise.

            Affirmed.  See 1st Cir. Loc. R. 27.1.