Fried refused yesterday to discuss the charges. But according to the rent board documents. Fried did in fact attempt in 1987 to raise his tenant's rent from $1,500--the legal limit--to $1,857.

The rent board fond that Fried's actions were inconsistent with the rent control ordinance. "You may be liable to your tenants for any overcharge," board inspector Judith A. Stalos wrote in a letter to Fried, dated February 25, 1987.

End of an Era

If there is one thing both tenant activists and landlord representatives agree on, it is that the era of rent control is over.

But whether feisty law professor Charles Fried will emerge in triumph or as a casualty in the aftermath of the rent control wars remains to be seen.

Both sides in the rent control dispute are hedging their bets.

"Charles Fried is a very controversial figure," Turk said. "I think it's likely that first his nomination would be questioned, and that, in fact, he might well be denied."

Kabawat disagreed. "I don't know if Governor Weld will answer to instances of childish behavior," he said of the tenant groups' effort to discredit Fried. "I hope not."