By RALPH R. ORTEGA
                   Daily News Staff Writer

                   Cuban exile group tried to get New York City cops to
                   arrest Fidel Castro for murder, but left town yesterday
                   feeling it accomplished its mission of holding the Cuban
                   dictator accountable.

                   Jose Basulto, head of Brothers to the Rescue, went to Mayor
                   Giuliani and the cops at the 17th Precinct asking them to put the
                   cuffs on Castro for the deaths of four people — including three
                   Americans — when a Cuban jet fighter shot down a plane
                   violating Cuban air space in 1996.

                   Both City Hall and the cops referred Basulto to the FBI.

                   In a statement, Basulto argued that Castro's diplomatic immunity
                   was not an "absolute or total protection against prosecution for
                   crimes committed by diplomats and heads of state."

                   The group felt its publicity moves succeeded in making its point.

                   "Castro is not above the law," said Basulto's lawyer, Roberto
                   Villasante.

                   Castro's supporters in New York dismissed the accusations.

                   "It's a game they're playing," said the Rev. Lucius Walker, who
                   has organized a standing-room-only welcome for Castro tonight at
                   Riverside Church.

                   Walker noted that Brothers to the Rescue was warned by the
                   Cuban government after it made several unauthorized flights over
                   the island nation.