By:Elizabeth Sagarin
Kevin Hart's not guilty plea at his arraignment Friday, for allegedly contributing to the death of two men while drag racing in Oceanside, didn't surprise veteran assistant district attorney Frank Schroeder.
"In my 10 years' experience, defendants always enter a not guilty plea at arraignment," Schroeder said.
Hart, 28, of Malverne, was charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter and one count of third-degree assault after police said he and his Corvette participated in a high-speed road race June 24 that resulted in the deaths of Glenn Jacofsky of Oceanside and Michael Vasapolli of North Woodmere. The third charge stems from minor injuries Jacofsky's wife, Amy, received from the crash.
According to Schroeder, Hart aided Vasapolli in engaging in reckless conduct.
"To drive at the speeds he did at 3:30 in the morning is wrong, but at 3:30 in the afternoon is unconscienable," Schroeder said.
Hart's lawyer, Edward Jenks, could not be reached for comment.
Vasapolli, 30, was killed after crashing his Lamborghini, which police said was traveling nearly 85 mph, head-on into Jacofsky's Volvo.
According to police, Vasapolli and Hart were racing on Lawson Boulevard at the time of the collision. Jacofsky, 43, and his wife were on the way to a nephew's birthday party when Vasapolli, to pass another car, crossed the center line into oncoming traffic and collided with the Jacofskys, killing both men instantly.
To avoid the spinning vehicles, Hart steered his Corvette, with its license plate that read LOV2XLR8, toward a nearby fence and parked school bus which he hit. Police arrested him and held him on $20,000 cash bail, which his family posted. His driver's license has been suspended, according to Schroeder, and will remain so, if the prosecutor has his way, until the end of the trial.
If convicted on all three counts, the maximum time Hart could go to jail for would be 15 years, Schroeder said. And there will be little compromising over the charges in the case. "We're ready for trial," he said.
Hart already had eight driving violations on his record, three of which resulted in personal injuries.
The Jacofsky family's absence from Judge Donald DeRiggi's Nassau County courtroom during Hart's arraignment was a signal of their confidence in the assistant district attorney, said Bernard Jacofsky, brother of Glenn Jacofsky. "I believe the DA is handling the case in an appropriate fashion," he said.
A conference between the lawyers and DeRiggi to discuss the case is scheduled for Sept. 6.
