By Mike Schnitzel and Danny Teigman
Heidgen, 25, of Valley Stream, is accused of driving drunk last July when he plowed his pickup truck into a limousine on the Meadowbrook Parkway, killing Long Beach Catholic Regional School student Katie Flynn and the limo¹s driver.
Acting State Supreme Court Justice Alan Honorof said he would rule on a case-by-case basis after reviewing all taped phone conversations Heidgen had while he was being held at the Nassau County Jail in East Meadow. The judge said that any conversations deemed relevant to the prosecution's evidence-gathering process would be permitted, but anything violating Heidgen's right to have private conversations with his attorney would be ruled inadmissible.
Defense attorney Stephen LaMagna of Garden City argued that since Heidgen did not know his conversations were being taped, admitting them into evidence would be a violation of his privacy rights. "It's really a desperate attempt by the D.A. on the eve of the trial to try to gain an unfair advantage," LaMagna said.
According to Nassau County Corrections Officer William Sutch, inmates must give written permission, acknowledging that phone conversations may be recorded, in order to have phone privileges. LaMagna said that Heidgen did not receive documents notifying him that his phone calls could be recorded until he left the prison hospital March 10, after eight months in police custody.
"There is a fundamental issue of fairness that this court needs to address," said LaMagna. "Notice to my client [that his phone conversations could be recorded] was egregiously late."
During an earlier hearing, prosecutor Robert Hayden told the court that a subpoena for tapes of Heidgen's conversations should be granted because prosecutors believe they may contain evidence critical to the case.
Heidgen, 25, was allegedly driving a pickup truck north in the southbound lanes of the Meadowbrook Parkway when it crashed head-on into the limousine, killing Katie Flynn, 7, and limo driver Stanley Rabinowitz, 59, of Farmingdale. At the scene, Heidgen's blood-alcohol level was recorded as .28, more than three times the legal limit. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and several other lesser charges.
A representative of the D.A.'s office said that jury selection in the case is scheduled to begin Sept. 5.
Comments about this story? MSchnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
