A jailhouse snitch spied on a Williamstown woman accused of involvement in a car crash that killed a nun, defense attorneys said Monday.

At a court hearing, lawyers for Janice Chinchillo, who is accused of passing a crack pipe to her husband, Edward, shortly before the fatal accident on Dec. 20, 2002, requested copies of any secret recordings held by the prosecution.

The Camden County Prosecutor's Office did not respond to the requests, said Bill Shralow, a spokesman for the office.

The claim emerged at a preliminary hearing for the Chinchillos, who are charged in connection with the death of Sister Margaret "Peg" Hynes, 69, of Camden. The nun died in a head-on collision on Burnt Mill Road in Cherry Hill.

Attorneys for the Chinchillos also said their clients had been offered plea bargains, said Shralow. The prosecutor's office did not respond to those claims either, he said.

The couple's next hearing is set for Nov. 17 in Superior Court here, Shralow said.

Authorities contend Edward Chinchillo was trying to steer with his knees while he smoked crack cocaine at the time of the fatal crash. Officials say he smoked crack four times in the four hours before the accident. Edward Chinchillo is charged with aggravated manslaughter and his wife is charged as an accessory.

The driver of the vehicle that killed an activist nun from Camden was steering his car with his knees while smoking crack cocaine, authorities said yesterday.

Edward Chinchillo's 2002 Lincoln LS crossed the center lines of Burnt Mill Road just south of Haddonfield-Berlin Road in Cherry Hill on Friday night, plowing into a 1997 Kia driven by Thomas Quinn, a friend of Sister Margaret Mary Hynes'.

"Sister Peg," as she was lovingly known by those she served in Camden, was in the front seat and died of cardiac arrest 20 minutes after the accident. A friend in the backseat, Muriel Prickitt, remained in satisfactory condition yesterday at Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center in Camden, where Quinn was in guarded condition.

Chinchillo, 44, of Williamstown, was charged with aggravated manslaughter and was arraigned yesterday. Bail was set at $250,000.

Appearing in an orange jumpsuit with shackles around his waist, Chinchillo spoke softly and asked Superior Court Judge Stephen W. Thompson for a public defender.

"I'll never make $250,000 cash," Chinchillo said softly when Thompson announced the bail.

His wife, Janice, 49, was arrested yesterday and charged with aggravated manslaughter because, officials said, she passed the crack pipe to her husband. She will be arraigned today.

Riding in the car with the Chinchillos was a 16-year-old boy for whom Edward Chinchillo had custody, law enforcement offices said. Authorities withheld his name.

The boy was charged with possession of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia and was being held at the Camden County Youth Center near Blackwood.

According to Camden County Prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi, Edward Chinchillo had ingested large doses of crack at least four times in the four hours before he got into his Lincoln at Echelon Mall in Voorhees, not far from the crash site.

Sarubbi said that while heading north on busy Burnt Mill Road, Edward Chinchillo asked his wife to fill the crack pipe and pass it over. The prosecutor said that when Janice Chinchillo handed the pipe to her husband, he took his hands off the wheel and began steering with his knees.

Northbound Burnt Mill Road veers sharply to the right near Haddonfield-Berlin Road, and it was there that Chinchillo's car crossed the lines and slammed into Quinn's southbound vehicle.

Neither Edward Chinchillo, who authorities said was found with a crack pipe and a partly smoked marijuana cigarette, nor the boy was injured. Janice Chinchillo was treated for minor injuries at Kennedy Memorial Hospitals-University Medical Center/Cherry Hill.

Assistant Prosecutor James Conley said Edward Chinchillo acknowledged "thousands of previous ingestions" of the drug.

"Our investigation is ongoing, and we do anticipate filing additional charges," Sarubbi said. "He manifested an absolute indifference to human life."

Aggravated manslaughter carries a maximum 30-year sentence.

Public records show that Chinchillo owned E.J. Chinchillo Contracting Inc., based in Williamstown; owned a home valued at $238,000; and declared bankruptcy in 2001.

At the time he filed for bankruptcy, Chinchillo said he was disabled and was collecting monthly disability insurance and Social Security payments.

Neighbors said Chinchillo, whom they sometimes saw with the teenage boy, kept to himself.

The determined, tireless Sister Peg, 69, was a beloved figure in the troubled city of Camden, where she directed Heart of Camden Housing Corp., an arm of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church that rehabilitates abandoned houses and sells them at cost to poor families.

Most recently, she was Heart of Camden's development director, finding money for an agency that has helped more than 100 families own homes.

Yesterday, those who knew Sister Peg, a breast cancer survivor who grew up in North Philadelphia and loved Irish dancing, were still shaken by her death.

The Rev. Michael Doyle, pastor of Sacred Heart, remembered a woman who was equally comfortable around politicians and the poor, a nun who had a special love for the Vietnamese people of South Camden but had room in her heart for everyone.

"She was full of good humor. The first time I ever saw her face was in 1986, when she came here about taking on the job," Father Doyle said.

"I still remember that very first sight of her face and that smile. It was the most hospitable thing you ever saw."

Sister Peg's death, he said, leaves a terrible void.

"I would say a thousand times: You couldn't replace her," Father Doyle said. "How could you replace your own mother?"

In a statement yesterday, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Camden expressed similar sentiments.

"Sister Peg's untimely and tragic death is an irreparable loss to the work of the church and the city of Camden," the statement read.

"She was known for her work with the Heart of Camden, but it was her own heart that she will be remembered for - a heart that made a place for Christ and all those she served in His name."

Dec 23, 2002 10:49 pm US/Eastern

CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW) Prosecutors say the man who caused a crash that killed a Camden nun was smoking crack cocaine and steering with his knees.

Edward Chinchillo of Williamstown is charged with aggravated manslaughter.

Sister Margaret Hynes was a passenger in a car struck head-on by Chinchillo's vehicle on Friday night. Hynes was known as "Sister Peg" in Camden, where she worked to revitalize the impoverished city.

Chinchillo's wife also is charged with aggravated manslaughter.

Sister Hynes lived at the Holy Rosary Convent in Cherry Hill.

Officials say Hynes joined the Sisters of Saint Joseph in 1954 and spent most of her time at Sacred Heart Church in Camden. She had been the director of the "Heart of Camden" program, which helps the poor and homeless.

She was also a teacher and principal at Sacred Heart's school and had survived a battle with breast cancer.

Both a viewing and a funeral mass will be held for Sister Hynes next Saturday at the Sacred Heart Church. The viewing is from 3 to 7 pm. The mass will follow at 7 pm.