Vereb said he was "outraged" to learn that Sprint-Nextel had apparently released the phone records of the Dauphin County district attorney and state police investigators to a defense attorney without notifying the officials.

The Inquirer reported Sunday that the cell-phone giant had provided the records to attorney Sal Cognetti Jr., who represents Joseph Sica, one of two men accused of perjury in a hearing about the granting of a casino license.

Vereb said handing out months of calling records could expose the phone numbers of confidential police informants, as well as private numbers of victims of domestic abuse and other crimes.

"You want to be sure when a confidential informant, or a witness, or a crime victim talks to police, that their privacy is protected, and not released unless a judge sees fit," Vereb said.

The law now requires police, prosecutors and other government agencies to get a judge's approval before seeking someone's phone records. But it also allows a defense attorney to seek phone records with a routine subpoena that does not get reviewed by a judge.

Sprint spokesman Matthew Sullivan said yesterday that the company "makes sure to comply with all state laws and requirements, and that includes the case at issue."

Sullivan said he couldn't comment on the Dauphin County case or even confirm their records had been provided.

Vereb, a former West Conshohocken police detective, said he expects many co-sponsors for the legislation he's drafting.

"We're going to level the playing field," Vereb said, "so that anyone who wants to acquire phone details records will have to go through the same scrutiny and levels of court approval that police do." *