A judge said it's not in his power to order a Jackson Township man —- imprisoned for causing his good buddy's death in a drunken driving crash —- to write letters to the victim's wife.

Butler County Judge William Shaffer, who sentenced defendant Jeffrey McCall on Wednesday, told the victim's widow, Lisa Carangio, that he only could pass her wishes for communication with the defendant on to state prison officials.

McCall, 30, who pleaded no contest to homicide by vehicle and drunken driving, will spend between 18 months and 5 years in prison.

When released, McCall will serve 3 years of probation, log 120 hours of community service and pay $58,166 in restitution.

McCall and Anthony Carangio, by all accounts, had been good friends prior to the Feb. 15, 2006, crash.

Then McCall and Anthony Carangio had spent the night playing darts and drinking at bars.

They were on the way home when McCall crashed his 1999 Acura Integra into an oak tree along Evergreen Mill Road in Jackson Township.

McCall, found lying on the ground next to the driver's door, was badly hurt.

According to reports, tests also showed both men were well above the 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level considered intoxicated under state law.

Anthony Carangio, who had been pinned in the front passenger seat, died five hours later.

During sentencing, McCall expressed his regret to Carangio's family, who was seated in the courtroom.

"Ihave no idea how to say how sorry I am,"McCall said.

McCall's plea of no-contest neither accepts nor denies guilt. Rather it demonstrates the defendant's desire not to have a trial. It is weighed as a guilty plea for the purpose of sentencing.

However, McCall's attorney Joe Kecskemethy testified about the pain and regret he'd seen his client experience.

"He wishes to pay the consequences and become a different person,"Kecskemethy said, noting that his client would likely fulfill any of Lisa Carangio's wishes.

Lisa Carangio, 38, sobbed as she addressed the court.

She described her husband at length, spoke of the impact the death has had on her and her children.

And, she asked the judge to order McCall to keep a picture of her husband in his prison cell, to carry a picture of her husband and children when he is released and to write letters to her and her children while he is in prison.

"The kids miss their uncle Jeff," Lisa Carangio told the judge.

After the hearing, one of Anthony Carangio's older brothers, Ramone Carangio of Harmony, said he does believe McCall is truly sorry.

But, Ramone Carangio said McCall needs to do his time and learn a lesson.

"He is sick and needs help. If he doesn't get help he is going to be in back here with another family,"Ramone Carangio said. "He made a poor decision, as did my brother. (But) Forever is a lot longer than 18 months to 5 years."