Initial report from FBI website is first below, more from the web site www.deadspin.com follows. The Deadspin report carries more juice in it, including excerpts of the actual recordings. Conclusion – don’t take random phone calls for granted, may not be who you think it is.
m.fbi.gov BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Joshua Barber, 20, and Nicholas Kaiser, 20, both of Plymouth, Massachusetts, were charged by criminal complaint with intentionally intercepting a wire communication and with making a telephone call without disclosing their identity with the intent to annoy or harass the person at the called number. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $500,000 fine or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, Joshua Barber telephoned the office of former Buffalo Bills General Manger Buddy Nix claiming to be Tampa Bay Bucaneers General Manger Mark Dominik. Buddy Nix answered the telephone but there was no one on the line. Defendant Barber then telephoned the office of Mark Dominik claiming to be Buddy Nix.
While Barber was on hold with Mark Dominik’s office, Nix’s office placed a call using the re-dial function to what was believed to be the office of Mark Dominik. While on hold with Dominik’s office, defendant Barber saw the incoming call from Nix. Using the conference function, defendant Barber connected Nix and Dominik without either party’s knowledge or consent. That call was subsequently recorded by defendant Kaiser. The complaint further states that after the conversation was recorded, defendants Barber and Kaiser sold the unauthorized recording to a media outlet.
It’s a brilliant prank, and it never should’ve worked. How did a couple of 20-year-olds listen in on two NFL executives talking shop the day before free agency began? A little luck, great timing, and a 73-year old general manager who doesn’t really understand how telephones work. On Friday afternoon, Buffalo GM Buddy Nix and Tampa Bay GM Mark Dominik shot the shit for about six minutes. They talked about their impending free agents, their frustration with a new three-day negotiating window, and the major handicap of not having a franchise quarterback. They had no idea that a pair of pranksters had set the whole chat up, or that those pranksters were still on the line, listening in. Remember the Domino’s prank? Call two pizza places, merge them together on a conference call, and let confusion reign. That’s basically what happened here, only with more Buddy Nix complaining about how much the Bills are paying Ryan Fitzpatrick. Then Buddy Nix called them back. And he kept calling back. Into Thursday evening, resuming again on Friday morning, Nix’s personal number kept lighting up their cell phone. They ignored it, until they came up with a plan. They would call Mark Dominik, claim to be Buddy Nix, and send the two on a phantom game of phone tag. So they rang up the Buccaneers, but while on with Dominik’s secretary, Buddy Nix called again. It was perfect. They answered Nix’s call, then fell silent while they were patched through to Dominik. They put the call on speaker, recorded with a second cell phone, and sat back and listened to the fun. The conversation starts off with some confusion. “Dadgum, son,” the septuagenarian Nix laughs, “I’ve called you back a hundred times!” Dominik assures him that it must have been a wrong number, he would have called him back “in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t mess around with that.” Actual recordings are still posted on the deadspin.com website at the time of this posting.Pranksters Record Two NFL GMs Discussing Free Agency Over The Phone