Two 20-year-old men are finding out how much trouble a prank phone call can cause.
Joshua Barber and Nicholas Kaiser, both of Plymouth, Mass., face federal wiretapping charges in Buffalo, N.Y., over a prank phone call involving two NFL general managers, The Associated Press is reporting.
The Buffalo News reported that Assistant U.S. Attorney General Michael DiGiacomo said that Barber allegedly phoned the office of Buffalo Bills general manager Buddy Nix on March 8, posing as Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik.
Barber then called Dominik, posing as Nix. When Nix answered Barber's original call, he didn't find anyone on the other line, so he had his office hit the redial button.
According to the Buffalo News, Barber connected Nix with Dominik and recorded a six-minute conversation between the two general managers.
Prosecutors said that Barber and Kaiser pedaled the recorded conversation to Deadspin.com. The two face charges that carry a maximum jail sentence of five years and a $500,000 fine, according to U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr.
Nix was recorded as saying to Dominik, "We're still struggling here with our quarterback (Ryan Fitzpatrick). I say struggling. We're not really struggling. He's going to have to do something, or we'll have to. ... You can't afford to pay that kind of money to a guy that's fighting for probably a backup job."
The website made the conversation public on March 12, one day after the Bills released Fitzpatrick, their former starting QB.
Barber and Kaiser are schedule to appear Tuesday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder in Buffalo to answer charges of intentionally intercepting a wire communication and making a telephone call without disclosing their identity, the Buffalo News reported.
Nix left his general manager position after 3 ½ years to take an advisory role with the Bills on May 13.
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