Two 20-year-old pranksters from Plymouth, Mass., who recorded a call from then-Buffalo Bills GM Buddy Nix and his counterpart in Tampa, Fla., last March, were in federal court today in Buffalo to answer charges of illegally intercepting the phone conversation and recording it.
Joshua Barber and Nicholas Kaiser, appearing with their parents, were released on their own recognizance after U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder entered pleas of not guilty for both men. They are scheduled to return to his courtroom Aug. 30.
Kaiser was represented by defense attorney Rodney O. Personius, and Barber was represented by federal public defender Marianne Mariano. Barber claimed a lack of resources to hire an attorney with his $9-an-hour, part-time income working at a deli.
Barber had been calling Nix to seek a tryout to play on the Bills and through a “perfect storm” managed to listen in on a call between Nix and Tampa Bay Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik, according to Personius.
Kaiser, using his cellphone, recorded the conversation off Barber’s phone, which was on speaker, according to the criminal complaint and attorneys.
The six-minute conversation, which focused on the Bills quarterback situation, was later sold to the sports website Deadspin.
email: lmichel@buffnews.com
Joshua Barber and Nicholas Kaiser, appearing with their parents, were released on their own recognizance after U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder entered pleas of not guilty for both men. They are scheduled to return to his courtroom Aug. 30.
Kaiser was represented by defense attorney Rodney O. Personius, and Barber was represented by federal public defender Marianne Mariano. Barber claimed a lack of resources to hire an attorney with his $9-an-hour, part-time income working at a deli.
Barber had been calling Nix to seek a tryout to play on the Bills and through a “perfect storm” managed to listen in on a call between Nix and Tampa Bay Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik, according to Personius.
Kaiser, using his cellphone, recorded the conversation off Barber’s phone, which was on speaker, according to the criminal complaint and attorneys.
The six-minute conversation, which focused on the Bills quarterback situation, was later sold to the sports website Deadspin.
email: lmichel@buffnews.com