Earlier this year, a pair of young men managed to get Buccaneers G.M. Mark Dominik and former Bills G.M. Buddy Nix on the phone at the same time. Not realizing the breadth and the potency of the federal wiretapping laws, the men recorded the call and sold it to Deadspin for $200.
The authorities pursued federal charges against the men, Joshua Barber and Nicholas Kaiser. Now that the message has been sufficiently communicated to them and to anyone else who may do the same thing in the future, a deal has been cut.
Per the Associated Press, the charges have been dismissed. The men must abide by certain conditions for the next 18 months. (The terms presumably include no more wiretapping.)
The prank apparently began with the men hoping to get tryouts from various professional sports teams. They called Nix, posing as Dominik. (Which makes the whole tryout story seem a little odd.) Then, as Nix believed he was calling back Dominik, the men got through to Dominik on another phone, posing as Nix. They put the phones on speaker and started to record the conversation.