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    Blind Phone 'Swatter' Gets 11 Years For 911 Phone Hacking

    read more: #crime, #swatter, #mattweigman, #blind, #phones, #att, #att, #verizon, #fbi, #jail, #911

    How Does a Blind Teenage "Swatter" Get 11 Years in Jail?

    Matt Weigman, "a fat, lonely blind kid," received an 11-year jail sentence at age 19 for using the phone service to harass and attack his enemies (including the FBI!). But how does a kid come to such a fate?

    It's a fascinating story—growing up poor, blind, picked-on, with an awful home life and no social outlet, Weigman latched onto party lines as a way to be somebody else. That somebody turned out to be vindictive, crass, exploitative, manipulative, and without conscience, but also with a unique and incredible set of skills. The kid pretty much had AT&T, Verizon and an FBI investigative team wrapped around his finger, all from his bedroom in East Boston, and you sort of get the sense that had he not had a bit of a breakdown, he might never have been caught. Read the full article at Rolling Stone. [Rolling Stone]


    Send an email to Dan Nosowitz, the author of this post, at dnosowitz@gizmodo.com.