SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Phone "phreaker" John Draper was arrested this morning on charges of wire fraud. Draper was on his way home from a Fortran programming class when he was arrested. He had developed a device called a blue box, a device generated certain tones in order to take control of the telephone system. Called "Cap'n Crunch" by his friends, he earned his nickname by taking a whistle from a Captain Crunch box and modifying it so that it would generate a pure 2,600-cycle tone. This tone would signify that the phone call was over and toll charges would instantly stop, allowing the caller to make nearly free calls.
Considered the spiritual head of the computer underground, Draper called his discovery a "revelation." "It blew me away," he said. Draper had explored the telephone network with his blue box, going so far as to listen in on other calls until he heard a conversation where he realized she was cheating on him. He even called Richard Nixon's private line, informing him that there was a shortage of toilet paper in southern California.
An Air Force veteran, Draper was offered a job with the telephone company immediately following his dischard. The first criminal of his type, he is expected to be given a fine and probation sentence.
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