Cincinnati Bell Inc is facing three class action complaints alleging that it illegally tapped the phones of 1,000 of the good burghers of Ohio: the phone company says it has not been served with any summons, but has learned the complaints are almost identical, each alleging that it illegally engaged in wiretap activities, violated federal and state laws, and wrongfully intruded into the private activities of the plaintiffs; each plaintiff demands judgement against the company for compensatory damages in the amount of $12m and punitive damages in the amount of $100m (they can tap our phones any time for that kind of money); the wiretaps, if such they were, and Cin Bell does suggest it might have tapped phones for reasons of national security, came to light after three employees who had been fired rushed off to tell the newspapers about what their former employer had asked them to do to the lines of 1,000 residents of the state.
