Calls at $9.85 a minute by N.D. athlete creates $47,000 dispute

Associated Press

Last update: November 21, 2007 - 12:59 PM

WAHPETON, N.D. The North Dakota State College of Science faces a $46,897 phone bill in a case involving a former men's basketball player accused of using a school-issued calling card for unauthorized calls.

Touhomi Ghazoul, 20, a native of Algeria, is charged with felony theft. The charges against him allege that he made "more than $10,000'' in domestic and international calls.

The Forum newspaper said it found new details on the case through an open records request. The college is in a dispute with long-distance carrier AT&T over who should pay the bill.

The College of Science was notified of exceptionally high charges on Sept. 10. The school deactivated its nine school phone cards on Sept. 28, the Forum said.

Ghazoul's attorney, Don Krassin, said his client was not aware of the long-distance rates while using the card. Ghazoul's next scheduled court appearance is Feb. 5.

"I know that he had no comprehension that the matter was going to run up a bill like it did,'' Krassin said. "I think he kind of thought it was like those 800 numbers that flash by your screen on TV. I'm not sure anybody with a whole lot more knowledge than him would expect [the high rates of the phone card].''

Records show a total of 395 international and domestic calls were made between July 21 and Sept. 9, with calls to Algeria as well as to Spain, Hungary, France and the United States, and that 23 international calls in one day. The school was charged an average of $9.80 per minute for the 395 calls, the Forum reported.

The college first disputed the initial phone charges in a letter to AT&T dated Oct. 11, though it paid $212.05 of a $23,945.43 bill dated Aug. 22 for ``three legitimate calls,'' The Forum said. It disputed invoices with similar charges on Sept. 27.

In an e-mail dated Sept. 21, AT&T representative John Sunser said the first bill would not be changed.

"After a thorough investigation into the claim, it has been determined that no adjustment is warranted at this time. All dollar amounts billed on the disputed invoice are correct and due at this time,'' Sunser wrote.

Pat Seaworth, the attorney for the state university system, said the college will not pay the fraudulent charges because AT&T did not meet the terms of its contract.

"Under the contract we have with AT&T, they were required to have a fraud unit that monitored long-distance calls and alerted the state agency or institution if there was an unusual calling pattern,'' Seaworth said. "They should have alerted the college within a day or two.''

College of Science president John Richman said the phone bill could be paid using the school's emergency fund. No state dollars will be used for the bill, Richman said.

"It would mean that some emergency project down the road, or some project we would want to do down the line, would not get done,'' Richman said.

The athletic department, which officials say has a budget of about $280,000, likely will not see any cuts due to the bill, Richman said.

School officials say Ghazoul made unauthorized calls after coach Craig Irwin gave him a school calling card number.

Irwin said Ghazoul had strict instructions to use the number only to ``check in'' while the player was at a basketball camp in Oklahoma, and he was to destroy the number when he returned to Wahpeton.

The college reported the violation to the National Junior College Athletic Association in September. A month later, the NJCAA ruled the Wildcats ineligible for the postseason this year and Ghazoul was indefinitely barred from competition.

The college suspended Irwin, who is in his eighth year at the school, on Oct. 23, and later announced he would resign at the end of the current season.

Science Athletic Director Jane Passa, in a letter to Irwin outlining a case for dismissal, said university system policy puts the responsibility for safeguarding school resources on its employees.

"My decisions at that point were probably to resign or to appeal the process,'' said Irwin, whose team is 6-0 to start the season. ``That could be a costly venture for the college and for myself. And, really, why would you want to appeal and work for someone who probably doesn't want you there?''