NEW YORK (AP) – An attorney and entrepreneur has filed a lawsuit against Verizon Communications Inc. alleging it has illegally collaborated with the National Security Agency’s wiretapping operations.
The suit by Michael Pascazi of Fishkill seeks to represent millions of Verizon customers in a class action. It seeks $20 billion in damages for alleged violations of customer privacy by a warrantless government wiretapping program.
Randal Milch, Verizon’s senior vice president of legal and external affairs, called the lawsuit “completely without merit.”
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in New York.
AT&T Inc. was sued Jan. 31 by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil-liberties group, over the same wiretapping program. That suit also sought billions of dollars in damages. AT&T did not comment on the suit.
Pascazi was previously president of Fiber Optek Interconnect Corp., a private firm that built fiber-optic lines for carriers. It once proposed a bankruptcy reorganization plan for Global Crossing, an international fiber-optic carrier.
Fiber Optek is now defunct. Pascazi said he has started a biotechnology company in addition to practicing law.
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