http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/Main....icleID=7 5677

Friday, March 14, 2003

Jury: Couple OK to listen to phone call

By ANDREW WOLFE, Telegraph Staff



NASHUA - An anonymous couple that used a police radio scanner to eavesdrop on a phone conversation between two co-workers didn't
violate state wiretap and eavesdropping laws, a jury concluded Thursday.

Jurors deliberated for less than two hours at Hillsborough County Superior Court before finding against a former Merrimack woman,
who claimed she was humiliated at the bank where she worked after she complained about being reprimanded because of the
eavesdropping.

Karen Karch, formerly the assistant manager of the NFS Savings Bank's Merrimack branch, sued the bank and its vice president, Elaine
Gordon, in 1996. NFS was later bought by BayBank, which was then bought by Fleet Bank.

Karch's lawyer, Rob Blakeney of Concord, said Thursday that he will file further motions in the case, but declined to discuss
details.

The bank's lawyer, William Pribis of Concord, could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

Karch claimed that Gordon reprimanded her for discussing bank business during a telephone call with a co-worker, Elizabeth Tognarina
of Hudson, in 1992.

Both Karch and Tognarina were at home at the time, but unbeknownst to them, a Hudson couple was using a radio scanner tuned to the
signal from Tognarina's cordless telephone, and listening for their amusement.

The Hudson couple apparently knew Gordon, and told her of the conversation, Blakeney argued. Gordon and other bank officials refused
to identify the couple, however, asserting their right to avoid self-incrimination, Blakeney said.

Gordon reprimanded both Karch and Tognarina for discussing bank business, including security procedures, during their conversation.

Karch argued that the anonymous couple broke state law, which prohibits people from snooping on phone conversations, and that bank
officials also violated the law by using illegally intercepted communications.

Pribis argued the bank had a legitimate concern in keeping employees from gossiping about bank business, especially if others could
overhear.

"They can't have employees talking about bank business," Pribis told jurors in his closing argument Thursday. "People trust banks
with some of the most personal and confidential information."

Gordon tried to be discreet, Pribis said.

"In Elaine Gordon's mind and in the bank's mind, the matter should have ended there (with the reprimand)," Pribis said. "It didn't
because the plaintiff didn't want it to."

Pribis argued that Karch's claim that she was traumatized by the experience was exaggerated, and any unease she felt at the bank was
of her making.

"The plaintiff would like you to believe she was so shocked and traumatized that she could hardly function," he said. "There was no
hostile work environment other than the one the plaintiff created herself."

Blakeney argued the bank violated Karch's right to privacy, and then demoted her by taking away her keys to the bank branch after
she hired a lawyer and complained.

"They (bank officials) not only broke the law here, they accused her of misconduct," Blakeney told jurors in his closing. "We hope
you will not declare telephone privacy dead in this state."

Andrew Wolfe can be reached at 594-6410.