Early Phone-line Blocks

The early phone-line blocks on escort service telephone numbers in most area resorts is simple to explain, but still, to this day, the practice is not acknowledged or admitted. They all still run for cover or call me paranoid when I speak about the topic. Back in the day they simply pretended that it wasn't possible – even the head of security at United Telephone (Sprint) and Vista United Telephone (changed names and hands sort of) in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. I stepped into the picture in 1992; however, it was already transpiring when I arrived. It was discovered easily and simply explained some time later. I was never an expert on the topic, but one would have to have their head buried in the sand to claim that it was not possible.

First it must be stated that all escort service lines were not always blocked. The lines were blocked when there were large conventions in participating resorts, but only during the conventions. Hopefully you understand where this could cause confusion – an escort service owner is screaming about line blocks, though they often booked a call in the hotel at the same time. They had an easy time painting a few of us as nuts and then others would have second thoughts about complaining.

It must also be stated that at the time there was another operation going on while our lines were blocked, so conventioneers were still being furnished with escorts, but from the secret operation.

PBX systems had specific features and one of those features was the ability to prevent a specific block of hotel room telephones from dialing a list of numbers. So block and unblock they did, and on a regular basis. It was indeed a feature of any PBX system that I found to be installed in a given resort. At the time there were limousine company owners that also believed it was happening with their lines, so it wasn't only escort services. Indeed, the conspirators had a for-profit venture going, and not a goal of preventing anyone from seeing escorts. So taking the high-ground pedestal routine can be tossed out the proverbial window here. They were, and are, not any better than any escort service operator, and in fact committed their crimes on the blood of others. Sneaky thieving people – to state it mildly.

If Ford Motor Company had booked a convention at the Dolphin, a Sheraton resort that's on Disney property, for 1200 people and reserved 900 rooms, by the time those conventioneers checked-in at the resort and received the assigned room, the block list was in effect. No one in any of those specific 900 rooms could dial a number on the list through the hotel PBX system. Today this only matters a little bit as most people would choose to dial from a wireless phone, though not all as the smart ones do not want the escort service number on their wireless service call log. Today a few are ahead with technology and dial through GOOG-411, a Google service. Back to the past…

Anyone outside of the blocked rooms, say not with the particular large convention, could get through without a problem. Do you see where the confusion entered the story? It took me quite some time, almost two years, to figure out the formula in play and to figure out a partial solution. Back in the 1990s (throughout) the problem was made clear with many escort service ads in the yellow pages including a statement about fast-busy signals and to dial using a calling card or off the hotel premises if the dialer reached that fast-busy. Yes, the result was that the conventioneer reached only this fast-busy signal when dialing the blocked number through the hotel's PBX system. People used to dial me from payphones when they reached the conclusion that the phone in their hotel room had a problem.

Memoirs is divided into three parts, and Part One is mainly about these blocks in area resorts, and then of course the book leads to the relentless pursuit of me. No doubt that the two are interconnected.

Next: Blocks in area resort PBX systems today