Touch-Tone Terrorists

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The Touch-Tone Terrorists is the name of a group of fictional characters used in a series of prank phone calls which are recorded and compiled on a series of comedy CDs.

The Touch-Tone Terrorists is actually one man, Pete Dzoghi, who also goes by the name of "Repete Z". He purchased a series of 1-800 numbers including ones that were one digit different than actual customer service numbers for companies such as (apparently) UPS, Jiffy Lube, an auto insurance "claims support line", a psychic line, a pen manufacturer, and others. Using a Gentner SPH-3A phone hybrid and a Yamaha SPX-90 electronic pitch transposer to alter his voice over the phone, he would take incoming calls from people who had misdialed the number and were under the assumption that they had dialed the right number. He created a series of characters, all of which were voiced by him, the most usual being:

Junkyard Willie: A gravelly-voiced man with a bad attitude that plays on African-American stereotypes. He is known for launching off into litanies of curse words and ebonics, then filibustering during the arguments that ensue. Frequently offers to "shine yo' hubcaps".

Jim Bob: A stuttering hillbilly in a wheelchair with poor customer service skills and a low IQ.

Blade Jones: A homeless drunk, he readily admits to customers that he regularly uses drugs and alcohol at work. He often vomits while customers are on the phone ("Sorry, I just had a little too much to drink"), and calls prospective employers looking for a job.

Stu Jaimison: The arrogant, corporate big shot. He is unsympathetic to disgruntled customers, frequently telling callers that they are "a drop in the bucket" to his company.

Joe: The nice guy. Irate customers will often complain to him because he has sympathetic ear, after which he'll "transfer" the call to Jim Bob or Junkyard Willie, sometimes cyclically until the caller becomes sufficiently exasperated and hangs up.

Vladimir: A rude Russian who gets under people's skin ("You sound like stupid American").

Old Man Louie: A senile 90 something year ("I love booze and broads"). Known for attempting to get booze delivered to his hospital room, or calling in search of his lost colostomy bag.

Tic-Tac: A Mexican-American who annoys customers by interrupting them in Spanglish.

At one point UPS tried to stop the sale of the Touch Tone Terrorists CDs through a series of letters demanding, among other things, that all inventory of Infestation Records' CDs be "delivered" to UPS lawyers "for destruction", because UPS believed that many of the TTT calls involved customers who thought they were speaking to UPS customer service representatives. Infestation Records refused to comply on the basis that the CDs are a protectable parody.

RePete was also a frequent guest on Howard Stern's radio show, usually crank calling Howard Stern staff and Wack Pack members, such as Crazy Alice, High Pitch Eric, and Joe the Godfather. Two phone calls were also featured in the first season of Crank Yankers. Currently a movie called "Lost In Transit" is in post production.