Crank Call From Mr. Buffett

Jimmy Buffett got into a situation in Palm Beach, Fla., recently that had a lot of similarities to Paris Hilton’s now-famous T-Mobile Sidekick incident. Trouble began when Buffett lost his cell phone, and it ended with the involvement of the U.S. Secret Service.

The Mayor of Margaritaville was seen dancing into the early morning hours of May 29th at Palm Beach’s Cuban nightclub Brisa Atlantica. At 4 a.m., during cleanup, busboy Jason Martin, 22, ran across a $500 Ericsson cell phone.

“We were sitting around smoking weed and scrolling down the list on Jimmy’s phone, going, ‘Wow!'” Martin told the Page Two gossip column of the Palm Beach Post. He said he didn’t call anyone but his friends might have crank-called former President Bill Clinton.

Other bigwig contacts on the phone included Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Clint Black, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Cam’ron, George Clooney, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford and Bill Gates. Martin said a Buffett associate called the cell phone on May 30th.

“He said I was a thief and a liar,” Martin told the paper. “Then I called [Buffett’s wife’s] number and she was nasty to me. So I told them I wouldn’t give it back.”

Despite a $200 reward offer, the busboy still refused to turn over the phone. After Buffett called the restaurant, the owner fired Martin and police were called. Because the numbers of ex-presidents were on the phone, the Secret Service was brought in as well.

Martin finally turned over the phone but the memory card was missing. According to a police report, the busboy told a witness he planned to sell the SIM card to the National Enquirer. However, Buffett told the Post it’s pretty much OK as things stand.

“There wasn’t much on [the chip],” the artist said. “Although, whoever had the phone may have called a couple of my contacts.”

He didn’t elaborate but said the phone’s keypad was locked by password.

“Not true,” the busboy responded. “I wonder if Jimmy really knows how these things work.”