Walter L. Shaw Sr. (December 20, 1916, in Vineland, New Jersey – July 21, 1996) was an American telecommunications engineer and inventor who clashed with his employer (variously identified as AT&T, Bell and Southern Bell) over ownership of his inventions. As a result, he quit and eventually ended up supplying the Mafia with black boxes capable of making free and untraceable telephone calls. In 1976, he was convicted of "illegal phone usage" and sent to prison.