22 yr old stepson racks up $1,000.00+ phone bill

Texas

During December, my soon to be ex's son racked up a phone bill in the 4 figures using out of town AOL dial-up numbers. He had already been called on the carpet for tying up the phone line all day so no one could get through, but I had no clue he was calling long distance ISP dial-ups when the local numbers were busy.

I had already tried to place a fraud alert on my number because of 1-900 calls he had made a few months before, had those successfully removed, and blocked other things he had tried to charge to the phone # without my knowledge or consent.

On December 30th, both he and wife actually got moved out, and on 2 January I got a voice message from someone at Southwestern Bell (SBC) fraud unit that a lot of computer calls to long distance had been made, and they made an emergency long distance shutoff.

I cannot afford to pay this bill. Stepson has no income and thinks the world owes him a living. My normal long distance for the previous decade was less than $5 a month on average.

Prior attempts to handle this have gone nowhere, and they may cut off the phone next week.

What recourse do I have 1) against phone company since they allowed the abuse to go on for a full month without notifying me (the calls were all made while I was at work or asleep), and 2) against wife's deadbeat son?

He currently has left several tool boxes and other things he hasn't moved. Can I impound these and sell them to satisfy the debt? Should I sue him, or should I make a criminal complaint? Or should I take action against the phone company? Let them cut off the phone and then refuse to pay (and do without phone)?

He is preparing to leave the state and I cannot afford to be left holding the bag.