FCC Slaps NY Pirate With $20K Fine

4-14-15

Using the radio name of "Impacto2," Luis Angel Ayora has been caught repeatedly operating a pirate (unlicensed) radio station out of a basement in a building in Queens, NY, on 91.9 FM. According to an official notice approved today, the FCC wrote: "Mr. Ayora's repeated unauthorized operation of a pirate FM station warrants a significant penalty." The FCC has ruled that Ayora is liable for a penalty of $20,000. He has 30 days to pay or appeal the fine.

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Boston Still a Pirate Town

5-14-14

Public Radio WBUR in Boston has a follow-up report on pirate radio operators in and around the city of Boston. It was one month ago that Charles Clemons made national news after his station Touch 106 was closed down by the feds, all of his equipment confiscated. WBUR reports the FCC has issued over 90 citations to pirate operators in Massachusetts, including one to David Cange who is still operating Radio Bel Top and tells WBUR, "I am broadcasting with my heart like beating because any time they might pop up. They might show up, say, shut it off.? Radio Bel Top used to broadcast on 88.5 FM from Roslindale and was shut down. Now, it?s operating illegally at 107.5 FM in Mattapan.

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After 8 Years FCC Shuts Down Pirate In Boston

4-17-14

The stations is called "Touch 106.1 FM," operated by former mayoral candidate Charles Clemons. Mass Live is reporting that U.S. Marshals raided the station on Thursday and shut it down. Clemons held a press conference where he admitted he didn't have a license, which he said was pending. In a video on the Mass Live website, Clemons said, "The FCC has decided to silence the community again. Rosa Parks sat at the front of the bus. It was illegal to sit at the front of the bus, but it was the right thing to do."
(picture credit - Boston.com)

(4/18/2014 9:52:40 AM)
Clemons disgraces the memory of Rosa Parks by invoking her name. It was wrong for Montgomery to give preference to whites on city buses. It's not wrong for the FCC to require all stations (without regard to the color of the operator's skin) to be licensed before going on the air.
(4/18/2014 7:16:18 AM)
TouchFM was easy pickings for the FCC. So was Hot 97 a couple years ago. Now try coming to The Bronx. There are pirates here operating on nearly every blank spot on the dial. Most are in Spanish. Some operate only at night or on weekends. I wrote about the phenomenon here a few months ago. Since then many more have come on. Mostly small. But a couple of the signals carry a lot farther than TouchFM ever did.
(4/18/2014 6:48:15 AM)
TouchFM was easy pickings for the FCC. So was Hot 97 a couple years ago. Now try coming to The Bronx. There are pirates here operating on nearly every blank spot on the dial. Most are in Spanish. Some operate only at night or on weekends. I wrote about the phenomenon here a few months ago. Since then many more have come on. Mostly small. But a couple of the signals carry a lot farther than TouchFM ever did.

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Pirate Equipment Seized Near Boston

5-31-13

The equipment was seized by the feds on May 21st in the town of Roslindale, according to wickedlocal.com. There was no name of the pirate listed, who was said to be using the frequency 88.5 MHz without a license, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney in Boston Carmen Ortiz. Michele Ellison, chief of the FCC?s Enforcement Bureau, said, ?We will continue to use all available enforcement tools, including equipment seizures, to protect the airwaves and are grateful for the assistance and fine work of the U.S. Attorney?s Office in Boston.?

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Miami Pirate Fined $25K

4-5-13

Fabrice Polynice receives a hefty fine from the FCC for his illegal station at 90.1 in Miami. Polynice was given an NAL in December of 2012 and his latest letter from the FCC is a forfeiture order. The FCC says it witnessed the station on six different days from three different location in 2012. Agents heard a DJ identify himself as "DJ Paz," the station as "Touche Douce" (Polynice's business) and Polynice's personal telephone number was used as the station number for listeners to call. He even has a Facebook page

Polynice admits to the FCC that he developed the brand name ?Touche Douce? and is ?DJ Paz.? But, he says, his brand is ?widely known, copied, imitated, and infringed upon.? He claims that, as such, someone else may have used his name or rebroadcast one of his Internet shows without his permission.   He also tells the commission that he is a DJ; and that he operates a legitimate internet radio station, but not an illegal unlicensed broadcast radio station." The FCC isn't buying the explanation and hits Polynice with a $25,000 fine.

Read the FCC order HERE

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Feds Seize Pirate Equipment Near Boston

3-13-13

The US Marshals Service seized the equipment near Brockton after they say the Haitian format heard on 91.7-FM was interfering with with air traffic communications in the Boston area. The equipment was moved three times after a written warning was given. A judge signed a warrant to seize the equipment in January. Read more here at the Boston Globe

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Pirate Station Disables Key Fobs in Florida

12-30-12

South Florida residents parking near the Hollywood Florida Police department were puzzled every time they tried to unlock their cars using their keyless entry device. They stopped working. It took months for authorities to determine a pirate radio station operating in the area was interfering with the units.

Police are still searching for the pirate station operator, who was broadcasting Caribbean music at 104.7 on the dial. A detective and an FCC agent found the equipment on December 6th concealed under an air conditioning unit. Cars made by Ford, Lexus, Toyota, BMW and Mercedes reportedly were affected. The issues with the keyless entry devices began back in August.

Read more HERE at the Sun Sentinel

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Pirate Boasts About His Station

7-30-2012

This one comes from the Nashua Telegraph where Antoine Anthem tells the paper he doesn't have a license to operate at 87.9 but it's not really that big a deal. ?No, we don?t have one. If a commercial station wants to complain and push us away, they can. ? It hasn?t been a problem because we?re not interfering with any other broadcasting station.? Forget about the fact that it's the law that you need an FCC license. It's also a little out of the ordinary for a Pirate to openly boast about operating illegally.
The FCC is looking into the situation, according to the paper. Absolute Broadcasting GM Jerry DiGrezio is quoted in the story. ?The big deal is we?re playing by the rules and someone else isn?t. And, he added there is occasional signal interference with his stations. Absolute owns AM talk radio stations WSMN, WGAM and WGHM.  DiGrezio pointed out that TheBeat ? which has no call letters because it has no FCC license ? doesn?t pay fees to music-publishing groups such as ASCAP and BMI. ?We have to pay the fees, and we don?t even play any music,? he said. Anthem said TheBeat doesn?t pay a music-publishing fee because it doesn?t play contemporary hits in ?heavy rotation.?

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California Pirate Hit With $17,000 Fine

7-3-2012

Brian Ragan is the licensee of  KBRS in Suisun City, California, according the th FCC. However, the feds say he's been operating at 104.9 on the dial without a license and they've fined him $17K for violating the law. When agents visited Mr. Ragan's home they heard the station operating in the garage bit Ragan did not answer the door when they knocked. Ragan called the FCC and admitted he was operating the station and said he was scared to answer the door because the agents announced they were from the FCC.

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Pirate Ordered to Pay $25K Fine

3-9-2012

This dates back a year ago when Gabriel Garcia was flagged for operating unlicensed stations on several frequencies in San Jose. Garcia did not respond to the commission's Notice of Apparent Liability and yesterday the commission affirmed the fine of $25,000. Garcia has 30 days to pay the fine.

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Dunbar Florida Pirate Case Gets Shuffled

2-8-2012

Florida Governor Rick Scott has reassigned the case of accused Dunbar Florida pirate Al Knighten. State Attorney Steve Russell asked that the case be transferred to avoid any appearance of a conflict. The station once operated from the office of a social service agency called Quality Life Center in downtown Fort Myers. Russell sits on the board for that organization. The agency was unaware the station was operating from its office, according to the executive director of the agency. It did so for a year.

Al Knighten was arrested in December for operating the pirate radio station in Dunbar Florida. Knighten says he was doing the community a service with his talk shows, community announcements and Gospel Music. Dunbar has been in the news quite a bit lately for an increase in crime, specifically murder. 

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$10,000 Fine For Miami Pirate

1-25-2012

Willis Cernogg, Jr. decided not to file a response to the FCC after being caught operating an unlicensed station at 90.7 in Miami. The feds notified Cernogg back in October. He has 30 days to pay the fine or the Commission may move the case over to the department of justice for further action.

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Florida Pirate Busted Near Fort Myers

12-14-2011

The station was called Dunbar community radio, broadcasting gospel music, PSA's and community information at 107.5. However, Al Knighten was broadcasting without a license and that's something the FCC clearly frowns upon. With the help of Fort Myers police the FCC closed down the station and arrested Knighten who spent about $4,000 to get the facility up and running. The illegal station hosted a show by the Fort Myers Citizens Police Review Board and Fort Myers Councilman John Streets also appeared on the station as a guest. Knighten was the only one charged with a crime. 

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FCC Hands Out Big Pirate Fines

December 6, 2011: The FCC's Media Bureau hands out forfeiture orders to a pair of Florida pirate operators, with John Criteser Jr. getting a $15,000 fine for operating an unlicensed station at 95.1 FM in Lake Park, FL, and Neal Davis hit with a $10,000 fine for an unlicensed station at 96.1 in Ft. Lauderdale. Both men earlier failed to respond to notices of apparent liability from the bureau.

Criteser's NAL went out in October, after the FCC received a complaint and sent agents from its Miami office to investigate. The agents traced transmissions to Criteser's home on Lake Park;  Criteser at that time admitted he was operating an unlicensed station at 95.1.

The Miami office also responded to the complaint that eventually led agents to trace transmissions on 96.1 FM to a commercial property in Ft. Lauderdale. The Ft. Lauderdale PD executed a search warrant at the property and found Davis operating DJ equipment, and eventually identified the person heard on the air as "DJ Shawty Pimp" as Davis. The agents also found a laptop open to a Facebook page for "Nintysixonefm Realsideradio."

The Media Bureau also issues a hefty $13,000 forfeiture order to R&M Broadcasting for failure to file a license renewal on time for KJCB-AM/Lafayette, LA, and for unauthorized operations. Back in 2004, R&M filed its renewal application two weeks after the deadline, and its application was dismissed due to a delinquent debt.R&M didn't appeal that dismissal or file another application, and was informed in April 2010 that its license had expired and it had no authority operate. KJCB's calls were deleted from the FCC database.

R&M responded with a petition for reconsideration, but apparently continued to operate until April 2011. After receiving a $13,000 notice of apparent liability, R&M said it was "misinformed" by a station engineer about the proper procedures for renewal and also asked for a reduction or cancellation of the forfeiture based on financial hardship. The FCC has rejected those arguments and affirmed the forfeiture.

Additionally, the FCC has once again affirmed a $4,000 forfeiture order to Saga Communications for failing to conduct a broadcast contest substantially as announced. The matter dates back to 2005, when Saga's WAQY-FM/Springfield, MA, delayed several months in awarding Aerosmith memorabilia to a contest winner. The matter has gone several rounds, beginning with a complaint in late 2005 and a notice of apparent liability in 2007, and the commission has now rejected a Saga petition for reconsideration, once again dismissing Saga's contention that it didn't violate FCC rules because promptness in delivering prizes isn't specified in the regulations.

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Pirate in Puerto Rico Slapped With $15K Fine

Eleuterio Lebron is the owner of this pirate station and receiver of the fine. In June the FCC started getting complaints and found Lebron's signal at 88.5. The bureau using its fancy direction-finding equipment located the building in Puerto Rico and agents determined the signals exceeded limits for operation. Lebron confirmed he was the station owner and he shut it down. The bureau also found out Lebron doesn't hold any license to broadcast, another item the government frowns upon. That earned him a $15,000 fine. 

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Cuomo Signs Pirate Law in New York

Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation making the operation of an AM or FM radio station without a license illegal in the state of New York. Violations will be treated as a "Class A" misdemeanor.  The new law gives local law enforcement an important tool to protect consumers and stem the tide of illegal radio operation in New York.

David Donovan, president of the New York State Broadcasters Association said "New York's licensed radio stations serve their local communities by providing life-saving information during emergencies, daily news and entertainment. Unfortunately, many consumers cannot receive emergency information or enjoy their favorite radio station because of technical interference from illegal operators. Unlicensed operators simply ignore consumer protection laws and the public interest responsibilities that guide every licensed radio station throughout the Empire State."

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Florida Man Charged With A Felony For Pirate Station

June 20, 2011

The station was 92.7 on the dial, broadcasting Haitian music, according to the Palm Beach Post. The Broward County Sheriff and the FCC shut down 30 year old Mercius Dorvilus of North Lauderdale and charged him with unauthorized transmission and/or interference with a public station. The Post says Dorvilus was renting a room where the government confiscated a transmitter, mixer and a laptop.

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FCC Fines Miami Woman $20K For Pirate Station

Nounoune Lubin is hit with the fine for operating an unlicensed transmitter at 90.1 MHz in North Miami, Florida.    Agents from the Miami Office say Lubin, despite acknowledging receipt of two Notices of Unlicensed Operation, apparently continued to operate an unlicensed radio station on 90.1 MHz from her residence in North Miami, Florida. Lubin requested cancellation of the proposed fine because she claims she did not, and has not ever, operated an unlicensed radio station.

The commission says Lubin?s assertion that she did not operate a station is unpersuasive. Agents observed a clearly visible coaxial cable coming in through a back window of Ms. Lubin?s residence that was connected on one end to the antenna in the backyard, and on the other end to transmitting equipment apparently located in her residence. Lubin also signed for two written NOUOs notifying her that an unlicensed radio station was operating in her residence.  Assuming, arguendo, that Ms. Lubin did not technically operate the radio station equipment in her residence and was originally unaware of the nature of the equipment, once she received the notices she had the opportunity to evaluate all unknown electronic equipment in her residence and ensure that operation did not continue. 

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