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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