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September 25, 1997
                                    
                                    
               FCC CLOSES DOWN UNLICENSED RADIO OPERATOR  

     Agents from the San Francisco Office of the Federal Communications Commission,
together with the United States Marshal Service, seized radio equipment used by Community
Power Radio, an unlicensed FM radio station operating from Sacramento, California, on
100.1 Mhz.  The illegal broadcasts, by operators Abdul Rahman Muhammed and Mike
Colbert, had drawn a number of complaints.  

     FCC personnel visited Community Power Radio twice before seizing the equipment,
each time warning the operators that the station's operations were illegal and that they should
cease operating the station.  Both times Community Power Radio went off the air, but
returned after a brief time. 

     Broadcast stations that transmit on a frequency in the FM band must be licensed by
the Commission.  In general, unlicensed radio transmissions create a danger of interference to
important authorized radio communications services.  The equipment used in illegal
operations is usually of unknown technical quality and its operation causes interference to the
reception of authorized services.  In extreme cases, illegal broadcast stations have the
potential to interfere with vital aircraft, police and fire communications, in a manner that may
endanger the safety of life.  

     The Commission has authority to impose sanctions on unlicensed broadcasters,
including civil monetary forfeitures of up to $11,000 for a single violation or for each day of
a continuous violation; criminal fines against the operator of up to $100,000 with potential
imprisonment for up to a year for the first violation; court injunctions; and seizures of the
radio equipment.   

                                   -FCC-


     News Media Contact:  Rosemary Kimball at (202) 418-0500
     Compliance and Information Bureau Contact:  Douglas Cooper at (202) 418-1160.