FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS MEDIA CONTACT May 26, 1999 David Fiske (202) 418-0500 Report No. 99-23 COMPLIANCE AND INFORMATION ACTION FCC SEIZES EQUIPMENT FROM UNLICENSED RADIO STATION IN LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA Attached, for your information, is a News Release from the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Philadelphia announcing a seizure of equipment from an unlicensed radio station in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, by officials of the FCC and the United States Marshals Service. -FCC- (Attachment) U.S. Department of Justice United States Attorney Eastern District of Pennsylvania 615 Chestnut Street Suite 1250 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106-4476 (215) 451-5413 May 3, 1999 PRESS RELEASE On May 3, 1999, the U.S. Marshals Service, accompanied by agents of the Federal Communications Commission, executed a Warrant of Arrest and seized radio transmission equipment that was being used to make illegal and unlicensed radio broadcasts in violation of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. 151 et seq. The Warrant of Arrest was executed after the United States filed a civil in rem complaint seeking the forfeiture of any and all radio station equipment in a church located at 103 Locust Street, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the site used to make the illegal radio broadcasts. The unlicensed broadcasts were at frequency 106.3 MHz. and are alleged to have been made by a radio station which refers to itself as *Radio Vida.* The United States alleges that FCC agents determined that the amount of power from Radio Vida*s signal far exceeded that permitted by FCC regulations, which permit certain very low power station emissions in the FM band without a license. The United States alleges that if Radio Vida had been operating within the power levels permitted by FCC*s regulations governing unlicensed radio broadcasts, then its signal would not reach any further than about 1,000 feet. In this case, it is alleged that FCC agents were able to receive Radio Vida*s signal at a distance of approximately twenty miles, which far exceeds that permitted by law. Radio Vida*s broadcast signal strength, measured in micro volts per meter, was recently measured at more than a thirty-one thousand times higher than permissible power levels. The United States alleges that the FCC made several attempts to obtain Radio Vida*s voluntary compliance with the law against unlicensed broadcasting. For example, on November 5, 1999, FCC agent David C. Dombrowski informed Reverend Roberto Figueroa, the operator of Radio Vida, that continued operation of the station could result in seizure of the station*s equipment, the issuance of a fine or both. Additionally, two written warnings were also forwarded to Reverend Figueroa regarding the operation of the illegal station. The United States alleges that, despite these warnings by representatives of the FCC, these illegal broadcasts have continued to occur and interfere with licensed radio broadcasts with similar frequencies. The United States alleges that unlicensed broadcasting threatens the integrity of the regulatory structure established in the Communications Act of 1934 to prevent interference and confusion in the radio spectrum. The regulatory effectiveness of the FCC to carry out its statutory obligations to license stations and prevent radio broadcast interference would be impaired without meaningful action to stop unlicensed broadcasting. Radio Vida*s radio transmission equipment is subject to forfeiture to the United States pursuant to Section 510 of the Communications Act of 1934, which provides for the forfeiture of any equipment that is knowingly used to make radio broadcasts without a license. The case has been assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Cedric D. Bullock. #####