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If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) Frank Lepera ) ) Notice of Apparent Liability ) For Forfeiture ) File No. 820EF0016 Licensee of Paging and Radiotelephone ) Station KNLN788, Louisville, KY ) NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE Adopted: August 19, 1998 Released: August 21, 1998 By the Acting Chief, Enforcement and Consumer Information Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau: I. Introduction 1. This is a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  503(b) (the "Act") and Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.80, against Frank Lepera, licensee of Paging and Radiotelephone Station KNLN788 in Louisville, Kentucky. For the reasons that follow, we find Mr. Lepera failed to timely file an FCC Form 489 to notify the Commission of the commencement of service of Station KNLN788, in apparent violation of Section 22.142(b) of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  22.142(b). We conclude that Mr. Lepera is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of $1,000. II. Background 2. On January 19, 1996, the Commission granted Mr. Lepera's application to construct Station KNLN788, which expired on January 19, 1997. The information before us indicates that Mr. Lepera commenced service from the new station on January 15, 1997. Mr. Lepera filed the FCC Form 489 notifying the Commission of commencement of service on September 3, 1997. III. Discussion 3. Section 22.142(b) of the Commission's Rules provides in pertinent part, "Notification Requirement. Licensees must notify the FCC (FCC Form 489) of commencement of service to subscribers, no later than fifteen days after service begins." 47 C.F.R.  22.142(b) (emphasis in the original). The Commission's policy of imposing monetary forfeitures for violation of Section 22.142(b) of the Commission's Rules is well established. See, e.g., Network Services, LLC, 13 FCC Rcd 6688 (WTB 1998). 4. Mr. Lepera states that he inadvertently failed to file the FCC Form 489 within 15 days of commencement of service. He further states that he filed the appropriate FCC Form 489 immediately upon realizing the error. We note that Mr. Lepera voluntarily brought this matter to the Bureau's attention. The purpose of the FCC Form 489 is to notify the Commission that construction has been completed and the frequency is in use, so that the Commission will not assign that frequency to anyone else. Mr. Lepera's apparent violation continued until he filed the FCC Form 489. 5. The guidelines contained in the Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement, 12 FCC Rcd 6688, which became effective on October 14, 1997, specify a base forfeiture amount of $3,000 for failure to file required forms or information. The guidelines, however, permit the Commission "to issue a higher or lower forfeiture than provided in the guidelines." The Commission determined, in cases decided before the recent adoption of the Forfeiture Policy Statement, that a base forfeiture amount of $2,000 is justified when a licensee has failed to timely file Form 489. See Mulzer Enterprises, Inc., 12 FCC Rcd 10269 (WTB 1997); and Mountaineer Paging, 12 FCC Rcd 4727 (WTB 1997). We find, therefore, that a $2,000 base amount for the violation is appropriate here. However, in view of Mr. Lepera's voluntary disclosure of his violation to the Commission, we reduce the amount of proposed forfeiture to $1,000. IV. Conclusion and Ordering Clause 6. ACCORDINGLY, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  503(b) and Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.80, Frank Lepera is hereby NOTIFIED of his APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE in the amount of one thousand dollars for repeatedly violating Section 22.142(b) of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  22.142(b). 7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.80, that within thirty days of the release of this Notice, Mr. Lepera SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture. Payment of the forfeiture may be made by credit card through the Commission's Billings and Collections Branch at (202) 418-1995 or by mailing a check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications Commission, to the Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482. The payment should note the file number of this proceeding. 8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that copies of this Notice shall be sent, by Certified Mail/ Return Receipt Requested, to Frank Lepera, 37010 Jerome, Sterling Heights, Michigan 48312, and to counsel for Mr. Lepera's management firm, (Link II Communications), Frederick M. Joyce, Esq., Joyce & Jacobs, 1019 19th Street, N.W., 14th Floor, PH-2, Washington, D.C. 20036. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Catherine W. Seidel Acting Chief, Enforcement and Consumer Information Division Wireless Telecommunications Bureau