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                           Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                     Washington, D.C. 20554


                                )
In the Matter of                   )         File No. EB-02-PA-
275
                                )
Horizon Communications          )       NAL/Acct.             No. 
200332400002
WPMM811 and WPMT622             )
Cliffside Park, New Jersey      )       FRN: 0003-4622-31
                                )          


           NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE

                                        Released: December 05, 
               2002

By the District Director, Philadelphia Office, Enforcement 
Bureau:


                        I.  INTRODUCTION

     1.   In this  Notice of  Apparent Liability  for  Forfeiture 
(``NAL''), we find that Horizon Communications (``Horizon'')  has 
apparently violated Section 1.903(a) and Section 90.425(a) of the 
Commission's Rules (the  ``Rules'').1  These violations  occurred 
because Horizon  operated  stations  WPMT622 and  WPMM811  at  an 
unauthorized location  and  failed  to  transmit  the  call  sign 
identification on stations WPMT622 and WPMM811.  We conclude that 
Horizon is apparently liable  for a forfeiture  in the amount  of 
ten thousand dollars ($10,000). 

                         II.  BACKGROUND

     2.   By letter dated July 17, 2002, Westchester County,  the 
licensee  of  station   WQR620,  filed  a   complaint  with   the 
Enforcement Bureau  alleging  that it  was  experiencing  harmful 
interference on  the frequencies  452.700  MHz and  452.725  MHz.  
Westchester County  stated  that  interference,  which  had  been 
occurring for more than  a year, was from  two taxi companies  in 
the New  York City  area.  Westchester  County alleged  that  the 
interference was  so  severe  that its  mobile  units  could  not 
communicate in the southern area of Westchester County, New York.

     3.   On July  29,  2002,  agents  David  Dombrowski  of  the 
Philadelphia Office  and  Emil Cherian  of  the New  York  Office 
investigated the complaint.   During the  investigation, the  FCC 
agents used direction-finding techniques to determine that  radio 
transmitting equipment  was positively  being operated  from  the 
Cadman Towers,  101  Clark Street,  Manhattan,  New York  on  the 
frequencies 452.725 MHz and 462.200 MHz. The FCC agents monitored 
radio communications from a taxi company on each frequency.

     4.   During further  investigation,  the agents  found  that 
Horizon had relocated stations WPMT622 and WPMM811 to the  Cadman 
Towers, 101 Clark  Street, Manhattan, New  York to provide  radio 
communication service for Eastland  Car Service on the  frequency 
452.725 MHz  and  Lower Eastside  Car  Service on  the  frequency 
462.200 MHz.  At the time of the investigation, Horizon was  only 
authorized to operate  station WPMT622 on  the frequency  462.200 
MHz at 1500  Palisade Avenue,  Fort Lee, New  Jersey and  station 
WPMM811 on the frequency 452.725 MHz at 195 First Street, Newark, 
New Jersey. 

     5.   On July 29, 2002 between 10:45 a.m. and 11:50 a.m., the 
FCC agents monitored the  radio transmissions on the  frequencies 
462.200 MHz and 452.725 MHz.  During that period, Horizon  failed 
to transmit the call sign identification WPMT622 for the  462.200 
MHz station  and the  call sign  identification WPMM811  for  the 
452.725 MHz station.  Employees of Eastland Car Service and Lower 
Eastside Car Service confirmed that the call sign  identification 
was not transmitted by the stations. 

     6.   On August  5, 2002,  the Philadelphia  Office issued  a 
Notice of Violation to Horizon for operating stations WPMT622 and 
WPMM811 at  an unauthorized  location,  in violation  of  Section 
1.903(a) of  the Rules,  and for  failure to  transmit call  sign 
identification for stations WPMM811 and WPMT622, in violation  of 
Section 90.425(a) of the Rules.  

                      III.      DISCUSSION

     7.   By letter dated  August 14, 2002,  Horizon submitted  a 
response to the Notice of Violation with the Philadelphia Office.  
In  the  response,  Horizon  stated  that  it  was  applying  for 
authorization from  the  Commission for  Eastland  Car  Service's 
operation on the  frequency 452.725  MHz and  Lower Eastside  Car 
Service's operation on the  frequency 462.200 MHz.  Horizon  also 
agreed to  take  corrective actions  to  transmit the  call  sign 
identification on  the  radio  transmitting  equipment  of  Lower 
Eastside Car Service and Eastland Car Service.  

     8.   Based on the evidence before  us, we find that  Horizon 
willfully2 and  repeatedly3  violated  Section  1.903(a)  of  the 
Rules.   The   Commission's  Forfeiture   Policy  Statement   and 
Amendment of  Section  1.80  of  the  Rules  to  Incorporate  the 
Forfeiture Guidelines,  12 FCC  Rcd 17087,  17113 (1997),  recon. 
denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303(1999) (``Forfeiture Policy  Statement''),4 
sets the base  forfeiture amount for  Horizon' operation of  each 
station at an unauthorized location at $4,000 and for its failure 
to transmit  the  call sign  identification  on each  station  at 
$1,000.  In  assessing the  monetary forfeiture  amount, we  must 
take into  account the  statutory factors  set forth  in  Section 
503(b)(2)(D) of the Communications  Act of 1934,5 (the  ``Act''), 
as amended, which include the nature, circumstances, extent,  and 
gravity of the violation, and  with respect to the violator,  the 
degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability  to 
pay, and other such matters as justice may require. Applying  the 
Forfeiture Policy  Statement and  the  statutory factors  to  the 
instant case and applying  the inflation adjustments, we  believe 
that a  ten  thousand  dollar ($10,000)  monetary  forfeiture  is 
warranted. 

                      IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES

     9.   Accordingly, IT IS  ORDERED THAT,  pursuant to  Section 
503(b) of the  Act,6 and Sections  0.111, 0.311 and  1.80 of  the 
Rules,7 Horizon is hereby NOTIFIED of its APPARENT LIABILITY  FOR 
A FORFEITURE in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000)  for 
its operation of stations WPMT622 and WPMM811 at an  unauthorized 
location and its failure to transmit the call sign identification 
on stations WPMT622 and WPMM811.   

     10.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of 
the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of this  NOTICE 
OF APPARENT LIABILITY, Horizon SHALL  PAY the full amount of  the 
proposed forfeiture  or SHALL  FILE a  written statement  seeking 
reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.

     11.  Payment of  the forfeiture  may be  made by  mailing  a 
check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the  Federal 
Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture Collection  Section, 
Finance  Branch,  Federal  Communications  Commission,  P.O.  Box 
73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482.  The payment should note the 
NAL/Acct. No. 200332400002 and FRN: 0003-4622-31.  

     12.  The  response,  if  any,  must  be  mailed  to  Federal 
Communications  Commission,  Enforcement  Bureau,  Technical  and 
Public Safety Division, 445  12th Street, S.W., Washington,  D.C. 
20554 and MUST  INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct.  No. 200332400002 and  FRN: 
0003-4622-31. 

     13.  The Commission will not consider reducing or  canceling 
a forfeiture in response  to a claim of  inability to pay  unless 
the petitioner  submits: (1)  federal tax  returns for  the  most 
recent  three-year  period;  (2)  financial  statements  prepared 
according to generally accepted accounting practices  (``GAAP''); 
or (3)  some  other  reliable and  objective  documentation  that 
accurately reflects  the petitioner's  current financial  status.  
Any claim  of inability  to pay  must specifically  identify  the 
basis for the claim by  reference to the financial  documentation 
submitted.



     14.  Requests for payment of the full amount of this  Notice 
of Apparent Liability  under an installment  plan should be  sent 
to: Chief,  Revenue and  Receivables Operations  Group, 445  12th 
Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.8

     15.  Under the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of  2002, 
Pub L. No.  107-198, 116 Stat.  729 (June 28,  2002), the FCC  is 
engaged in  a two-year  tracking process  regarding the  size  of 
entities involved  in forfeitures.   If you  qualify as  a  small 
entity and  if you  wish to  be  treated as  a small  entity  for 
tracking purposes, please  so certify  to us  within thirty  (30) 
days of this  NAL, either in  your response  to the NAL  or in  a 
separate filing to  be sent  to the Technical  and Public  Safety 
Division.   Your  certification  should  indicate  whether   you, 
including your parent  entity and its  subsidiaries, meet one  of 
the definitions  set forth  in  the list  provided by  the  FCC's 
Office of Communications Business Opportunities (OCBO) set  forth 
in Attachment  A  of this  Notice  of Apparent  Liability.   This 
information will  be  used  for  tracking  purposes  only.   Your 
response or  failure to  respond to  this question  will have  no 
effect on your  rights and responsibilities  pursuant to  Section 
503(b)  of  the  Communications  Act.   If  you  have   questions 
regarding any  of  the  information contained  in  Attachment  A, 
please contact OCBO at (202) 418-0990.

     16.  IT IS FURTHER  ORDERED THAT  a copy of  this NOTICE  OF 
APPARENT LIABILITY  shall  be  sent  by  Certified  Mail,  Return 
Receipt Requested,  to  Horizon  Communications,  P.O.  Box  387, 
Cliffside Park, New Jersey 07010. 


                                   FEDERAL         COMMUNICATIONS 
COMMISSION



                                   John E. Rahtes
                                   District Director
                                   Philadelphia Office
_________________________

1 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.903(a) and 90.425(a).

2 Section  312(f)(1) of  the Act,  47 U.S.C.  § 312(f)(1),  which 
applies to Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that ``[t]he  term 
`willful', when used with reference to the commission or omission 
of any  act, means  the conscious  and deliberate  commission  or 
omission of such act, irrespective  of any intent to violate  any 
provision  of   this   Act  ....''    See   Southern   California 
Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC Rcd 4387 (1991).

3 Section 312(f)(2), which also applies to Section 503(b), 
provides:  [t]he term ``repeated'', when used with reference to 
the commission or omission of any act, means the commission or 
omission of such act more than once or, if such commission or 
omission is continuous, for more than one day.

4 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.

5 47 U.S.C § 503(b)(2)(D).

6 47 U.S.C § 503(b).

7 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111 and 0.311.


8 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.