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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File No. EB-03-DT-021
Ronald E. Sauer )
) NAL/Acct. No.
200332360006
Bedford Heights, Ohio )
) FRN: 0008-9043-36
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: May 6,
2003
By the District Director, Detroit Office, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
("NAL"), we find that Ronald E. Sauer, (``Sauer''), licensee of
amateur radio station WE8E, Bedford Heights, Ohio, has apparently
violated Sections 97.101(d), 97.113(a)(4) and 97.119(a) of the
Commission's Rules (``Rules'')1. Respectively, these sections
require that no amateur operator shall willfully or maliciously
interfere with or cause interference to any radio communications
or signal; no amateur station shall transmit music; and each
amateur station must transmit its assigned call sign. We
conclude that Sauer is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the
amount of twelve thousand dollars ($12,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On January 24, 2003, the Detroit Office received
information that deliberate jamming to a Canadian amateur net
operation was occurring daily on the frequency 7.055 MHz. The
complaint also indicated that bearings tentatively put the source
of the jamming in the Canton, Ohio area. On January 25, 2003,
and January 26, 2003, the FCC's High Frequency Direction Finding
(``HFDF'') Group observed music being played and deliberate
jamming occurring on 7.055 MHz. The long distance direction
finding bearings that the HFDF Group obtained indicated that the
source of the music and jamming was emanating from a station
operating in the Cleveland, Ohio area, near the intersection of
Interstate 480 and Interstate 77.
3. On January 28, 2003, an agent from the Detroit Office
observed a station deliberately jamming and playing music on the
frequency of 7.055 MHz.
4. On January 30, 2003, the Detroit Office received
information indicating that deliberate jamming had occurred on
this date. The information also said that the interference was
emanating from an amateur radio station located at 23260 Cannon
Road, Bedford Heights, Ohio, licensed to amateur radio operator,
Ronald E. Sauer, WE8E.
5. On January 31, 2003, an agent from the Detroit Office
was dispatched to further investigate the source of the
deliberate jamming occurring on 7.055 MHz. The agent heard music
being played and deliberate jamming occurring on the frequency of
7.055 MHz. Using radio direction finding techniques, at
approximately 3:20 P.M., the agent located the source of the
interference emanating from 23260 Cannon Road, Bedford Heights,
Ohio. The agent conducted an inspection, and Ronald E. Sauer, an
amateur radio operator, license WE8E, admitted that he had been
playing music and deliberately jamming the frequency of 7.055
MHz. He further admitted to jamming and playing music on this
frequency on previous days.
III. DISCUSSION
6. Section 97.101(d) requires that no amateur operator
shall willfully or maliciously interfere with or cause
interference to any radio communications or signal. Section
97.113(a)(4) requires that no amateur station shall transmit
music using a phone emission, except as specifically provided
elsewhere in this section. Section 97.119(a) requires that each
amateur station, except a space station or telecommand station,
must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel
at the end of each communication, and at least every 10 minutes
during a communication, for the purpose of clearly making the
source of the transmissions from the station known to those
receiving the transmissions. No station may transmit
unidentified communications or signals, or transmit as the
station call sign, any call sign not authorized to the station.
7. Based on the evidence before us, we find that Sauer
willfully2 and repeatedly3 violated Section 97.101(d) for an
amateur radio operator willfully or maliciously causing
interference to radio communications; Section 97.113(a)(4) for
transmitting music from his amateur radio station and Section
97.119(a) for failure to transmit the station identification of
his amateur station. 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 at $7,000 for
causing interference, $4,000 for transmitting unauthorized
emissions and, $1,000 for failure to provide station
identification. In assessing the monetary forfeiture amount, we
must take into account the statutory factors set forth in Section
503(b)(2)(D) of the Act, 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 twelve thousand dollar ($12,000)
monetary forfeiture is warranted.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the
Rules5, Ronald E. Sauer is hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT
LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of twelve thousand
dollars ($12,000) for willful and repeated violation of Sections
97. 101(d), 97.113(a)(4) and 97.119(a) of the Rules.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of
the Rules, within thirty (30) days of the release date of this
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, Sauer SHALL PAY the full amount of
the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking
reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
10. 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. 200332360006, FRN: 0008-9043-36.
11. 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. 200332360006, FRN: 0008-
9043-36 .
12. 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.
13. Requests for payment of the full amount of this Notice
of Apparent Liability under an installment plan should be sent
to: Federal Communications Commission, Chief, Revenue and
Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington,
D.C. 20554.6
14. 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, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission,
445 12th Street S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554. 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 any questions regarding any of the information contained in
Attachment A, please contact OCBO at (202) 418-0990
15. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT this NOTICE OF APPARENT
LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail, Return Receipt
Requested, to Ronald E. Sauer, 23260 Cannon Road, Bedford
Heights, Ohio 44146.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
James A. Bridgewater
District Director
Detroit Office, Enforcement
Bureau
Attachment A - FCC List of Small Entities, October 2002
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 97.101(d), 97.113(a)(4) and 97.119(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.
447 C.F.R. § 1.80.
5 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, and 0.311.
6 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.