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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File No. EB-03-NY-012
Church Ave Car Service, Inc. )
WPRB497 ) NAL/Acct. No.
200332380018
Brooklyn, NY )
) FRN: 0008-3694-80
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: March 31, 2003
By the District Director, New York Office, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
("NAL"), we find that Church Ave Car Service, Inc. (``Church''),
apparently violated Section 90.403(a)(2) of the Commission's
Rules (the ``Rules''),1 by operating a base station transmitter
on an unauthorized frequency of 36.08 MHz, and mobile units on an
unauthorized frequency of 36.12 MHz. We conclude that Church is
apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of four thousand
dollars ($4,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On January 23, 2003, Commission agents, using a mobile
direction finding vehicle, monitored the frequencies 36.08 MHz
and 36.12 MHz in Brooklyn, NY, to follow-up a previous
investigation concerning operation on unauthorized frequencies in
the Private Land Mobile Radio Services. The agents determined
that Church, located at 3411 14th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11218,
operated a base transmitter on a frequency of 36.08 MHz, and
mobile units on a frequency of 36.12 MHz. There was no evidence
of a Commission authorization for Church to operate a base
station on 36.08 MHz and mobile units on 36.12 MHz in Brooklyn,
NY.
3. On January 24, 2003, Commission agents, using a mobile
direction finding vehicle, monitored the frequencies 36.08 MHz
and 36.12 MHz in Brooklyn, NY, and again determined that Church
Ave Car Service, Inc., operated a base transmitter on 36.08 MHz,
and mobile units on a frequency of 36.12 MHz. The agents
conducted a station inspection and determined that Church Ave Car
Service, Inc., was operating a base transmitter on an
unauthorized frequency of 36.08 MHz, and mobile units on an
unauthorized frequency of 36.12 MHz. The agents advised Carlos
Betancourth, manager of Church, that its base station and mobile
units were operating on the unauthorized frequencies of 36.08 MHz
and 36.12 MHz, respectively.
III. DISCUSSION
·
4. Section 90.403(a)(2) of the Commission's Rules requires
that licensees in the private land mobile radio services shall be
directly responsible for the proper operation and use of each
transmitter for which they are licensed. In this connection,
licensees shall exercise such direction and control as to assure
that the transmitter is being operated in a permissible manner.
A review of Commission's records showed that Church Ave Car
Service, Inc., was granted authority under its license, WPRB497,
to operate one base station on a frequency of 463.200 MHz and 80
mobile units on a frequency of 468.200 MHz. Agents observed the
base station operating on 36.08 MHz and mobile units operating on
36.12 MHz.
5. Based on the evidence before us, we find that Church
operated a base station on an unauthorized frequency of 36.08
MHz, and mobile units on an unauthorized frequency of 36.12 MHz
on January 23, 2003 and January 24, 2003, in willful2 and
repeated3 violation of Section 90.403(a)(2) of the Rules.
6. 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 using an unauthorized
frequency at $4,000. 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, as
amended,5 (``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 four thousand dollar ($4,000)
monetary forfeiture is warranted.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act6 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the
Commission's Rules7, Church is hereby NOTIFIED of their APPARENT
LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of four thousand dollars
($4,000) for willfully violating Section 90.403(a)(2) of the
Commission's Rules.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of
the Commission's Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, Church SHALL PAY the full
amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written
statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed
forfeiture.
9. 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. 200332380018 and FRN: 0008-3694-80.
10. Any response to this NAL 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. 200332380018.
11. 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.
12. Requests for payment of the full amount of this Notice
of Apparent Liability under an installment plan should be sent
to: Chief, Revenue and Receivable Operations Group, 445 12th
Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.8
13. 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.
14. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NOTICE OF
APPARENT LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt
Requested to Church Ave Car Service, Inc., 3411 14th Avenue,
Brooklyn, NY 11218.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Daniel W. Noel
District Director
New York Office
Attachment A - Condensed List of Small Entities, October 2002
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 90.403(a)(2).
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).
3Section 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 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
647 U.S.C. § 503(b).
747 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, and 0.311.
8 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.