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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File Number EB-03-TP-187
)
Annetta Lovelock Enterprises Inc. ) NAL/Acct. No.200332700024
DBA Rum Runner Caribbean )
Restaurant & Lounge ) FRN 0008837809
6444 W. Colonial Drive )
Orlando, Florida
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: May 20, 2003
By the Enforcement Bureau, Tampa Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find Annetta Lovelock
Enterprises Inc. DBA Rum Runner Caribbean Restaurant &
Lounge (``Lovelock'') apparently liable for a forfeiture
in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for
willful violation of Section 301 of the Communications
Act of 1934, as amended (``Act'').1 Specifically, we
find Lovelock apparently liable for operating a radio
station on the frequency 95.9 MHz without Commission
authorization.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On October 30, 2002, two agents from the
Commission's Tampa Field Office working in the Orlando,
Florida area observed an FM radio station operating on
95.9 MHz. Using radio direction finding, the agents
determined that the station was broadcasting from the
Rum Runner Caribbean Restaurant & Lounge in The Village
West Shopping Center, 6444 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando,
Florida. The agents took field strength measurements of
the station's signal and determined that the station
required a license to operate.2 The FCC's records
show that no license has been issued for the operation
of an FM broadcast station at this location on 95.9 MHz.
3. Still on October 30, 2002, the Tampa Field
Office agents inspected the radio station broadcasting
on 95.9 MHz at the Rum Runner Caribbean Restaurant &
Lounge. The agents interviewed Steven J. Burke who
identified himself as the manager of the Rum Runner
Caribbean Restaurant & Lounge. Mr. Burke produced a
business card listing Mr. Burke as the manager of the
business and Annetta Lovelock as the owner. When
questioned about the radio station, Mr. Burke led the
agents to a room inside the business and introduced
Everald Oliver Brown to the agents as the ``DJ'' on the
air that night. Mr. Burke stated that the radio station
had been located there for about the last two weeks.
The agents issued a warning for unlicensed radio
operation to Mr. Burke. Mr. Burke instructed Mr. Brown
to deactivate the radio transmitter.
4. A subsequent check of Orange County, Florida
Occupational Licensing Department records showed that
Annetta Lovelock holds the Occupational License assigned
to the Rum Runner Caribbean Restaurant & Lounge. Also,
the State of Florida corporation records showed that
Annetta Lovelock Enterprises Inc. uses the business name
``Rum Runner Caribbean Restaurant & Lounge.'' The state
corporation records showed Annetta Lovelock holds the
position of President of Annetta Lovelock Enterprises
Inc. with a principal address of 6444 Colonial Drive,
Orlando, Florida.
III. DISCUSSION
5. Section 301 of the Act requires that no
person shall use or operate any apparatus for the
transmission of energy of communications or signals by
radio within the United States except under and in
accordance with the Act and with a license. On October
30, 2002, Lovelock operated radio transmitting equipment
at its business, the Rum Runner Caribbean Restaurant &
Lounge, on the frequency 95.9 MHz without the required
Commission authorization.
6. Based on the evidence before us, we find
Lovelock willfully3 violated Section 301 of the Act by
operating radio transmission apparatus without a
license.
7. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,4
the base forfeiture amount for operation without an
instrument of authorization for the service is $10,000.
In assessing the monetary forfeiture amount, we must
also 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.5
Considering the entire record and applying the factors
listed above, this case warrants a $10,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
8. 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 Lovelock is hereby NOTIFIED of
this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount
of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for willful violation
of Section 301 of the Act for operating radio
transmitting equipment without the required Commission
authorization.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the
release date of this NAL, Lovelock 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. and FRN referenced above. Requests for
payment of the full amount of this NAL under an
installment plan should be sent to: Chief, Revenue and
Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20554.8
11. The response, if any, must be mailed to
Federal Communications Commission, Office of the
Secretary, 445 12th Street SW, Washington DC 20554,
Attn: Enforcement Bureau-Technical & Public Safety
Division and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct. No. referenced
above.
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. 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 & 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
NAL shall be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail
Return Receipt Requested to Annetta Lovelock Enterprises
Inc. DBA Rum Runner Caribbean Restaurant & Lounge, 1595
Glenhaven Circle, Ocoee, FL 34761; and an additional
copy to Annetta Lovelock Enterprises Inc. DBA Rum Runner
Caribbean Restaurant & Lounge, 6444 W. Colonial Drive,
Orlando, FL, 32818.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Ralph M. Barlow
Tampa Field Office, Enforcement
Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 U.S.C. § 301.
2 Section 15.239(b) of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. §
15.239(b), provides that non-licensed broadcasting in the
88-108 MHz band is permitted only if the field strength of
the transmissions does not exceed 250 µV/m at three meters.
Measurements showed that the field strength of the station's
signal exceeded the permissible level for a non-licensed
low-power radio transmitter by 10,462 times.
3 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which
applies to violations for which forfeitures are assessed
under 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 4387-88
(1991).
4 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
5 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
6 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
7 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
8 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.