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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File Number EB-03-TP-441
)
Rony Richard Louis ) NAL/Acct. No.200432700010
600 W. Oak Ridge Road, Bldg. 3 )
Orlando, Florida ) FRN 0010339414
)
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: March 3, 2004
By the Enforcement Bureau, Tampa Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find Rony Richard Louis (``Mr.
Louis'') apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of
ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for willful and repeated
violation of Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934,
as amended (``Act'').1 Specifically, we find Mr. Louis
apparently liable for operating a radio station on the
frequency of 89.5 MHz without Commission authorization.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On October 24, 2003, the FCC Enforcement Bureau
Tampa Field Office (``Tampa Office'') received two reports
of an unlicensed FM radio station operating on the frequency
89.5 MHz in the Orlando, Florida area.
3. On November 4, 2003, two agents from the Tampa
Office drove an FCC direction finding vehicle to the
Orlando, Florida area and observed an FM radio station
broadcasting on 89.5 MHz. Using direction finding equipment
and techniques, the agents determined that the station was
broadcasting from a commercial building with a sign reading
Rapide Transfert, located at 600 W. Oakridge Road, Building
3, Orlando, Florida. The agents saw an FM broadcast type
antenna mounted on the roof of the building. 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 showed no license had been issued for this
operation.
4. Immediately after locating the station, the agents
inspected the station broadcasting on 89.5 MHz shortly after
midnight on November 5, 2003. The station was operated by
Mr. Rony Richard Louis. Mr. Louis was the only person
present inside the building at the time. Mr. Louis received
a verbal and written warning of unlicensed radio operation.
Mr. Louis led the agents to the transmitter and voluntarily
surrendered the transmitter to the agents.
5. On January 15, 2004, two agents from the Tampa
Office drove an FCC direction finding vehicle to the
Orlando, Florida area and observed an FM radio station
operating on 89.5 MHz. Using direction finding equipment
and techniques, the agents determined that the station was
broadcasting from a commercial building with a sign reading
Rapide Transfert, located at 600 W. Oakridge Road, Building
3, Orlando, Florida, the same location as on November 4 and
5, 2003. The agents saw an FM broadcast type antenna
mounted on the roof of the building. The agents took field
strength measurements of the station's signal and determined
that the station required a license to operate.3 The FCC's
records showed no license had been issued for this
operation. A vehicle registered to Mr. Louis was parked in
front of the building. This same vehicle was present during
the November 5, 2003, inspection.
7. On January 16, 2004, the Tampa Office agents
returned to 600 W. Oakridge Road, Building 3 in Orlando,
Florida and spoke to Mr. Louis. Mr. Louis denied having
any transmitter at that location. The agents noted that the
antenna was still located on the premises and that the end
of the coax cable from the antenna entered the space
occupied by Mr. Louis. The agents also interviewed the
building owner who stated that Mr. Louis leased the space in
Building 3.
III. DISCUSSION
8. 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 November 4, 2003 and January 15,
2004, Mr. Louis operated radio transmitting equipment on the
frequency 89.5 MHz without the required Commission
authorization.
9. Based on the evidence before us, we find Mr. Louis
willfully4 and repeatedly5 violated Section 301 of the Act
by operating a radio transmission apparatus without a
license.
10. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,6 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 Communications Act of 1934, as amended
(``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.7 Considering the entire record and applying
the factors listed above, this case warrants a $10,000
forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
11. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act,8 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Rules,9 Rony Richard Louis is hereby NOTIFIED of
this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of
ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for willful and repeated
violation of Section 301 of the Act by operating radio
transmitting equipment on the frequency 89.5 MHz without
benefit of the required Commission authorization.
12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, Rony Richard Louis SHALL PAY the full amount of
the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement
seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed
forfeiture.
13. 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. 20554.10
14. 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,
Spectrum Enforcement Division and MUST INCLUDE THE
NAL/Acct. No. referenced above.
15. 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.
16. 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 Spectrum
Enforcement 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.
17. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL
shall be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to Rony Richard Louis, 600 W. Oakridge
Road, Building 3, Orlando, FL 32809.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Ralph M. Barlow
Tampa Field Office, Enforcement
Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 U.S.C. § 301.
2 Section 15.239 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. §
15.239, 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 110,153 times.
3 Id. Measurements showed that the field strength of the
station's signal exceeded the permissible level for a non-
licensed low-power radio transmitter by 26,927 times.
4 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).
5 Section 312(f)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(2), which
applies equally to Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that
``[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.''
6 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
7 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
8 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
9 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
10 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.