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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
)
In the Matter of )
)
Frank Neely ) File No. EB-03-NF-014
Licensee, Station WLTC(AM) ) NAL/Acct. No.
200332640007
Gastonia, North Carolina ) FRN
0008-4986-68
Rock Hill, North Carolina )
)
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted: August 19, 2004 Released:
August 23, 2004
By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau:
1. In this Forfeiture Order ("Order") we issue a monetary
forfeiture in the amount of four thousand dollars
($4,000) to Frank Neely, licensee of AM broadcast
station WLTC, Gastonia, North Carolina, for repeated
violation of Section 73.1745(a) of the Commission's
Rules (``Rules'').1 The noted violation involved Mr.
Neely's operation of a broadcast station at
unauthorized power levels.
2. In a July 16, 2003 Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), the Commission's Norfolk, Virginia Resident
Agent Office (``Norfolk Office'') issued a monetary forfeiture in
the amount of $4,000 to Mr. Neely for overpowered operations on
April 22, 23, and 24, 2003.2 In his August 18, 2003 response,
Mr. Neely, through his attorney, requests cancellation of the
proposed forfeiture. Mr. Neely does not dispute that WLTC
operated with excessive power on the dates specified in the NAL.
He states, however, that he has set up procedures to prevent the
reoccurrence of the violation, and to also ensure material
compliance with Commission Rules. Further, Mr. Neely claims to
have a history of overall compliance with the Commission's Rules,
and also claims to be financially unable to pay the forfeiture.
3. No mitigation is warranted on the basis of Mr. Neely's
correction of the violations. As the Commission stated in
Seawest Yacht Brokers, 9 FCC Rcd 6099, 6099 (1994), ``corrective
action taken to come into compliance with Commission rules or
policy is expected, and does not nullify or mitigate any prior
forfeitures or violations.'' 3 Turning to Mr. Neely's claim of a
history of compliance, we note that a NAL was issued to Mr. Neely
on June 28, 2004 for public file violations that occurred at
station WLTC from April 1998 through early 2003.4 Mr. Neely's
claim that his station has a history of overall compliance with
the Commission's rules is belied by his own certification that
station WLTC did not meet the Commission's public inspection file
requirements. We, therefore, deny his request for a reduction
or cancellation for history of overall compliance. Finally, Mr.
Neely provides federal income tax returns for WLTC's parent
corporation, Rejoice, Inc., for 2000, 2001, and 2002 in support
of his inability to pay contention. We have reviewed the
financial information submitted by Mr. Neely and find that this
information does not provide a basis for cancellation. Indeed,
the forfeiture is a very small percentage of Rejoice, Inc.'s
gross revenues.5
4`. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act6, and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80(f)(4) of
the Commission's Rules,7 Frank Neely IS LIABLE FOR A MONETARY
FORFEITURE in the amount of four thousand dollars ($4,000) for
his repeated violation of Section 73.1745(a) of the Rules.
5. Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the manner
provided for in Section 1.80 of the Rules within 30 days of the
release of this Order. If the forfeiture is not paid within the
period specified, the case may be referred to the Department of
Justice for collection pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Act.8
Payment of the forfeiture must be made by check or similar
instrument, payable to the order of the ``Federal Communications
Commission.'' The payment must include the NAL/Acct. No. and FRN
No. referenced above. Payment by check or money order may be
mailed to Forfeiture Collection Section, Finance Branch, Federal
Communications Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, Illinois
60673-7482. Payment by overnight mail may be sent to Bank One/LB
73482, 525 West Monroe, 8th Floor Mailroom, Chicago, IL 60661.
Payment by wire transfer may be made to ABA Number 071000013,
receiving bank ``Bank One,'' and account number 1165259.
Requests for full payment under an installment plan should be
sent to: Chief, Revenue and Receivables Operations Group, 445
12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.9
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this Order
shall be sent by first class mail and certified mail, return
receipt requested, to Frank Neely, 1286 Holland Road, Rock Hill,
South Carolina 29732, and his counsel David Tillotson, Esq., 4606
Charleston Terrace, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
David H. Solomon
Chief, Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 73.1745(a).
2 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture,
NAL/Acct. No. 200332640007 (Enf. Bur., Norfolk Office, released
July 16, 2003).
3 See also AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., 17 FCC
Rcd 21866, 21875 (2002); Callais Cablevision, Inc., 17 FCC Rcd
22626, 22629 (2002).
4 See Letter to David Tillotson, Esq. from Chief, Audio
Services Division in re Station WLTC(AM), 19 FCC Rcd 11230 (Med.
Bur. 2004).
5 See Alpha Ambulance, Inc., 19 FCC Rcd 2547, 2548 (2004), citing
PJB Communications, 7 FCC Rcd 2088, 2089 (1992) (forfeiture not
deemed excessive where it represented approximately 2.02 percent
of the violator's gross revenues); Local Long Distance, Inc., 16
FCC Rcd 10023, 10025 (2001) (forfeiture not deemed excessive
where it represented approximately 7.9 percent of the violator's
gross revenues); Hoosier Broadcasting Corporation, 15 FCC Rcd
8640, 8641 (Enf. Bur. 2002) (forfeiture not deemed excessive
where it represented approximately 7.6 percent of the violator's
gross revenues). In this case, the forfeiture represents a
smaller percentage of gross revenues than those issued in the
Local Long Distance, Inc., Hoosier Broadcasting Corp., and PJB
Communications of Virginia, Inc. cases.
6 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
7 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80(f)(4).
8 47 U.S.C. § 504(a).
9 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.