Click here for Adobe Acrobat version
Click here for Microsoft Word version
********************************************************
NOTICE
********************************************************
This document was converted from Microsoft Word.
Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.
All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.
Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.
If you need the complete document, download the
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version.
*****************************************************************
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
Leon's Radio Inc. ) File No. EB-03-DL-080
Owner of Antenna support structure 1011122 )
Located in Moore, Oklahoma ) NAL/Acct. No. 200332500007
)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ) RN: 0001-7075-95
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted: September 1, 2004 Released: September
3, 2004
By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Forfeiture Order (``Order''), we issue a
monetary forfeiture of ten thousand dollars
($10,000) to Leon's Radio Inc. (``Leon's Radio'') for
willful violation of Section 17.50 of the
Commission's Rules (``Rules).1 The noted violation
involves Leon's Radio's failure to comply with the
prescribed antenna structure painting requirements.
2. On May 2, 2003, the Commission's Dallas, Texas,
Field Office (``Dallas Office'') issued a Notice of
Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (``NAL'') to Leon's
Radio proposing a forfeiture in the amount of ten
thousand dollars ($10,000).2 Leon's Radio responded
to the NAL on May 13, 2003.
II. BACKGROUND
3. Leon's Radio owns and operates the antenna
structure registered with the Commission under
antenna structure registration number 1011122. It is
located at Moore, Oklahoma, and its height is listed
in the Commission's Antenna Structure Registration
(``ASR'') database as 105.4 meters (343.7 feet) above
ground level. The registration requires appropriate
marking and lighting.
4. On February 20, 2003, an agent from the Dallas
Office inspected Leon Radio's antenna structure site.
The agent observed that the antenna structure's paint
was badly faded and that there was unpainted coaxial
cable on the tower, resulting in poor visibility of
the structure. The agent contacted Leon's Radio on
February 21, 2003, and spoke to it about the tower's
condition. Leon's Radio stated that it was aware
that the structure needed repainting, and it was in
the process of securing a painting company.
5. On May 2, 2003, the Dallas Office issued an NAL
for a forfeiture in the amount of $10,000 for willful
violation of Section 17.50 of the Commission's Rules.
In its response, on May 13, 2003, Leon's Radio
opposed imposition of a forfeiture based on several
factors: specifically, that it made good faith
attempts before the inspection to find a painting
company for the antenna structure, that it repainted
the tower promptly after the Commission notice and
before the NAL was issued, and that its failure to
repaint the tower before Commission notice was not
willful.3
III. DISCUSSION
6. The proposed forfeiture amount in this case was
assessed in accordance with Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act''),4
Section 1.80 of the Rules,5 and The Commission's
Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section
1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture
Guidelines, 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied,
15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999) (``Policy Statement'').
Section 503(b) of the Act requires that the
Commission, in examining Leon's Radio's response,
take into account 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 such other
matters as justice may require.6 As discussed below,
we have considered Leon's Radio's response to the NAL
in light of these statutory factors and have found
that reduction of the proposed forfeiture is not
warranted.
7. Section 17.50 of the Rules provides that antenna
structures requiring painting shall be cleaned or
repainted as often as necessary to maintain good
visibility. Leon's Radio admitted to the agent that
its antenna structure needed repainting. In support
of its claims of good faith and cooperation with the
Commission's Rules, Leon's Radio described the steps
it took to secure a painting contractor several
months before the FCC inspection took place, but
offered no evidence of any such efforts. After
reviewing this information, we conclude that without
any substantiation of the alleged pre-inspection
efforts, a reduction of the proposed forfeiture
amount is not warranted. Further, Leon's Radio's
remedial action of painting the tower7 after the
Commission discovered the violation is not a
mitigating factor.8
8. Leon's Radio also maintains that its failure to
keep the antenna structure properly painted was not
willful. Section 312(f)(1) of the Communications
Act9 which applies to violations for which
forfeitures are assessed under Section 503(b) of the
Act, provides that ``[t]he term `willful,' ... means
the conscious and deliberate commission or omission
of such act, irrespective of any intent to violate
any provision of this Act or any rule or regulation
of the Commission authorized by this Act . . .''10
We find that Leon's Radio's failure to keep its
antenna structure painted to maintain good visibility
was willful.
9. We also conclude that, based on the gross revenue
figure it submitted, Leon's Radio can afford to pay a
forfeiture of $10,000.
10. We have examined the Leon's Radio's response to
the NAL pursuant to the statutory factors above, and
in conjunction with the Policy Statement as well. As
a result of our review, we conclude that Leon's Radio
willfully violated Section 17.50 of the Rules and
find no basis for a reduction of the proposed
forfeiture amount.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
11. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act, and Sections 0.111, 0.311
and 1.80(f)(4) of the Rules,11 Leon's Radio
Broadcasting Company, Inc. IS LIABLE FOR A MONETARY
FORFEITURE in the amount of ten thousand dollars
($10,000) for willful violation of Section 17.50 of
the Rules.
12. 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.12 Payment must be made by mailing a check or
similar instrument, payable to the order of the
Federal Communications Commission. The payment must
include the FCC Registration Number (FRN) and the
NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the caption. Payment by
check or money order may be mailed to the 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
Group, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.
20554.13
13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order
shall be sent by First Class and Certified Mail
Return Receipt Requested to Leon's Radio Broadcasting
Company, Inc., Mr. Leon Matula, President, P.O. Box
94748, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73143.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
David H. Solomon
Chief, Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 17.50.
2 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, NAL/Acct. No.
200332500007 (Enf. Bur., Dallas Office, released May 2, 2003).
3 Leon's Radio also requested treatment as a small entity,
referring to Attachment A of the NAL. Paragraph 9 of the NAL,
however, states clearly that the listing of small entities at
Attachment A is for tracking purposes only, and as such is not a
basis for reconsideration of the NAL or reduction of the
forfeiture amount.
4 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
5 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.
6 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
7 With its response to the NAL, Leon's Radio submitted a copy of
an invoice signifying a quote for painting the antenna structure,
dated after the Commission inspection.
8 See Seawest Yacht Brokers, 9 FCC Rcd 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.''
9 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1).
10 See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC Rcd 4387
(1991).
11 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80(f)(4).
12 47 U.S.C. § 504(a).
13 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.