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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of Fabrice Polynice North Miami, Florida ) ) ) ) ) ) File
No.: EB-FIELDSCR-12-00004798 NAL/Acct. No.: 201332600001 FRN: 0022240279
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted: April 4, 2013 Released: April 4, 2013
By the Regional Director, South Central Region, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Forfeiture Order (Order), we issue a monetary forfeiture in
the amount of twenty- five thousand dollars ($25,000) to Fabrice
Polynice for willfully and repeatedly violating Section 301 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended (Act).^ The noted violations
involved Mr. Polynice's operation of an unlicensed radio station on
the frequency 90.1 MHz in North Miami, Florida.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On December 5, 2012, the Enforcement Bureau's Miami Office (Miami
Office) issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) ^
in the amount of $25,000 to Mr. Polynice for violating Section 301 of
the Act.^ As reflected in the NAL, on six different days during March
to July 2012, agents from the Miami Office determined that an
unlicensed radio station was operating on the frequency 90.1 MHz from
three different locations in North Miami, Florida. Among other things,
the agents heard a DJ identify himself as "DJ Paz"; refer to the
station as "Touche Douce" (a name associated with Mr. Polynice's
business) on the air; and announce Mr. Polynice's personal telephone
number as the station's telephone number. In all, the Bureau found
that the record evidence established that Mr. Polynice was DJ "Paz"
and that it was Mr. Polynice who operated the unlicensed radio
station. In response to the NAL, Mr. Polynice denies that he operated
an unlicensed station and, therefore, requests cancellation of the
forfeiture. ^ ^ While Mr. Polynice admits that he developed the brand
name "Touche Douce" and is "DJ Paz," he states that his brand is
"widely known, copied, imitated, and infringed upon."^ He claims that,
as such, someone else may have used his name or rebroadcast one of his
Internet shows without his permission.^ He also reiterates that he is
a DJ; and that he operates a legitimate internet radio station, but
not an illegal unlicensed broadcast radio station.^
III. DISCUSSION
3. The proposed forfeiture amount in this case was assessed in accordance
with Section 503(b) of the Act,^ Section 1.80 of the Commission's
rules (Rules),^ and the Forfeiture Policy Statement.^ In examining Mr.
Polynice's response, Section 503(b)(2)(E) of the Act requires that the
Commission 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
other such matters as justice may require.^
4. We affirm the NAL's finding that Mr. Polynice violated Section 301 of
the Act by operating an unlicensed radio station on the frequency 90.1
MHz on six different days during March to July 2012 from three
different locations in North Miami.^ Section 301 of the Act states
that no person shall use or operate any apparatus for the transmission
of energy or communications or signals by radio within the United
States, except under and in accordance with the Act and with a license
granted under the provisions of the Act.^ While Mr. Polynice admits
that he is DJ Paz and that he created the brand "Touche Douce," he
alleges that "after he discontinued operating the underground station,
other individuals . . . have begun operating on the same dial (radio
frequency) using that name but with different shows," and that they
may have rebroadcast his DJ Paz show from the Internet without
permission.^ Mr. Polynice, however, did not submit any evidence to
support his allegations. We find that the available record evidence
instead supports our conclusion that Mr. Polynice did, in fact,
operate an unlicensed broadcast radio station on 90.1 FM. In this
regard, Mr. Polynice has acknowledged the unlicensed radio station on
90.1 FM on his webpages. There are multiple webpages that contain
posts from DJ Paz that he is "live on the air" on station 90.1 FM, and
the posts also reference Mr. Polynice's personal phone number.^ If Mr.
Polynice only operated an Internet radio station, it is unlikely that
he would encourage listeners of his Internet program to tune in "live"
to an unlicensed radio station on 90.1 FM operated (supposedly) by
others; nor would the Internet site he controls mention the unlicensed
FM station. Given the foregoing, we find Mr. Polynice's claim that
someone else operated the unlicensed broadcast radio station
unconvincing and, therefore, deny his request for forfeiture
cancellation.^ We conclude that Mr. Polynice willfully and repeatedly
violated Section 301 of the Act by operating radio transmission
equipment without the required Commission authorization, and that the
$25,000 forfeiture is warranted.^
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections 0.111, 0.204,
0.311, 0.314, and 1.80(f)(4) of the Commission's rules, Fabrice
Polynice IS LIABLE FOR A MONETARY FORFEITURE in the amount of
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for violations of Section 301
of the Act.^
6. Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the manner provided for in
Section 1.80 of the Rules within thirty (30) calendar days after the
release date of this Forfeiture Order.^ If the forfeiture is not paid
within the period specified, the case may be referred to the U.S.
Department of Justice for enforcement of the forfeiture pursuant to
Section 504(a) of the Act.^ Fabrice Polynice shall send electronic
notification of payment to SCR-Response@fcc.gov on the date said
payment is made. The payment must be made by check or similar
instrument, wire transfer, or credit card, and must include the
NAL/Account number and FRN referenced above. Regardless of the form of
payment, a completed FCC Form 159 (Remittance Advice) must be
submitted.^ When completing the FCC Form 159, enter the Account Number
in block number 23A (call sign/other ID) and enter the letters "FORF"
in block number 24A (payment type code). Below are additional
instructions you should follow based on the form of payment you
select:
* Payment by check or money order must be made payable to the order of
the Federal Communications Commission. Such payments (along with the
completed Form 159) must be mailed to Federal Communications
Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000, or sent
via overnight mail to U.S. Bank - Government Lockbox #979088,
SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63101.
* Payment by wire transfer must be made to ABA Number 021030004,
receiving bank TREAS/NYC, and Account Number 27000001. To complete
the wire transfer and ensure appropriate crediting of the wired funds,
a completed Form 159 must be faxed to U.S. Bank at (314) 418-4232 on
the same business day the wire transfer is initiated.
* Payment by credit card must be made by providing the required credit
card information on FCC Form 159 and signing and dating the Form 159
to authorize the credit card payment. The completed Form 159 must then
be mailed to Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St.
Louis, MO 63197-9000, or sent via overnight mail to U.S. Bank -
Government Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St.
Louis, MO 63101.
7. Any request for full payment under an installment plan should be sent
to: Chief Financial Officer--Financial Operations, Federal Communications
Commission, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room 1-A625, Washington, D.C.
20554.^ If you have questions regarding payment procedures, please
contact the Financial Operations Group Help Desk by phone, 1-877-480-3201,
or by e-mail, [1]ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Forfeiture Order shall be
sent by both First Class Mail and Certified Mail, Return Receipt
Requested, to Fabrice Polynice at his address of record and to his
counsel, Ovide Val, at 1031 Ives Dairy Rd, Suite 228, Aventura, FL 33179.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Dennis P. Carlton
Regional Director, South Central Region
Enforcement Bureau
^ 47 U.S.C. S 301.
^ Fabrice Polynice, Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, 27 FCC
Rcd 15079 (Enf. Bur. 2012) (NAL). A comprehensive recitation of the facts
and history of this case can be found in the NAL and is incorporated
herein by reference.
^ See Letter from Ovide Val, Attorney for Fabrice Polynice, to Miami
Office, South Central Region, Enforcement Bureau, at 1 (Jan. 4, 2013) (on
file in EB-FIELDSCR-12-00004798) (NAL Response).
^ Id.
^ Id.
^ Id. at 2.
^ 47 U.S.C. S 503(b).
^ 47 C.F.R. S 1.80.
^ The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section
1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines, Report and
Order, 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recons. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999)
(Forfeiture Policy Statement).
^ 47 U.S.C. S 503(b)(2)(E).
^ See NAL, supra note 2.
^ 47 U.S.C. S 301.
^ NAL Response at 1.
^ See, e.g., Facebook page at [2]www.facebook.com/RadioToucheDouce (last
visited Oct. 12, 2012) ("Touche Douce does it all. Our radio station and
wireless store is located at [address redacted], Miami, FL 33161 . . .
Make sure listen to the radio show on 90.1 . . . DJ Paz Official Birthday
Bash . . . [phone number redacted]."); Myspace page at
[3]www.myspace.com/radiotouchedouce (last visited Oct. 12, 2012) ("Touche
Douce 90.1 FM . . . For more information call [phone number redacted] . .
. ."); Twitter page at [4]http://twitter.com/#!/touchedouce/ (last visited
Oct. 12, 2012) ("tweet" from "touchedouce" states "Dj Paz live on
Toucedouce 901fm"). Recent posts also indicate that Mr. Polynice a/k/a DJ
Paz is still broadcasting on 90.1 FM. See Facebook page "Touchedouce Paz"
at https://www.facebook.com/paz.touchedouce?fref=ts (last visited Feb. 21,
2013) ("Ur director DJ Paz is Live on the Air" . . . "Tune in 901FM [phone
number redacted]").
^ A review of the Commission's records also confirms that no license or
authorization was issued to anyone to operate a radio station on 90.1 MHz
at any of the three locations in North Miami.
^ We note that Mr. Polynice, in his response to the NAL, did not allege an
inability to pay a $25,000 forfeiture.
^ 47 U.S.C. SS 301, 503(b); 47 C.F.R. SS 0.111, 0.204, 0.311, 0.314,
1.80(f)(4).
^ 47 C.F.R. S 1.80.
^ 47 U.S.C. S 504(a).
^ An FCC Form 159 and detailed instructions for completing the form may be
obtained at http://www.fcc.gov/Forms/Form159/159.pdf.
^ See 47 C.F.R. S 1.1914.
Federal Communications Commission DA 13-605
3
Federal Communications Commission DA 13-605
References
Visible links
1. mailto:ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov
2. http://www.facebook.com/RadioToucheDouce
3. http://www.myspace.com/radiotouchedouce
4. http://twitter.com/#!/touchedouce/