If it worked once, why not try again?
Whisler Fleurinor succeeded in claiming poverty and getting the FCC to knock down a $25,000 fine for operating a pirate station to $500 in 2011.
Now he’s trying the same argument, with no admission of guilt, to whittle down a new fine for operating an unauthorized station on 99.5 MHz in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. However this time the commission is declining that offer and the penalty has progressed to a forfeiture order.
Fleurinor has been cited by the Enforcement Bureau for operating unlicensed stations several times since 2008.
The FCC says Enforcement Bureau agents traced the transmissions to a commercial property Fleurinor owns. He admitted operating the station, but told the FCC he stopped and the only remnant of equipment is a roof antenna. He again argues he can’t pay the fine.
The agency said in its decision it doesn’t find him credible “given the more reliable record evidence adduced by the Miami Office over a period of several months, and in view of Mr. Fleurinor’s past history of repeated noncompliance despite promises to comply.”
He is being offered the chance to pay the fine in installments; the agency wants its money within 30 days.
