The FCC has announced penalties against three more pirate radio operators in the Boston area. That city and the surrounding area is one of the hotbeds of illegal broadcasts in the country.
All three of these cases were in Brockton, Mass.
The commission has issued a $120,000 forfeiture against Renold David for operating an unauthorized station on 101.9 MHz. The broadcasts were known as “Lotnivo FM.”
A $40,000 penalty was imposed against Djovany Pierre and Mario Turner for operating a station on 96.5 MHz. The station called itself “Radio Tele Brockton 96.5” and “Brockton Heat.”
And the FCC fined Joao Vieira $40,000 for operating a station known as “Brockton FM” on 102.1 MHz.
Each had received a notice of apparent liability for forfeiture from the commission in April. However none of them replied. Each has 30 days to respond before the forfeitures are confirmed.
The Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (PIRATE) Act of 2020 provided the FCC additional enforcement authority, including higher penalties. The FCC has proposed more than $14.5 million in fines and imposed $5.5 million in the past four years, though there is no word of how much, if any, of that money has been collected by the federal government.
“Today’s actions send a clear message that PIRATE Act enforcement is a priority for the commission, and it puts other pirate radio operators on notice that the FCC will take action against their unlawful operations,” the FCC wrote its notice.
Outgoing Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement that pirate enforcement “helps ensure that this vital resource is broadly available and free from harmful interference … I have consistently put these actions on the monthly agenda because I think they are a way to honor the work of FCC staff in the field.”
Rosenworcel said these investigations involve agents in small offices around the country, many of whom cannot be named.
“But the work they do is a big deal because when our personnel are out and about they help protect the public airwaves that we count on for so much in modern life.”
Rosenworcel continued: “The same goes for our emergency response teams who deploy after disasters to do a front-to-back assessment of the state of communications. I saw their efforts first-hand in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene and they are nothing short of heroic. These aspects of our field work also often go unnoticed. I am glad that we have been able to shine a spotlight on them and honor our field staff in small ways like we do here today.”
[Read more recent Radio World stories about pirate radio enforcement.]
