In twin forfeiture orders released late last week by the FCC, a pair of FM radio pirates operating in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley have been ordered to each pay up $25,000 for their egregious unauthorized activities.
RBR + TVBR OBSERVATION: Hooray! We love it when the FCC gets tough on broadcast buccaneers. With tougher enforcement, markets such as West Palm Beach and New York can also quash any of these faux FM players — and punish harshly those that dare go on the air without a license.
The first recipient of a $25,000 penalty from Lark Hadley, Regional Director of the Region Three Enforcement Bureau, is being handed to Iglesia el Remanente Fraternidad Elim Inc. and Belarmino Lara, collectively the operators of an unlicensed station airing on 93.7 MHz in Arleta, Calif.
The fine comes after the Hispanic church and Mr. Lara were warned that continued operation could result in further enforcement action. That came on Dec. 8, 2016, in the form of a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture.
The unauthorized station was a first-adjacency to KXOS-FM 93.9 in Los Angeles, a Class B that broadcasts from Flint Peak.
Similarly, Nelson Quintanilla was handed a $25,000 forfeiture for his continued operation of an unlicensed station at 95.1 MHz in nearby Panorama City — the heart of the eastern San Fernando Valley.
Quintanilla’s Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture was also given to him on Dec. 8 of last year by Hadley.
