The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has settled with an individual determined to be the originator of an unlicensed radio station in a Massachusetts town, with the broadcast buccaneer agreeing to comply with the PIRATE Act by making a “voluntary” contribution to end the matter.
A Consent Decree between the bureau led by Acting Chief Patrick Webre and pirate radio operator Robert Bellinger of Cotuit, Mass., will pay $7,200 to the U.S. Treasury to end the Commission investigation into his elicit activities. And, he’s agreed to pay a further penalty of $32,800 should he re-neg and default on the 20-year terms of the Consent Decree.
As RBR+TVBR first reported in April 2024, a proposed $40,000 fine was handed to Bellinger for his involvement in an unlicensed operation known as “TBR Radio.” The broadcasts were detected at 93.1 MHz on June 6 and July 11, 2023.
The posting of the Consent Decree by the Enforcement Bureau marks its formal return from the federal government shutdown. As of 1:30pm Friday, the LMS was still inaccessible, preventing the filing with the Media Bureau of fresh Form 314s needed for transfer of control approval for the trading of radio and television stations.
