In its continuing effort to take action against illegal pirate radio operations, last week the FCC has issued proposed fines against stations in New Jersey, the Bronx, and Spring Valley. According to the FCC’s press release:
“The first penalty proposed by the Commission today is $920,000 against Masner Beauplan for operating an unauthorized radio station, known as “Radio Leve Kanpe” on 91.7 MHz in Irvington, New Jersey, and Maplewood, New Jersey, from November 2023 to January 2024. The second penalty is against Raul Alcantara, against whom the Commission proposed a penalty of $40,000 for operating an unauthorized radio station, known as “Sabor FM” on 88.9 MHz in the Bronx, New York, from November 2023 to January 2024. Finally, the Commission proposed a penalty of $40,000 against Wilner Baptiste for operating an unauthorized radio station, known as “M-One Radio Live” or “M-One Live Radio” on 94.1 MHz in Spring Valley, New York, from January 2024 to June 2024.
These actions are a result of the FCC's “spectrum sweep” of illegal pirate radio stations in the New York City Metro area. The FCC’s sweeps are required as part of the PIRATE Act.
We want to thank the FCC for its vigilance in tracking down and taking enforcement actions against illegal pirate radio operations in New York and New Jersey.
Apparently, Commissioner Simington issued a separate statement. He questioned whether the FCC had the authority to impose a fine without a jury trial. Of course, FCC fines, especially for non-licensed entities, are ultimately enforced by the Department of Justice in a separate trial de novo in Federal District Court. We will examine the Commissioner’s separate statement closely.
You can see the FCC’s press release here.
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