NEWS
Report No. WL 95-1          WIRELESS TELECOM ACTION              February 16, 1995

      COMMERCIAL REALTY ST. PETE NOTIFIED OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR
       FORFEITURE OF $390,000 FOR VIOLATION OF IVDS AUCTION RULES

     The Commission has notified Commercial Realty St. Pete, Inc., that it is apparently
liable for a forfeiture of $390,000 for abuse of the Commission's processes and violation of
its rules in connection with the  Interactive Video and Data Services (IVDS) auctions.   In
addition, Commercial Realty may be liable for penalties of not less than $1,237,500 as a
result of its failure to tender the required down payment for licenses for which it submitted
winning bids.  Commercial Realty communicated with other bidders in violation of the
FCC's anti-collusion rules, falsely certified that it was financially qualified to fulfill its
bidding obligations and falsely certified that it was entitled to designated entity status as a
woman-owned business.

     The Commission is also issuing a separate Order to Show Cause requiring
Commercial Realty and its principals to show cause why, in light of their apparent
misconduct in connection with the IVDS auctions and investigation of Commercial Realty,
they should not be barred from participating in any future Commission auctions and why they
should not be prohibited from becoming Commission licensees. 

     On July 28 and 29, 1994, the Commission conducted auctions for 594 IVDS licenses
in 279 markets across the nation.  Winning bidders were required to pay 10 percent of their
winning bids within five business days after the close of bidding.  Commercial Realty
submitted winning bids in 20 markets for a total of $41,250,000, requiring a total down
payment of at least $3,266,750.  Commercial Realty never tendered its down payment. 
Commercial Realty claimed designated entity status as a woman-owned business and claimed 
a 25 percent bidding credit in most of the markets in which it was a winning bidder. 

     Commercial Realty was the successful bidder in Detroit-Ann Arbor, MI; St. Louis,
MO; Miami, FL; Pittsburgh, PA; Baltimore, MD; Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN; Atlanta, GA; 
Denver-Boulder, CO; Seattle-Everett, WA; Milwaukee, WI; Kansas City, MO; Phoenix,
AZ; Indianapolis, IN; Sacramento, CA; Greensboro, NC; Charlotte, NC; and Raleigh-
Durham, NC; San Diego, CA; Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL; and Portland, OR.


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     After the conclusion of the IVDS auction, it came to the Commission's attention that
the Commission's rules and other IVDS auction requirements might have been violated by
some of the participants.  Therefore, the Commission ordered an investigation of the conduct
of the applicants in the auction to determine whether misconduct had occurred.  One target of
the investigation was Commercial Realty. 

     As a result of the investigation, the Commission determined that Commercial Realty
wilfully misrepresented its financial status to the Commission.   A forfeiture of $10,000 for
each of the 20 markets involved ($200,000) was assessed for this violation. 

     Commercial Realty is a for-profit company incorporated in Florida on September 10,
1984.  At that time, its sole director, President and Registered Agent was James C. Hartley. 
On February 17, 1984, Hartley's wife, Teresa Hartley, purchased all the outstanding shares
of stock in Commercial Realty from a third party for $500.  On April 15, 1994, she
amended the corporation's bylaws to provide for a board of directors consisting solely of
herself.   The Commission's investigation revealed that James Hartley controlled the
company and continued to make all the business decisions, including the decision to default
on the down payments.  Therefore, the Commission found that Commercial Realty had
improperly claimed bidding credits as a woman-owned business and assessed a forfeiture of
$10,000 for each of the 17 times it claimed the credit ($170,000).

     The investigation also revealed that Mr. Hartley engaged in prohibited discussions, or
other communications, with another bidder on at least two occasions before down payments
were due.  The Commission assessed a forfeiture of $10,000 for each violation ($20,000).

     Action by the Commission  February 15, 1995, by Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (FCC 95-58). Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello, Barrett, Ness and Chong.

                                                             - FCC -
     
     News Media contact: Stacey Reuben Mesa at (202) 418-0600.
     Wireless Telecommunications Bureau contacts: Terry Reideler at (202) 418-1321 and
Myron Peck at (202) 418-1310.