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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File Number EB-03-TP-042
)
Tori Javier Lipscomb ) NAL/Acct. No.200332700021
2135 NW 73rd Street )
Miami, Florida ) FRN 0008562795
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: April 17,
2003
By the Enforcement Bureau, Tampa Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find Tori Javier Lipscomb
apparently liable for forfeiture in the amount of ten
thousand dollars ($10,000) for willful violation of Section
301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended
(``Act'').1 Specifically, we find Tori Javier Lipscomb
apparently liable for the operation of an FM broadcast
station on the frequency 100.5 MHz without Commission
authorization.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On April 11, 2001, during an inspection of an
unlicensed FM radio station in Ft. Pierce, Florida, agents
of the Commission's Tampa Field Office (``Tampa Office'')
identified Tori Javier Lipscomb as the operator of the
unlicensed radio station. At that time, Mr. Lipscomb
deactivated the unlicensed transmitter at the agents'
request. The agents hand delivered to Mr. Lipscomb a
written warning for unlicensed radio operation.
3. On November 23, 2002, agents from the Tampa Office
investigated a complaint that an unlicensed radio station
was transmitting on the frequency 100.5 MHz in the Fort
Myers, Florida area. Commission records showed no radio
station licensed on the frequency 100.5 MHz in the Fort
Myers area. Using a mobile direction-finding vehicle, the
agents detected a radio station broadcasting on the
frequency 100.5 MHz and traced the station's signal to a
one-story apartment building located at 4274 Greenwood
Avenue, Fort Myers, Florida. A two-section FM broadcast-
type antenna was mounted on a metal pipe attached to a tree
in the back yard. Coaxial cable connected to the antenna on
one end entered apartment number 1 of the building. The
agents took field strength measurements and determined that
the station's signal strength exceeded the permissible level
for a non-licensed low-power radio transmitter2 by 2,024
times and that, therefore, the station required a license to
operate. Immediately thereafter, while the station
continued to broadcast, the agents knocked on the door of
apartment number 1. Mr. Tori Javier Lipscomb answered the
door and consented to an inspection of the radio station.
One of the agents recognized Mr. Lipscomb as the operator of
the unlicensed radio station in Ft. Pierce, Florida, on
April 11, 2001. Inside the apartment, the agents found an
FM broadcast transmitter and associated equipment in
operation. Mr. Lipscomb stated that he leased the apartment
and that he operated the radio station located there. At
the agents' request, Mr. Lipscomb deactivated the
transmitter.
III. DISCUSSION
4. Section 301 of the Act sets forth generally that
no person shall use or operate any apparatus for the
transmission of energy of communications or signals by radio
within the United States except under and in accordance with
the Act and with a license. On November 23, 2002, Mr. Tori
Javier Lipscomb operated radio transmitting equipment on the
frequency 100.5 MHz without benefit of the required
Commission authorization.
5. Based on the evidence before us, we find that on
November 23, 2002, Tori Javier Lipscomb willfully3 violated
Section 301 of the Act by operating radio transmission
apparatus without a license.
6. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b) (4) of the Rules,4 the
base forfeiture amount for operating a radio station without
a Commission authorization is $10,000. In assessing the
monetary forfeiture amount, we must also take into account
the statutory factors set forth in Section 503(b)(2)(D) of
the Act, which include the nature, circumstances, extent,
and gravity of the violation, and with respect to the
violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior
offenses, ability to pay, and other such matters as justice
may require.5 Considering the entire record and applying
the factors listed above, this case warrants a $10,000
forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act,6 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Rules,7 Tori Javier Lipscomb is hereby NOTIFIED
of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of
ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for willful violation of
Section 301 the Act by operating a radio station without
Commission authorization.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, Tori Javier Lipscomb SHALL PAY the full amount of
the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement
seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed
forfeiture.
9. Payment of the forfeiture may be made by mailing a
check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the
Federal Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture
Collection Section, Finance Branch, Federal Communications
Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482.
The payment should note the NAL/Acct. No. and FRN referenced
above. Requests for payment of the full amount of this NAL
under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief, Revenue
and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20554.8
10. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th
Street SW, Washington DC 20554, Attn: Enforcement Bureau-
Technical & Public Safety Division and MUST INCLUDE THE
NAL/Acct. No. referenced above.
11. The Commission will not consider reducing or
canceling a forfeiture in response to a claim of inability
to pay unless the petitioner submits: (1) federal tax
returns for the most recent three-year period; (2) financial
statements prepared according to generally accepted
accounting practices (``GAAP''); or (3) some other reliable
and objective documentation that accurately reflects the
petitioner's current financial status. Any claim of
inability to pay must specifically identify the basis for
the claim by reference to the financial documentation
submitted.
12. Under the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of
2002, Pub L. No. 107-198, 116 Stat. 729 (June 28, 2002), the
FCC is engaged in a two-year tracking process regarding the
size of entities involved in forfeitures. If you qualify as
a small entity and if you wish to be treated as a small
entity for tracking purposes, please so certify to us within
thirty (30) days of this NAL, either in your response to the
NAL or in a separate filing to be sent to the Technical &
Public Safety Division. Your certification should indicate
whether you, including your parent entity and its
subsidiaries, meet one of the definitions set forth in the
list provided by the FCC's Office of Communications Business
Opportunities (OCBO) set forth in Attachment A of this
Notice of Apparent Liability. This information will be used
for tracking purposes only. Your response or failure to
respond to this question will have no effect on your rights
and responsibilities pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act. If you have questions regarding any of
the information contained in Attachment A, please contact
OCBO at (202) 418-0990.
13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL
shall be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to Tori Javier Lipscomb, 2135 NW 73rd
Street, Miami, Florida 33147.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Ralph M. Barlow
District Director
Tampa Field Office, Enforcement
Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 U.S.C. § 301.
2 Non-licensed low-power broadcasting in the 88-108 MHz band
is permitted only if the field strength of the transmissions
does not exceed 250 µV/m at three meters. 47 C.F.R. §
15.239.
3 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which
applies equally to Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that
``[t]he term `willful,' when used with reference to the
commission or omission of any act, means the conscious and
deliberate commission or omission of such act, irrespective
of any intent to violate any provision of this Act....'' See
Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC Rcd 4387 (1991).
4 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
5 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
6 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
7 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
8 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.