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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
)
)
In the Matter of
) File Number: EB-04-DT-391
Gerald Parks
) NAL/Acct. No: 200532360003
Licensee of AM Station WEKC
) FRN 0007 9211 90
Williamsburg, KY
)
)
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted: December 7, 2006 Released: December 11, 2006
By the Regional Director, Northeast Region, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Forfeiture Order ("Order"), we issue a monetary forfeiture in
the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) to Gerald Parks
("Parks"), licensee of AM Radio Station WEKC, Williamsburg, KY, for
willful and repeated violations of Sections 17.4(a), 73.3526(e)(4),
and 73.3526(e)(12) of the Commission's Rules ("Rules"). The noted
violations involve Parks' failure to register the antenna structure
and failure to maintain in the public inspection file a service
contour map and issues/programs lists.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On September 17, 2003 and December 16, 2003, an agent from the Detroit
Office inspected station WEKC. As a result of that inspection, the
Detroit Office issued an NOV to Parks for (1) monitoring only one EAS
source, (2) failing to have a recent ownership report in the public
inspection file, (3) failing to have a copy of "The Public and
Broadcasting" in the public inspection file, and (4) failing to have
an issues/programs list in the public inspection file.
3. On July 28, 2004, an agent from the Detroit Office inspected radio
station WEKC to follow up on the violations found during the
inspections in 2003. During the inspection, the agent did not observe
an Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) number posted on the tower, as
required under the Rules. The agent searched the Commission's ASR
Database and found no evidence that Parks's tower is registered.
During the July 28, 2004 inspection, the agent also found that WEKC's
public inspection file was missing the service contour map and
issues/programs lists.
4. On August 26, 2005, the Detroit Office issued a Notice of Apparent
Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $5,000 to Parks for apparent
willful and repeated violation of Sections 17.4(a), 73.3526(e)(4), and
73.3526(e)(12) of the Rules. Parks submitted a response to the NAL on
September 28, 2006. In his response, Parks does not dispute the
factual findings in the NAL, but requests a cancellation or reduction
in the forfeiture based on his inability to pay.
III. Discussion
5. The forfeiture amount proposed in this case was assessed in accordance
with Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended
("Act"), Section 1.80 of the Rules, and the Commission's Forfeiture
Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to
Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines. In assessing forfeitures,
Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Act requires that we take into account 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 such other matters as justice may
require.
6. We decline to grant Parks' request that we cancel or reduce the
proposed forfeiture. The Commission has determined that, in general,
an entity's gross revenues are the best indicator of its ability to
pay a forfeiture. After reviewing Parks' claim and supporting
documentation, we find that a cancellation or reduction of the
forfeiture based on inability to pay is not warranted.
7. We have examined Parks' response to the NAL pursuant to the statutory
factors above and in conjunction with the Policy Statement. As a
result of our review, and based on the record before us, we conclude
that Parks willfully and repeatedly violated Sections 17.4(a),
73.3526(e)(4), and 73.3526(e)(12) of the Rules. Considering the entire
record and the factors listed above, we find that neither reduction
nor cancellation of the proposed $5,000 forfeiture is warranted.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80(f)(4) of the Rules, Gerald Parks IS LIABLE FOR A MONETARY
FORFEITURE in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for willful
and repeated violated of Section 73.1745(a) of the Rules.
9. Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the manner provided for in
Section 1.80 of the Rules within thirty (30) days of the release of
this Order. If the forfeiture is not paid within the period specified,
that case may be referred to the Department of Justice for collection
pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Act. Payment of the forfeiture must
be made by check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the
Federal Communications Commission. The payment must include the
NAL/Acct. No. and FRN No. referenced above. Payment by check or money
order may be mailed to Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box
358340, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-8340. Payment by overnight mail may be
sent to Mellon Bank /LB 358340, 500 Ross Street, Room 1540670,
Pittsburgh, PA 15251. Payment by wire transfer may be made to ABA
Number 043000261, receiving bank Mellon Bank, and account number
911-6106. Requests for full payment under an installment plan should
be sent to: Associate Managing Director, Financial Operations, 445
12th Street, S.W., Room 1A625, Washington, D.C. 20554.
10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Forfeiture Order shall be
sent by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, and regular mail, to
Gerald Parks at his address of record and to counsel for Gerald Parks
at his address of record.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Russell Monie, Jr.
Regional Director, Northeast Region
Enforcement Bureau
47 C.F.R. SS 17.4(a); 73.3526(e)(4), 73.3526(e)(12).
See Gerald Parks, Notice of Violation, NOV No. V20043236005 (rel. December
20, 2003).
Gerald Parks, Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, NAL/Acct. No.
200532360003 (Enf. Bur., Detroit Office, August 26, 2005) ("NAL").
47 U.S.C. S 503(b).
47 C.F.R. S 1.80.
12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999) ("Forfeiture
Policy Statement").
47 U.S.C. S 503(b)(2)(D).
PJB Communications of Virginia, Inc., 7 FCC Rcd 2088, 2089 (1992)
(forfeiture not deemed excessive where it represented approximately 2.02
percent of the violator's gross revenues); Local Long Distance, Inc., 15
FCC Rcd 24385, 24389 P 11 (2000), recon. denied, 16 FCC Rcd 10023, 10025
P 6 (2001) (forfeiture not deemed excessive where it represented
approximately 7.9 percent of the violator's gross revenues); Hoosier
Broadcasting Corporation, 14 FCC Rcd 3356 (CIB 1999), recon. denied, 15
FCC Rcd 8640, 8641 (Enf. Bur. 2002) (forfeiture not deemed excessive where
it represented approximately 7.6 percent of the violator's gross
revenues). In this case, the forfeiture represents a smaller percentage
than those issued in the Local Long Distance, Inc., and Hoosier
Broadcasting Corp., cases, and only a nominally higher percentage compared
to the forfeiture issued in PJB Communications of Virginia, Inc.
Parks submitted additional documentation at the request of staff to
support his inability to pay claim. In reviewing Parks' Federal Income Tax
Return and the associated materials, we noted that Parks did not submit a
Schedule C or C-EZ, which is the Schedule on which sole proprietors
indicate business income (or loss). As the owner and operator of a radio
station, we find it unlikely that Parks would not have been required to
submit a Schedule C or C-EZ, which might have identified additional gross
revenue. We conclude, however, that it is not necessary to follow up with
Parks on this issue because we conclude, based on the gross revenue
identified in the documentation submitted by Parks, that a reduction or
cancellation of the forfeiture is not warranted.
47 U.S.C. S 503(b).
47 C.F.R. SS 0.111, 0.311, 1.80(f)(4).
47 U. S. C. S 504(a).
See 47 C.F.R. S 1.1914.
(...continued from previous page)
(continued....)
Federal Communications Commission DA 06-2480
3
Federal Communications Commission DA 06-2480