A spectrum bandit was operating in Brooklyn on its spectrum avenue of choice, 99.9 MHz, and was apprehended by an FCC field agent. Now the Commission has come to terms with the landlord that provided the pirate with a venue. The instrument is a consent decree, which comes with no admission of guilt and in this case, a small donation to the US Treasury.
The party to the decree is Luna Park Housing Corporation. The FCC had hit it with a $10K fine on 1/8/10.
The actual pirate in this case was Mark Nierman and his Kakadu Productions Inc. Nierman was told to shut down in October 2009 and hit with the standard unauthorized operation fine of $10K. The buccaneer was able to produce convincing enough financial documentation to get that fine reduced to $4.5K.
Luna Park was making $6K annually renting a space to Nierman, and the FCC agent involved in the case was able to see coaxial cable running from the rental unit to up to an antenna mounted on a rooftop water tower.
As part of the consent decree, Luna Park must inform all of its tenants that it is illegal to operate an unlicensed radio station from its building. It is required to execute a compliance plan, report any new radio stations it becomes aware of on its premises, and report to the FCC on compliance.
It will also save $9.6K. The Luna Park contribution aimed at the reduction of the national debt will be a modest $400.
