MIAMI — The FCC at its December Open Meeting on Thursday (12/12) today proposed the maximum allowable fine by law be handed to a Boston-based operator of a pirate radio station calling itself “Radio Concorde.”
It was the second, and lesser, penalty of the day to a Bay State buccaneer.
But, will the individual behind the unlicensed operation comply, or thumb its note at the FCC as a North Miami, Fla., continues to do, despite being handed a maximum fine, too?
In an act that represents the strongest act it can take against an unlawful broadcast operation, the Commission issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $151,005 against Acerome Jean-Charles.
He’s been finger-pointed as the operator of Radio Concorde, a pirate operation that’s used multiple frequencies over the last several years to reach the underserved Haitian community in the Boston metropolitan region.
A Facebook page confirms his association with Radio Concorde. A separate page for Radio Concorde presents even more questions: What is “WRCB-AM 1580,” a station not in the FCC database? Further, what Radio Concorde facilities on November 17 were on 106.3 MHz in Boston and 102.9 MHz in Brockton, Mass.?
For certain, the 106.3 MHz facility is impermissible, and was brought to the Commission’s attention by Bloomberg Radio.
Bloomberg uses W291CZ at 106.1 MHz as a FM translator simulcasting its WRCA-AM 1330 in Boston, and it filed a complaint with the Commission alleging interference from Radio Concorde.
FCC Enforcement Bureau field agents on Feb. 11, and again on April 16, investigated the complaint. The unlicensed broadcasts at 106.3 MHz were emanating from a multi-family dwelling on Wellington Hill Street in Mattapan — a multiethnic South Boston community roughly 10 minutes south of Jamaica Plain.
and formally and repeatedly warned Mr. Jean-Charles, instructing him to cease unauthorized broadcasts, and outlining the consequences if he continued to do so.
A June 2019 Notice of Unlicensed Operation was sent by FCC Enforcement Bureau Region One Regional Director Dave Dombrowski to Mr. Jean-Charles.
Jean-Charles did nothing in response to the warning, and apparently continued to broadcast Radio Concorde.
It’s not the first time Jean-Charles has had run-ins with the FCC regarding pirate radio activity.
As reported by Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink, Jean-Charles in October 2017 received a Notice of Unlicensed Operation for using the 100.1 MHz signal for his illegal station in the city of Brockton, Mass., south of central Boston.
Then came a July 2018 NUO — the first referencing the 106.3 MHz frequency.
The NAL came toward the end of the FCC’s December Open Meeting, with Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Mike O’Rielly — a champion of pirate radio rustling — each issuing statements.
Their statements were not available as of RBR+TVBR’s deadline on Thursday (12/12).
With the FCC now cracking down on two big Boston pirates, one big question remains: Is that enough to silence the buccaneer broadcaster?
In Miami, the answer is no.
As of Wednesday evening (12/11), Polynice Fabrice continues to ignore its receipt of a maximum FCC forfeiture of $144,344 by continuing to periodically use the 90.1 MHz signal for his “Radio Touche Douce.”
This mainly prohibits Class C1 WGCU-FM 90.1 in Fort Myers-Naples, a designated emergency broadcast station, from reaching Miami-Dade and eastern Broward Counties. However, it also impacts BBN’s WYBP-FM 90.3 in Fort Lauderdale.
The FCC at its September 2017 Open Meeting proposed the $144,344 fine — the highest it can legally levy. On July 18, 2018, the penalty was affirmed.
One year and five months later, Fabrice’s illegal station is still on the air.
