Two of the two most popular locations for pirate FM stations seem to be in and around New York City and in one of any number of media markets in the great state of Florida. Fort Lauderdale, the northern outpost of the Miami market, is the scene of the latest FCC piracy bust.
The pirate is Mr. Whisler Fleurinor, who was driving the airwaves at 99.5 MHz without a license.
FCC agents, acting on a complaint, traced the 99.5 MHz signal to a commercial property owned by Fleurinor on 3/16/10, and went back 8/24/10 and officially warned him to stay off the air. Upon returning 8/31/10, the station was still in operation.
As if this was not enough, Fluerinor had a prior. He was operating on 97.7 MHz when FCC agents attempted to put him off the air back on 1/24/08.
The normal fine for this offense is $10K. However, because Fleurinor had been informed that he was not to broadcast on these frequencies without a license, and continued to do so anyway, the FCC doubled his liability to $20K.
