It all comes down to the answer Eddie Floyd gave to the FCC Form 345 Inquiry No. 8, to the effect that the licensee, in this case of K273AF Carson City NV, was not involved in a felony, among other things. Three times he affirmed a clean record; but he was convicted and jailed for felony money-laundering in a marijuana farming case.
Floyd began serving a three-year prison term based on his conviction 6/1/07. On 9/4/07, he filed to sell the translator to Wilks License Company Reno LLC. On paperwork related to the sale, he failed to note his change in legal status on three separate occasions.
The FCC noted that it could accept a certain amount of inaccuracy on an application if it was inadvertent without resorting to drastic measures. “In this case, however, as set forth above, Floyd failed to disclose his felony conviction in response to a direct question in three separate Commission applications. In addition, Floyd had a clear motive for not revealing his felony conviction to the Commission – to conceal information that could potentially disqualify him as a Commission licensee and block the proposed sale of Floyd’s translator station to Wilks.”
Floyd, who was released from prison 5/21/10, is now being given an opportunity to show cause why his license should not be revoked before an administrative law judge. And the potential sale of the station will be reviewed in a hearing.
Meanwhile, Floyd was hit with a $500 fine for allowing the translator’s license to elapse. That’s the fine that would have been $7K had he done the same with a full power facility.
