The fate of Roger Wahl, who could be stripped of the ownership of his Class A FM radio station in Pennsylvania, will become that much clearer come January 13, 2022.
That is the date of an initial status conference to be conducted virtually as part of a Hearing Designation Order led by the FCC’s Administrative Law Judge, Jane Hinckley Halprin.
As RBR+TVBR first reported on December 3, a decision by Halprin to terminate the HDO was rescinded after it had been determined that Wahl, the licensee of WQZS-FM 93.3 in Meyersdale, Pa., to the southeast of Pittsburgh, was indeed sent to the Commission — albeit improperly.
This negated a Termination Order that would have sent the matter to the FCC’s Commissioners, who could have directed Wahl to surrender the license of the station and delete the WQZS call letters. That could still happen, but on a much longer timetable.
That’s because an initial status conference will be conducted virtually on Thursday, January 13 at 10am, via an online platform accessible to all parties.
This means that on or before January 11, 2022, the parties involved must submit a proposed schedule of this case, including pre-hearing and post-hearing matters; a description of the type of discovery anticipated, if any; and a description of expected pre-hearing motions, including motions for protective orders.
The proceeding will be conducted pursuant to the written hearing procedures codified at sections 1.370 through 1.377 of the Commission’s rules.
And, as the proposed schedules will be discussed during the initial status conference, no written pleadings responsive to the parties’ scheduling submissions will be entertained.
The Initial Case Order from Halprin follows a December 9 Order that denies a motion to intervene from Wahl’s daughter, Wendy Sipple.
Sipple seeks to purchase WQZS for a token price of $10, thus keeping the station in the family.
Wahl’s troubles began on September 7, 2019, when he was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police on charges of rape solicitation, identity theft and invasion of privacy. Specifically, Wahl was accused of attempting to solicit men to engage in unwanted sexual acts with an unnamed woman who he later admitted he impersonated through the creation of a phony online dating profile. According to State Police, Wahl hid a trail camera inside the 62-year-old woman’s house several years ago. Images from the camera were allegedly accessed by Wahl and then used by him to lure men into her home, with Wahl making the arrangements.
To exacerbate matters, Wahl was also charged with tampering with physical evidence. As noted by Trooper John Wogan, pictures were deleted from Wahl’s phone as were text communication from the dating site, apparently after Wahl discovered State Police were investigating. And, as Wahl’s residence appears to be the same as that of WQZS, Wahl used a computer on the radio station’s premises to conduct the illicit online communications via the dating website, Wogan’s report stated.
On July 8, 2020, Wahl was scheduled to plead guilty to a felony. A day earlier, it became known that Wahl on June 1, 2020 filed a Form 314 form with the FCC seeking permission to transfer WQZS to Sipple, for $10. An FCC approval came. But, on July 13, 2020, the Commission reversed its approval of the license transfer, likely upon learning of Wahl’s legal predicament.
Wahl’s attorney, David Flower, went to action on behalf of his client. He lobbied for a lessening of the charges against the WQZS owner. Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Lynn Thomas acquiesced.
Fast-forward to September 2021. Thomas, 36, was accused of having attacked a woman in her home. He was charged with rape, indecent and simple assault, strangulation and criminal trespassing; Thomas’ hearing was scheduled for 1pm today (10/19).
With Thomas now mired in a rape controversy, the lesser charges against Wahl could be reexamined. For the Media Bureau, however, his convictions of a felony and multiple misdemeanors alone “raise the question under the Commission’s Character Qualifications Policy Statement whether he possesses the requisite character qualifications to remain a Commission licensee.”
Meanwhile, Wahl was on the air December 3, claiming he had lost his voice to laryngitis over the past couple of days. According to a local source, Sipple recorded the morning newscast. As of 1pm Eastern, WQZS was on the air, playing music.
