Top story this week takes us to Washington, D.C. The US Federal Communications Commission has announced that the government will be collecting a payment from an unlicensed radio operator in Massachusetts, settling an enforcement case from last year. We have more from Kent Peterson KCØDGY.
KENT: The operator of a pirate radio station in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has agreed to pay $7,200 to the US Treasury as part of a consent decree with the FCC. According to a recent report on the RadioWorld website, the FCC said that the radio operator, Robert Bellinger, had been broadcasting on 93.1 FM without a license. The payment, which is part of his consent decree, was substantially reduced from the agency’s original proposed forfeiture of $40,000 which it sought in 2024 in a notice of apparent liability. The RadioWorld report said that Bellinger responded to the notice at the time and told the FCC he was not able to pay the amount.
An FCC review of his finances resulted in an alternative solution — a consent decree in which Bellinger admitted to his illegal broadcasts and a commitment to make the voluntary contribution specified.
