FCC Enforcement Actions

[Andre Kesteloot]

 FCC Enforcement Actions 

On July 25, the FCC's Enforcement Bureau released new Amateur Radio
enforcement actions. John C. Kimbrough, WR3S, of Murfreesboro,
Tennessee, received notification from the FCC's Atlanta District
Director that his automatic control privileges had been removed. This
followed up on a letter sent by Riley Hollingsworth that listed various
and numerous complaints about Kimbrough concerning "apparent violations
of the Commission's rules, including inadequate station control,
interference and failure to properly identify." The Letter went on to
say that Kimbrough may not resume automatic control until notified by
the Atlanta office. "If WR3S is operated under automatic control prior
to notification from this office, enforcement action will be taken
against your Amateur operator and station licenses for WR3S. This action
may include designation of those licenses for a revocation and
suspension hearing, and a monetary forfeiture."

Robert J. Langston, W2ENY, of Cornwall on Hudson, New York, received a
request for information concerning "allege[d] transmission of
recordings, including recordings of the radio transmissions of other
operators, and false identification of transmissions," and called into
account "serious questions regarding your ability to retain an Amateur
license." The FCC gave Langston 20 days to respond to the allegations
and include a signed and dated affidavit or declaration under penalty of
perjury, verifying the truth and accuracy of the information submitted
in your response."

Robert A. DiMezza, W2GGI, of Delray Beach, Florida, received a request
for information concerning complaints that allege "among other things,
poor signal quality and refusal to make corrections," and was given 20
days to respond to these complaints.

Frank Richards, of Mooers, New York, received a Memorandum Opinion and
Order from the FCC regarding his apparent attempted 1995 hijack of an
Amateur Radio license from Frank C. Richards, KB4VU, of Ft Meyers,
Florida. The New York Richards was initially successful, and the FCC
granted him KG2IC, but after the Florida Richards contacted the FCC to
say he'd never moved nor modified his license, the FCC directed the New
York Richards to explain. In June 2004, the New York Richards turned in
his license. While the FCC did not pursue further enforcement action
the, it did tell the New York Richards that the circumstances of the
apparent abuse of the license system could become a factor if he ever
applied for an Amateur Radio ticket in the future. The New York Richards
applied for a Technician license June 28, 2006 and accompanied his
application with a letter. The FCC Enforcement Bureau said it was unable
to determine whether the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau should grant
the application, however, so it now has been designated for a hearing.
The FCC's Enforcement Bureau's Motion to Dismiss Application with
Prejudice and Terminate Hearing, filed June 25, had a deadline of July
10 for any opposition to be filed. As of July 18, no written appearance
had been filed by, or on behalf of, Richards, and no one attended or
entered an appearance on Richards' behalf at a prehearing conference
July 10. As such, Richards' Amateur Radio license application was
dismissed with prejudice.

Frederick C. Severa, AH8I, of Folsom, California, received a warning
notice claiming "that Commission monitoring information indicates that
on February 12, 2007 at 0221 UTC, you operated in the SSB mode on 7.055
MHz from a location near Reading [sic], CA. That mode is not authorized
to you on that frequency under Commission rules." The FCC sent Severa a
letter notifying him of this; it was returned as undeliverable. Saying
that "Such operation may reflect adversely on your qualifications to
retain an Amateur Radio license," The FCC gave him 30 days to respond
and to verify his current address.