FCC Revokes Ham Ticket of Alleged Radio Pirate, Issues Fine

NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 28, 2001--The FCC has come down hard in the case of a Florida man accused of being a pirate broadcaster. The Commission this week revoked the Amateur and General Mobile Radio Service licenses of Leslie D. "Doug" Brewer of Tampa and fined him $11,000 for "willful and repeated violation" of the Communications Act. Brewer already owes the US government $11,000 in forfeitures assessed previously for similar violations.

"Operating unlicensed radio facilities in deliberate and brazen defiance of our rules cannot and will not be tolerated," the FCC said in its Order of Revocation and of Forfeiture, released June 26. "We conclude, based upon evidence of Mr. Brewer's 'pirate radio' and other unlawful activities, that he lacks the basic character qualifications to be and remain a Commission licensee." The Order contained a footnoted reference to the case of Herbert L. Schoenbohm, ex-KV4FZ, who lost his Amateur Radio license on the basis of character issues.

Earlier this year, the FCC suspended Brewer's General ticket, KC4HAZ, for the rest of its term while it initiated revocation proceedings. Brewer also held the GMRS call sign KAE1170. He has 30 days to file a petition for reconsideration of the FCC's Order. Otherwise, he has 30 days to pay the fine. The revocations are to take effect 40 days from the release of the Order.

Brewer, 46, runs a two-way radio and electronics shop. He's the trustee of several Amateur Radio repeaters in Tampa and is well-known within the Tampa amateur community.

The FCC said Brewer failed to file any notice of appearance at the revocation proceeding. As a result, the presiding judge waived hearing, and the FCC made its determination in the case based on the information it had before it.

FCC and other sources say Brewer operated "The Party Pirate" on 102.1 MHz from his home. He was among those caught up in a November 1997 sweep by federal agents to shut down unlicensed broadcasting operations in Tampa. Brewer was detained while armed federal agents moved in during the early morning hours to close down the pirate operation and confiscate the equipment. US marshals trucked away the equipment in a rental vehicle as Brewer looked on.

Brewer is said to have taunted the FCC both on and off the air. In 1996, the FCC fined Brewer $1000 for transmitting without a license, but he failed to pay and allegedly continued his broadcasting operation. After being fined, the FCC says, Brewer applied for Special Temporary Authority to operate on 102.1 and later applied for a noncommercial educational broadcast station on the same channel.

After the 1997 raid, the FCC says, Brewer refrained from pirate broadcasting for a couple of years and applied for an experimental FM station license. The application was dismissed. He subsequently again attempted the STA route, and while that request was pending, the FCC says, Brewer resumed his pirate broadcasts on 102.1 from a transmitter in a Tampa warehouse "in apparent willful and repeated violation" of the Communications Act of 1934.

The FCC said Brewer also operated an illegal studio-to-transmitter link (STL) on 950 MHz to send program audio from his home to the warehouse transmitter. In addition, FCC said, Brewer also "engaged in marketing unauthorized FM broadcast transmitting equipment" in violation of federal law, a charge Brewer has denied.

An FCC agent later posed as a member of the general public and was able to purchase a 20-W FM transmitter from Brewer. As a result, the FCC fined Brewer $10,000 in 1999 for selling an unauthorized RF device.

The FCC said Brewer "continues to display a cavalier disregard toward his licensee obligations . . . notwithstanding clear and repeated notice that his behavior was unlawful." The $11,000 forfeiture was the maximum the FCC could have imposed in the case. The government is continuing its efforts to collect the $11,000 in forfeitures already assessed against Brewer. The case is pending in the US District Court, Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.

The FCC has said its Character Policy Statement "provides that violations of the Communications Act or the Commission's rules are matters which are predictive of licensee behavior and directly relevant to the Commission's regulatory activities." The policy "is applicable to Amateur and other wireless radio licenses," the FCC added.

The FCC Order in the Brewer case is available on the FCC Web site.

Previous: Helms Greets Parents During New Mexico ARISS QSO

Next: Nevada ARES/RACES Wraps Up Fire Response