Enforcement Bureau Threatens Pirate Landlords With Potential $2M Penalty

The FCC Enforcement Bureau warned of possible forfeitures of up to $2 million each for owners of properties used for broadcasting pirate radio stations, said four enforcement bureau letters released Wednesday. The letters went to Kent and Deanna Coppinger in Summerville, Oregon; Edwin and Joyce Pitt in Baltimore; Maria Hernandez in Kissimmee, Florida; and Richard Manson in Philadelphia. The recipients have 10 days to respond to the letters with evidence that they are no longer permitting pirate radio on their property, the letters said. “In addition, we request that you identify the individual(s) engaged in pirate radio broadcasting on the property that you own or manage,” the letters said. "As operators may be hard to identify, the ability to seek penalties against landlords, who are readily identifiable from local land records, gives the FCC a much stronger tool with which to combat pirate radio operators," wrote Wilkinson Barker broadcast attorney David Oxenford in a blog post Thursday.