I got a call from my roommate about an hour before the end of my shift. Well, looks like Uncle Fred decided to come pay us a visit. I finished up at work and on the way home called Austin Airwaves to come out and record the incident. I drove by the house and parked down the street. One of the DJs who had been in the studio when they arrived came out and told me what the situation was. Apparently they showed up with two APD officers, walked right in the gate past the "No Trespassing" sign, and started questioning people, asking for IDs and making vague threats about a $10K fine. The APD officers got bored and left after about 30 minutes. My roommate turned off the transmitter when he got home, but wouldn't let them go in the house. They had been there for about two hours when I finally showed up. As you can see from the video, we had a very pleasant and informative chat about unlicensed operation.
12 minute video on their page of how it went down. Really sad to see this kind of stuff happen. The people handled the situation well with the FCC and kept their cool which is the best kind of thing to do in that situation. A few things that the FCC said in the video is of interest to all of us.
Post by Ozone Express Radio on Nov 6, 2010 20:57:26 GMT -6
This is a very interesting video.
I am glad they taped it, not only for their own benefit, but also to show a few of the tactics of the field agents. I noticed that this agent was the typical government bean counter type though with the pocket full of pad, pens, glasses case, etc, and didn't press the issue of not being let in to do an inspection. One thing that bugs me though is that I don't know whether it was a real-life situation for one reason: If the police were along, and the field agent was serious enough to get them involved in the first place, why did the cops leave? That'd be a tough sell to a superior I'd think, in explaining your leaving the scene of a supposed crime.
I'd certainly think that in the situation of a complaint and site visit including a couple of LEO's, then the agent wouldn't have stopped short of executing a search warrant before the fact and would most certainly have been a bit more insistent on poking around even deeper. An NAL would have probably been in hand too. Also, violating the "No Trespassing" signs and walking right into the backyard to the broadcasting studio is a surprise to me as well, if there weren't a warrant. That would be a field day for an attorney. All the errant people wandering around also gets me a bit suspicious of the validity of this bust. NO federal agent would let anyone behind his back, camera or not.
Of course all this is without any facts other than viewing the same video, so I may be speaking out of turn here..........
I also went back and watched the vid again and looked at the pictures posted about this and something else struck me as not such a good thing: Posting the FCC agents tag number, pics of the gear in his truck and generally making him seem like a bad guy after he walked away without being too harsh, seems a little bit reckless. Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of the FCC or any of this type of enforcement for a variety of reasons, but sometimes you need to pick your battles carefully.
I am guessing the cops were there just for backup in case the operators were to get a bit rowdy. As for the other people walking behind the agents I am thinking they weren't too worried about it. The video looks legit to me but that's my opinion. From what I seen on their website it looks like they were broadcasting 24 hours a day right out in the open so it doesn't surprise me all that much that they were caught. As most of us know here it's best to lay low and broadcast at random times rather than on a schedule that anyone can look up including the FCC if they wanted to.
Post by Ozone Express Radio on Nov 8, 2010 21:49:18 GMT -6
Sounds as if 95.9 was definitely not trying to be obscure.....I am surprised they lasted as long as they did on the air really.
I agree that the folks certainly weren't threatening, but I am a bit shocked that the police left and left the agent there by himself. Seems that if anything were to happen it'd set up for a big mess, legally, later.
One thing did occur to me after I posted last time: The FCC has no police powers of their own and they need to get a warrant through the Justice Department to have any real teeth, so maybe the police were just brought along for a little more effect? Just a thought.
Hiding in "plain sight" is often a good plan. IF you act like a pirate, you can attract the dedicsted narc listener a lot faster.
In the Great Whire North here, often a Mountie comes with the Industry Canada agent, as the agent has no powers to officially serve papers and also if things turn nasty. Often if the pirate is just a regular Joe, the Mountie serves the paper and is waved off by the agent. In all cases, a couple of hours of geeky chatter follow a promise to shut down and the case is closed.
However, if the agent has to make a second visit, they will have four of five Mounties execute a confiscation warrant.
Post by Ozone Express Radio on Nov 18, 2010 8:57:17 GMT -6
I agree with the "plain sight" comment. I nestle myself right in on the dial along with several other stations and keep the sound and content on par with what a larger station would do.
Sounds like Canada does it pretty much like here. Once you've been warned and if you continue, you will get a lot more trouble.
Indeed a different approach at police and their intrusion, as the quotation states above. I have however not handled to watch the video at current, because there is so little time and so much to do.
I became interested in the topic as I operate on a legit station with the exact frequency, only out of the United States. :-)
What you have here is just ONE example of an easy going, laid back type field agent that did his job and went on his way. The other guy (big fella) was probably a field agent in training.
I suggest you all study up on the Patriot Act and revision of 2008. It gives ANY federal authority/agent the right to walk past your "No Trespassing" sign and right through your front door, warrant or no warrant.
Now shut downs do not always go this easy. Do not take that one instance of calm cool and collect for granted. Rest assured, there are field agents out there who WILL throw the book at you no matter how nice you are.
That operation was lucky, plain and simple.
Peace!
K-ROCKS RadioOne
ZeroPointRadio
AM Stereo 1670
FM Stereo 92.1
Post by cptzulu158 on Mar 17, 2013 13:38:40 GMT -6
This just shows how much of a joke the fcc is. The agent on the left looked like he didnt give a crap about any of this and the main dude definitly was a push over. Talk about lack of athority. If it had been a drug bust or robery there would have been bodies on the ground being cuffed. auto weapons and all kinds of crap going on. Definitaly wouldnt be no vid of this except from the cops side. Ive been more scared getting a speeding ticket. The fcc just needs to go away. all they are is a money sucking pain in the butt. I bet I couldve flinched and this dude would have peed his pants. Oh well I guess this wouldnt be fun for yall without them. Cant be an outlaw without the law.
"As people become more intelligent they care less for preaches and more for teachers."
– Robert G. Ingersoll
This just shows how much of a joke the fcc is. The agent on the left looked like he didnt give a crap about any of this and the main dude definitly was a push over. Talk about lack of athority. If it had been a drug bust or robery there would have been bodies on the ground being cuffed. auto weapons and all kinds of crap going on.
Should have seen what went down back in 91 when KROX was busted in Odessa.
Post by cptzulu158 on Mar 18, 2013 19:32:22 GMT -6
Yeah, Didnt mean that those things should happen just on a shutdown thats a little extreme. It just seems these dudes were way passive. Guess it was good for the guys in trouble. I will be the first to admit that the fcc has no right to even exsist. How in the world does some goverment dept. just decide to start charging people for mother nature. Its not like utilites where they are providing the delivery of a service. When its all boiled down,all you got is taxation without repersentation or something like that. there charging for something without us getting anything back. Mabyee I am just rambling. anyway glad those dudes got off easy. btw why do alot of yall transmit on fm broadcast? looks like that would be the easiest place to get caught. Anyway keep rockin
"As people become more intelligent they care less for preaches and more for teachers."
– Robert G. Ingersoll
That agent mentioned about his predecessor, wonder if it was Montgomery.
Not only was there an FCC agent and field engineer, ATF was there, local sheriff, police and state police, and believe it or not, 5 national guard guys.
5 people including me were at the place, jamming out to Deep Purple and chowing down on BBQ steaks and ribs.
Extreme doesn't half way describe it. More like pure paranoia on their part.
When it was all said and done 7 hours later, told the agent "you can take my stuff but you can never take my knowledge". TX and antenna system were all home made gear.
He just looked at me with a surprised expression.
We were back on the air the next day with a 2nd set of gear I had been working on.
Peace!
K-ROCKS RadioOne
ZeroPointRadio
AM Stereo 1670
FM Stereo 92.1
thought the first name (he never gave a last name in the vid) rang a bell.
..............
there doesn't seem to be a set rule on conduct and what police deptarments are involved. All I can assume is that it is left up to the regional office bosses (maybe Loyd? or his boss or boss's boss?) who to "invite" to accompany them.
all I can say is that having moved from that area to another years ago and having a similar radio station raided in my new area of residence in the yrs bet my provided link and the video here, they used Federal Marshalls.
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