Two alleged Boston pirates may have thought they would fly under the attention of the Federal Communications Commission by broadcasting on the AM dial, not on FM where most unlicensed broadcasts can be found. But that gamble didn’t pay off, and they are now facing a potential $60,000 fine for operating the station known as Radio Energy Boston.
The FCC says Pelege Marcellin and his Radio Energy Inc. operated the Brockton, MA-based pirate station on both 1620 AM and 1640 AM. Field agents were first tipped off to the station targeting Haitian immigrants last year when they received a complaint about interference to a licensed AM station. The initial investigation revealed an unlicensed radio station transmitting on 1620 AM in the Boston suburb of Mattapan. Further investigation led to the discovery of the same programming being broadcast on 1640 AM in Brockton, approximately 16 miles away. Both stations were eventually linked to Radio Energy Boston, operated by Marcellin.
An Unwitting Tipster…