Ham Gets 30 Days in the Slammer for On Air Harassment

Thanks for the correction!

Dunno why they (FCC) listed both cancellation and reinstatement (yep, I see the above)...only the cancellation showed up in my search.

Obviously he is licensed at this time.

73
Chip W1YW

 

Come to think of it Chip, you might actually know the originally holder of N1FMM, Richard Brezina.

Mr. Mgrdichian told the FCC he was a close relative of Richard Brezina, but he coudn't document a relationship, so the call was set aside. Richard Brezina was a resident and student at MIT when he got his call and was associated with the MIT radio club.

In light of the FCCs unfulfilled information request, this passage from the set-aside letter becomes more interesting:

"Pending action by the Enforcement Bureau you may continue to operate using call sign N2FUV with General Class operating privileges."

 

Well, I knew who (N1FMM) was....saw him at the MIT Flea years and years ago. Dunno anything about the situation, Does seem very odd...

 

Having read the article, it seems to me Michael J. Mgrdichian tried to use amateur radio as a loop hole to continue to harass the victim. Then he attempted to convince the court it had no jurisdiction over the harassment because it was done using amateur radio which is guided by FCC regulations. I'm not sure how it could be any MORE to do with amateur radio.

 

That there may be a violation of FCC rules and regs does not preclude there being a violation that would fall under local or state regulations. It's not about the local or state government trying to regulate radio.

 

Exactly. It has to do with amateur radio, whether or not FCC rules have been violated, or where jurisdiction lies. It is a story of interest to amateur radio operators just the same.

 

Dave: We finally agree on something besides thinking Heathkit was a fine company with fine products. -jwb

From the original post: "The pertinent command for this appeal stated that Respondent Mgrdichian would 'not contact the petitioner either directly or indirectly, by phone, email, messages, mail, or any other type of communication or contact.'”

Appears to be an clear and obvious violation of "any other type of communication or contact." Period. Lock him up!

However, the title of this thread is inaccurate and misleading. He did NOT get 30-days for on air harassment. He got 30-days for violating a no contact protection order.

Next case?

 

That Jeff...what a softy!

 

Yes. Agreed. The only nexuses to the FCC would be if he used the radio to harass a ham, which could be a character issue on renewal. If he lied on an application to obtain N1FMM, that could be a felony misrepresentation, and again a character, or an outright revocation issue. If on remand, the court finds perjury, that would also be a character and renewal issue or a revocation issue.

At this point, the case resolves a subject matter jurisdiction issue in TN (and FL) and that issue is that the local courts do have the authority to discipline someone who harasses another ham within the same state. Once your signal crosses state borders, harassment becomes a federal matter (FBI) and it's unlikely they would ever pursue a case like that, unless it also involved some other crime of profit or a real, imminent, threat of bodily harm, etc.

I also agree with this sentiment. It's important, in the sense that hams can report harassment to local authorities when the crime is local.

Finally, I didn't create the title. That was a moderation decision/addition. Although I do agree that the court found him guilty for violating an order arising from aharassment and stalking complaint, resulting in a protective order that prohibited contact by any means at all, including amateur radio.

 

perhaps a LOT more of the 7.200 "innocent" users will be so charged, but, I don't think so.
most of the people on that freq just follow the drunken babble coming out of West Tn, and swear it is the complete truth.

It does appear that at least one person has been given the proper "you have rights" speech by the "legal beagles" on 7.200

 

Let's not forget the newbie Ham in Arkansas that has repeatedly been caught impersonating law enforcement with his decked out vehicles, clothing and transceivers. He likes to play the but... but.... I'm a Ham and belong to RACES/ARES.
He drives reckless @ twice the speed limit through heavy traffic and on one occasion he forcefully removed a Mother and daughter from their vehicle, took their drivers licenses, then fled the scene.
100% wacko.

 

Name? Link? I would like to not forget - but I would have to know first.

 

I believe there are 3 news articles and at least one youtube video well worth watching. Here is just one for the news. You can get the name and search QRZ or FCC for his call.
https://katv.com/news/local/new-det...ating-officer-has-history-of-similar-activity

 

YouTube video.