Police shuts down a ‘pirate’ radio station in Linden after New Jersey 101.5 FM radio files complaint.
On April 13, the Linden Police Department received a complaint from New Jersey 101.5 FM radio of an illegal “pirate” radio station operating in the city, Captain James Sarnicki said.
The station manager told police in a letter that the station conducted its own investigation and determined the source of the illegal radio transmission was coming from a residence at 406 E. Baltimore Avenue. The letter contained pictures of a large antenna on the roof and said it had received numerous complaints from listeners about bad reception on its station, especially in the Union County areas of Linden and Elizabeth, since the pirate station was operating on 101.3 FM frequency, added Sarnicki.
Linden authorities contacted the FCC who also had been contacted by the New Jersey radio station. An agent told police that an investigation could take a couple of weeks. New Jersey is one of only two states in the country where “pirate” radio station operations are a criminal act, specifically a fourth degree crime, if they are operating at a certain power output without a license, and also a separate offense if they are an unlicensed broadcast interferes with a legally-licensed station. (The other state is Florida).
Linden Police contacted local code enforcement officials, who advised that the residence was actually in violation of zoning ordinances for operating a business within a residential area and having an illegal structure on the roof, the radio antenna, which climbed over 20 feet above the roof, said the captain.
The owner of the residence, whose name was not available, was notified of the complaint and advised to cease operation of the station and remove the antenna from the roof, or face several summonses and fines.
On April 15th, the station was notified that the antenna had been removed from the roof of the house and the reception of their station had consequently improved.