I wonder if they seized the customer lists for evidence?????

quote from arrl letter 3 dec 2004

==ALLEGED ILLEGAL "AMATEUR" TRANSCEIVER MARKETING DRAWS HUGE FINE

The FCC has proposed fining Pilot Travel Centers LLC $125,000 for allegedly
marketing unauthorized RF devices--specifically, transceivers labeled as
Amateur Radio Service (ARS) equipment but intended for use on both Citizens
Band and amateur frequencies. CB transmitters must receive FCC
certification--formerly called "type acceptance." Amateur Radio equipment
does not require FCC certification. The Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL)
released November 22 asserts that Pilot continued to market CB transceivers
labeled as amateur gear despite multiple citations and warnings.

"Commission field offices issued a total of nine citations to Pilot's
corporate headquarters and its retail outlets warning Pilot that future
violations would subject Pilot to penalties including civil monetary
forfeitures," the NAL said. The Commission alleges that from October 2002
until last July, Pilot, in 47 separate instances, offered for sale various
models of non-certificated Galaxy CB transceivers labeled as "amateur
radios" that easily could be modified for CB operation. The FCC says in some
instances, Pilot employees referred to the units as "CBs."

The ARRL expressed its full support for the FCC's enforcement action against
Pilot. "The marketing as 'Amateur Radio' equipment of transceivers that are
intended for other uses causes widespread interference to licensed radio
amateurs operating within their allocated frequency bands," ARRL CEO David
Sumner, K1ZZ said on the League's behalf. "We hope that the Commission's
long-awaited action will be followed by additional measures taken against
marketers who persist in similar violations."

Following up on complaints received between 2001 and 2003, FCC Enforcement
Bureau field agents visited 11 Pilot retail outlets in Texas, Oregon,
California and Nevada. "At these locations, the stores displayed and offered
for sale various models of non-certified CB transceivers marketed as ARS
transmitters," the NAL said. The FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology
(OET) already had determined that the units could be modified easily for CB
operation and were subject to FCC certification prior to marketing.

Responding to the citations, Pilot told the FCC that all of the radios in
question were "marketed as amateur radios and, as sold, operate on the
10-meter amateur band." Pilot contended the units fell under Part 97 rules
and didn't require FCC certification. In January 2002, the FCC Dallas Field
Office advised Pilot that the devices referred to in the Citation had
built-in design features to facilitate CB operation and that the FCC
considered them CB transmitters that fall under Part 95 rules. The NAL says
the Dallas Field Office received no further response from Pilot.

The FCC pointed out that it requires a grant of certification for any
Amateur Radio Service transceiver designed to be easily user-modified to
extend its operating frequency range into the Citizens Band.

The FCC said that on three days last December, FCC agents purchased Galaxy
transceivers from different Pilot retail stores. The OET subsequently
determined that all were non-certificated CB transmitters under the FCC's
definition. Those sales provided the basis for the proposed fine.
Ultimately, the FCC alleged that Pilot offered non-certificated CB
transmitters for sale on 13 occasions in 2003 and 2004 "in apparent willful
and repeated violation" of the Communications Act of 1934 and FCC rules.

Citing its concern with "the pattern of apparent violations" in the Pilot
case, the FCC actually adjusted the base forfeiture amount upward from
$91,000 to $125,000. "We are particularly troubled that Pilot continues to
violate these rules despite receiving nine citations for marketing
non-certified CB transmitters," the Commission said in the NAL. "Pilot's
continuing violations of the equipment authorization requirements evince a
pattern of intentional noncompliance with and apparent disregard for these
rules."

Pilot was given 30 days to respond by paying or appealing the fine.