Federal Communications Commission
	
DA 97-2675
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
David A. Hernandez
d/b/a/ Crystal Communications NALfAcct. No. 615SF0002
ORDER
Adopted: December 18, 1997
	
Released: December 23, 1997
By the Compliance and Information Bureau:
INTRODUCTION
1. Before the Bureau is a Petition for Reconsideration, 47 C.F. R. § 1.106, of the
Notice of Forfeiture issued by the Compliance and Information Bureau's San Francisco Field
Office on August 6, 1997, in the amount of $4,000, against David A. Hemandez, d/b/a
Crystal Communications (Crystal) pursuant to Section 503 of the Communications Act, as
amended (the Act), 47 U.S.C. § 503. As stated in the NAL, the Commission assessed the
forfeiture because of Crystal's failure to respond to Commission correspondence, a violation
of Section 1.89 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.89.
2. In its Petition for Reconsideration, Crystal maintains that the Bureau erred in
imposing a forfeiture for failure to respond to its correspondence because Crystal did, in fact,
respond to the inquiries made by the Compliance and Information Bureau.
DISCUSSION
3. Crystal's argument is without merit. Essentially, Crystal advances the same
arguments that it made in response to the Notice of Apparent Liability, L.. that it provided a
response through its subsequent actions by allowing inspection and responding to subsequent
Bureau inquiries. The record indicates, however, that Crystal did not provide a response to
the Bureau's inquiries until after it had received a warning, and the San Francisco Field Office
had commenced further enforcement proceedings. Moreover, the responses Crystal did
provide were incomplete and failed to provide an acceptable explanation for its refusal to
allow inspection in the first instance. Section 1.89 of the rules states that "an answer shall be
made at the earliest practicable date with a satisfactory explanation of the delay; the answer
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Federal Communications Commission DA 97-2675
shall be complete, and shall contain a statement of action taken to correct the condition oromission complained of and to preclude its recurrence." 47 C.F.R. § 1.89. Until the tiling ofits Petition for Reconsideration, Crystal did not satisfy many of these requirements for aresponsive answer. The Commission relies upon licensees to respond to correspondenceinquiring about compliance with its rules and regulations, particularly when the informationrequested is known only by the licensee. As noted, in the NOF, licensees do not get to selectwhich requests from the Commission they will honor. In these circumstances, the Bureauaffirms the $4,000 forfeiture amount.
ORDERING CLAUSES
4. ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to 47 C.F.R. § 1.106, thePetition for Reconsideration of the Forfeiture Order, NAL No. 61 5SF0002, issued to David A.Hernandez, d/b/a Crystal Communication, is DENIED.
5.
	
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of theCommunications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 503(b), and Section 1.80 of the Commission'sRules, 47 C.F.R. 1.80, Crystal Communications must pay the amount of $4,000 within thirty(30) days of the release date of this Order, or file an Application for Review pursuant toSection 1.115 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.115. Payment may be made bycheck or money order, drawn on a U.S. financial institution, payable to the FederalCommunications Commission. Payment may also be made by credit card with the
appropriate documentation.' The remittance should be marked NAL Acct. No. 615SF0002and mailed to the following address:
Federal Communications Commission
P.O. Box 73482
Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall be sent certifiedmail, return-receipt requested, to David A. Hemandez, d/b/a Crystal Communications, and its
counsel of record.
F DERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Richard D. Lee
Chief, Compliance and Information Bureau
Payment of the forfeiture in installments may be considered as a separate matter in accordance with Section1.1914 of the Commissions rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914. Requests for installments plans should be mailed to: Chief,Billings and Collections, Mail Stop 11 10A2, 1919 M Street, N.W., Washington. D.C. 20554. For informationregarding credit card payments, contact the Chief, Billings and Collections at (202) 418-1995.
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