Nearly 30 years since first misrepresenting himself to the FCC, the agency has reached a consent decree with Brian Dodge to settle the numerous outstanding complaints over his actions.
Dodge held multiple AM, FM translator, and LPFM licenses and permits under numerous pseudonyms and holding companies. As the licensee of commercial radio properties he was not eligible to apply for LPFM so he used the pseudonym of Pastor Tim Allen or other names to apply for in the case of two LPFMs be granted licenses for. This process has gone on since 1988 when Dodge applied for an FM license in New Hampshire as his brother Timothy and other issues in the 1990s that Scott Fybush detailed back in 1997.
As part of the consent decree with the FCC, Dodge has admitted that he is the defacto operator of all the properties licensed to his various pseudonyms or his wife Tamara Thayer. The licenses for Silent 560 WCKL Catskill NY licensed to Family Broadcasting and Media and the two LPFM’s 97.5 WDOE-LP Westhampton MA licensed to Hilltown Christmas Stocking and Citizens For A Better Hilltowns’s CP for 97.9 Williamsburg MA will be deleted. The pending applications to sell 100.1 W261CB Norwich VT to Bouchard Broadcasting for $75,000 and 97.7 W249AW Lebanon NH and 100.9 W265AM Norwich FT to Costa-Eagle Radio Ventures for $150,000 will be granted, however Dodge will pay a $100,000 civil penalty to the federal government out of the proceeds. Should he not pay the penalty he will forfeit the licenses for those translators and every other property licensed to him.
Dodge will be granted a license for 1340 WWNH Madbury/Dover NH, which had been operating as Christian Preaching “Love Radio” under Program Test Authority from 1989 until 2010 when it went silent. All of his other licenses will be adjusted to be held by Brian Dodge d/b/a/ Harvest Translators and granted conditional one year license renewals. Within 180 days of the grant Dodge must demonstrate they are all operating within compliance of rule 47 CFR § 74.1232.
The full consent decree can be read here.
