Long-Stalled Proceeding on Station Sale to Sex Offender Is Ended
A long-stalled proceeding on the transfer of an FM translator station to convicted sex offender and Lake Broadcasting CEO Michael Rice has been terminated after Rice’s death in August, said an order Thursday from FCC Deputy Associate General Counsel Michael Janson. The proceeding dates back to a 2012 proposed sale of a Montgomery, Alabama, translator by Patrick Sullivan to Lake Broadcasting (see 1905310053). That deal was designated for hearing because Rice previously had licenses revoked for making misrepresentations to the FCC and because of his conviction for several child sex offenses in 1994.
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The fraught hearing proceeding dragged on for years and included Rice leaving in the midst of a hearing without presenting evidence and then-FCC Administrative Law Judge Richard Sippel retiring without issuing a final ruling on the matter. In 2019, current ALJ Jane Halprin denied the application on the grounds that Rice hadn’t shown he was qualified to be a licensee, and Rice appealed. His objections were still pending in 2023 when the FCC approved the sale of the translator to another buyer. In Thursday’s order, Janson said all the pending matters connected to the proceeding are moot, and the matter is ended due to Rice’s recent death.