Sheriff's Office: man broadcast illegal radio station

Friday, November 7, 2008

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The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Frankie Grover was operating an illegal radio station.

POLK COUNTY (Bay News 9)--A man accused of operating an illegal radio station was arrested on Friday.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said that detectives had been observing Lakeland resident Frankie Grover throughout the months of September and October, and that Grover had been illegally broadcasting a radio station on the frequency 87.9 FM MHZ for several months.

Grover previously owned WHNR AM in Winter Haven, and officials said he should have known that operating a station without a proper Federal Communications Commission license is a 3rd degree felony under Florida law.

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With the help of the FCC, the Lakeland Police Department and the State Attorney's Office, officials located Grover at the source of the station's broadcast, the Kingston Inn Motel. Grover had been renting the room for $450 per month, and using it as his place of business, the report said.

The station, 'Blazin' 87.9 Da Biz,' broadcast morning talk shows, live interviews, R&B, soul, gospel and blues music.

Grover was booked into the Polk County Jail on one count of Unauthorized Transmission of Radio Frequency and was released after he posted a $1,000 bond.