FCC Revokes Convicted Killer's Amateur License
NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 28, 2003--Roger Thomas Scaggs, W5EBC, will not get to keep his Amateur Radio license while he serves out a lengthy prison term that could keep him behind bars at least for the next decade. The FCC this month adopted an Order of Revocation in the case of the Texas amateur licensee, now in prison for killing his wife in 1996. Unless Scaggs challenges the Order, it becomes effective June 2.
"We conclude, based on the evidence of his conviction for murder, that Mr. Scaggs lacks the basic requisite character qualifications to be and remain a Commission licensee," the FCC said in the Order of Revocation, released April 23.
Last November, the FCC issued an Order to Show Cause, giving Scaggs 30 days to provide notice of appearance to present evidence at a hearing on the effect of his felony conviction on his qualifications to remain an FCC licensee and to determine if his license should be revoked.
Scaggs did write David H. Solomon, chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, to argue that his record as a licensee did not warrant license revocation. The presiding judge determined, however, that Scaggs' letter did not constitute a notice of appearance, since Scaggs had indicated his incarceration would prevent him from appearing. As a result, the judge concluded that Scaggs had waived his right to a hearing and certified the case to the Commission for disposition. The FCC subsequently determined to revoke Scaggs' amateur license.
The holder of an Advanced class ticket, Scaggs has been a radio amateur since 1954, and the FCC says he has a clean record as an Amateur Service licensee. Some six months after Scaggs last license renewal in 1998, he was convicted for killing his wife Penny on March 6, 1996. The court sentenced him to 32 years in prison and levied a $10,000 fine. Scaggs, who turns 65 in June, won't have an opportunity for parole until he's about 75.
"We find that such egregious criminal misconduct justifies a finding that Mr. Scaggs will obey the law only when it suits him," the Commission said, later noting that his conviction "mandates the conclusion" that he does not possess the necessary qualifications to be or remain an FCC licensee. Scaggs reportedly is attempting to appeal his case in US District Court.
"The Commission considers relevant 'evidence of any conviction for misconduct constituting a felony,'" the FCC explained, citing its own policy, originally developed for broadcast applicants and licensees and subsequently extended to include licensees in the Amateur Service and others as well. The Commission's policy holds that any felony conviction is indicative of an applicant's or licensee's likelihood of obeying the law and FCC rules and policies.
Page last modified: 12:42 PM, 28 Apr 2004 ET
Page author: awextra@arrl.org
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