The FCC stated that a pirate radio station is being broadcast from this two-family dwelling in Mattapan, Massachusetts. The Walk Hill Street property owners face a fine of up to $2.5 million if the broadcasts don’t stop, putting their assets, including their approximately $850,000 property, in jeopardy. Allowing midnight mixtapes could cost them $122,661 per day.
The Federal Communications Commission has returned to Boston’s airwaves enforcement beat, this time zeroing in on an unlicensed FM broadcaster operating on 107.5 MHz from a Jamaica Plain–Mattapan, Massachusetts, property.
In a warning letter made public Tuesday, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau notified property owners Judith and Jacques Piquant that they face potential fines of up to $2.45 million for “permitting pirate radio broadcasting” from their Walk Hill Street building.
Agents from the FCC’s Boston field office used direction-finding equipment to pinpoint the illegal signal to the Piquants’ address on three separate visits—July 18 and 25 of 2024, and again on March 18 of this year. The station, commonly known on-air as the “Radio Pirate of Mattapan,” operates without an FCC license on 107.5 MHz. Under Section 511 of the Communications Act, landlords and property owners who “willfully and knowingly” allow third parties to broadcast without authorization can be held financially responsible.
“If you do not respond to this notice, the FCC may nonetheless determine that … you have sufficient knowledge of the … pirate radio activity to support enforcement action against you,” wrote Region One Director David C. Dombrowski in the notification.
In practical terms, the FCC may assess daily fines—now adjusted for inflation—of up to $122,661 per day, with a cap of $2,453,218 for a single proceeding. The agency has given the Piquants ten business days to (1) demonstrate that the unauthorized transmissions have ceased, and (2) identify the individuals responsible for the broadcasts. Failure to reply “may lead to significant financial penalties,” the notice warns.
Boston has emerged as a hotspot for pirate activity in recent years, with unlicensed operators targeting densely populated neighborhoods and college campuses. In January, the FCC issued a similar warning to Darlyne Tarte, another Mattapan homeowner, after detecting an illegal 92.3 MHz signal emanating from her property, which is located less than a mile from Walk Hill Street.
Since records were first provided in the FCC’s database in 2020, Massachusetts was the second-largest state, with 23 pirate radio notifications, followed by New York with 54. Florida was at 19, New Jersey was at 14, and Pennsylvania was at 8.
Congress last year strengthened the FCC’s pirate-enforcement toolkit through the PIRATE Act, mandating regular enforcement sweeps and explicitly empowering the Commission to pursue landlords who “harbor” unlicensed stations. In announcing the new rules, lawmakers cited concerns about interference—pirate signals can disrupt public-safety communications, commercial broadcasts, and licensed community radio.
For now, neighbors on Walk Hill Street report only the faintest echoes of the station’s midday playlist. But with the FCC’s deadline looming, the Piquants must decide whether to evict the unlicensed operators or risk a six-figure penalty that could dwarf the modest property’s value.
