Prank Call To Castro Leads To Fine Paid With Pennies
DJs Will Pay FCC With 400,000 Pennies
POSTED: Thursday, April 29,
MIAMI -- Two South Florida disc jockeys will be paying a heavy fine for a Fidel Castro crank call -- literally heavy, since they are paying with $4,000 worth of pennies.
Radio station 95.7's Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero phoned the communist leader last year pretending to be Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.The call got through, the DJs put Castro on the air and then revealed the prank. Castro went into a rage and let loose a lengthy cursing outburst.The Federal Communications Commission claims the Spanish radio station violated a rule that broadcasters must inform all parties in telephone conversations that the discussion will be aired, so the station was fined.Santos said, "We've been fined for prank calling someone who deserves no respect."The DJs decided to pay the fine with pennies donated by listeners, saying that the payment should "be as ridiculous as the penalty."The public responded by delivering pounds and pounds of pennies to pay the penalty -- 400,000 pennies that they hope will make their point."The love received from the public has been incredible," Ferrero said.In fact, the DJs ended up receiving more than needed for the $4,000 fine, and say the rest of the money will be donated to a local charity.
Radio station 95.7's Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero phoned the communist leader last year pretending to be Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.The call got through, the DJs put Castro on the air and then revealed the prank. Castro went into a rage and let loose a lengthy cursing outburst.The Federal Communications Commission claims the Spanish radio station violated a rule that broadcasters must inform all parties in telephone conversations that the discussion will be aired, so the station was fined.Santos said, "We've been fined for prank calling someone who deserves no respect."The DJs decided to pay the fine with pennies donated by listeners, saying that the payment should "be as ridiculous as the penalty."The public responded by delivering pounds and pounds of pennies to pay the penalty -- 400,000 pennies that they hope will make their point."The love received from the public has been incredible," Ferrero said.In fact, the DJs ended up receiving more than needed for the $4,000 fine, and say the rest of the money will be donated to a local charity.
Previous Stories:
- April 26, 2004: FCC Fines South Florida DJs For Castro Crank Call
- January 7, 2003: DJs Trick Venezuelan President On Air
Copyright 2004 by Local10.com.
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