KV4FZ's Couragous Fight
KV4FZ has been an active amateur
radio operator since 1954 when he was first licensed in the
Midwest as W0VXO. While working his way through college
(1960-64), he spent summers teaching at several camps for the
physically handicapped. He was highly successful in
teaching seriously disabled campers about the potential of
amateur radio. Many of these campers went on to fully
qualify for their amateur radio licenses.
His father, W.B. Schoenbohm, was the
founder of Courage Center in
Minneapolis. Herb was a major force in pushing for the
initiation of the
Handi-Ham program, which is now widely recognized as the premier
service
organization for disabled radio amateurs. After college,
Herb worked as a
international sales representative for Gates Radio, Harris Corp,
and Collins
Radio. He sold and distributed broadcast equipment to the
international
market, primarily Latin America. In 1968, he moved to the
U.S. Virgin
Islands with the intent of better serving his customers.
His wife Monika
was, at that time. a service representative for Pan
AmericanAirways. KV4FZ
was very active in DX work and, as a frequent traveler, put many
new
countries on 160 meters. He was instrumental in getting Stew
Perry, W1BB, the necessary countries to be the first ham ever to
get DXCC on 160 meters. He also gave G3IOR the last country he
need (VP2EFZ, Anguilla) for the first
ever DXCC via satellite (Oscar 7).
During the 1970's, KV4FZ was able to set CQ
World Wide records 160-10 in
almost ever category except 40 meters. He was also very
active in
supporting the IARU Intruder Watch after encountering frequent
yachts in
the area that had acquired licenses of convenience for a fee. At
that time,
FCC Commissioner Margita White appointed KV4FZ as the Virgin
Islands SECC. The SECC has responsibility to plan and manage the
operation of radio
communications resources during island emergencies. Herb
fulfilled that
role magnificently and was named a Virgin Island "Hero"
after Hurricane
Hugo destroyed most of St. Croix in 1989. Herb received
this award for
keeping vital communications circuits open during the crisis.)
Herb also took a detailed interest in how most of these
"pirates" has a close association with the so-called
"service nets" on the top end of 20 meters. He joined
the net and attended several of the hamfest
functions. Only then did he learn how deliberate and
sordid was the manner in which net members misused the amateur
spectrum as a means to provide an international telephone toll
by-pass service. One of the most flagrant of all these
operations was the "INTERCON" network operating, for
the most part, on 14.313 MHz. Herb began detailed
monitoring of their operation and intercepted many communications
that were appalling to say the least. In 1979, KV4FZ listening to
what appeared to be a "business connection" between
WB6MID/8R1 in Jonestown, Guyana and WB6MID in Ukia, California.
Herb broke in and informed the net personnel that this type of
operation on
an amateur frequency was illegal. Furthermore, Herb stated
that their
communication constituted international business communications
related to
funds transfers and the procurement of equipment and
supplies. The net
hierarchy reacted by excoriating him for his "embarrassing
comments" and
ignoring the violations. The net bluntly told him that the
Jonestown
Operation was a missionary group and that they had special
permission from
the Carter administration to use ham radio to further their
"worthy cause".
Herb persisted with his concern and was quickly declared
'PERSONNA NON
GRATA" by Robert Sternberg, AA4EE, a tax attorney who
claimed to be the
nets legal advisor. Herb expressed his concerns to other
net operators
participating in the companion "Maritime Mobile Net"
such as Dick Eastman,
N5FX and Mike Galego, KA4MUJ. Several Maritime Net members agreed
that some of the more criminal practices, such as one ringers and
"maintenance charges" for providing long distance toll
free connections practically anywhere in the world, must be
curtailed.
Some of the net cabal hierarchy rebuffed all attempts to
institute reform
and a nasty power struggle ensued. Eastman and Galego were
"ex-communicated" by Ruth Hoffman N4LMC, Eddie Ricca
K4PT and Art Candell N4PCK. The latter began a propaganda
campaign, replete with false stories and personal attacks, that
promised to destroy any net opposition that
sought reform. The net members objected to the lively
participation of
KV4FZ, KA4MUJ, and N5FX (a former net director) who frequently
brought to the attention of net participants certain stations
whose conduct violated
the FCC and International Rules.
During the 1980's, net members
began a campaign of coordinated complaints
to the FCC claiming that the aforementioned three were causing
willful and
malicious interference to the net. N5FX and KV4FZ
both received
prefabricated FCC citations at the behest of the net
command. Both were
able to get the FCC to nullify their actions based on the fact
that their
constructive comments did not constitute "malicious
interference" and that
certain members of the net themselves were engaged in a
premeditated
campaign of harassment and interference.
Several members of the net were subsequently caught interfering
with the
communications of KV4FZ and KA4MUJ. They include K2BFI and
AA5LY. AA5LY later gave the FCC, and supporters of KV4FZ
and KA4MUJ, a complete and accurate accounting of the plot by
disgruntled net members to "settle the score".
That plan included a vigorous campaign of letter writing to
politicians in Washington in an attempt to pressure them into
punishing the net detractors.
N4PCK had his own reason to get even. He had known Herb while he
was
operating in Haiti as HH2A and was very active on the INTERCON
net. Herb
had learned, through his contacts in Haiti, that Candell had a
serious
problem. He would solicit young pre-teen boys and pay them
a quarter to
perform sex acts on him. A prominent Haitian administrator was
told, by his
son, that the young boy had been abused and sodomized by
Candell. There
was no arrest or trial. But the arrival of the outraged
local citizenry at
Candell's hillside villa dictated that Candell receive an armed
escort to
the airport. Candell then appeared in the Orlando, Fl area,
illegally
using the call HH2A/W4 and actively engaging in net activities.
The net
watchdogs, now known as the B.A.R.F. (The Better Amateur Radio
Federation), pointed out that Candell was not eligible to use a
Haitian call sign in the United States unless he was a Haitian
citizen and had been granted a proper permit from the FCC.
Again the net members supported Candell and sought to silence
Herb.
However, the FCC ruled that Candell could no longer operate from
Florida
unless he obtained a valid U.S. amateur radio license. Candell
later paid
off a VEC in Silver Springs, Fl to fraudulently give him a
passing grade on
a General Class license examination. The VEC was later
sanctioned but
Candell was neither removed from the air nor required to be
re-examined.
In 1989 Candell was finally arrested and convicted of multiple
incidents of
child molestation. He was given a suspended sentence that was
partially
based upon INTERCON's assertion that he had been rehabilitated by
amateur
radio service in their net. (Candell was arrested and convicted
again in
1994 for carnal assault on several boys between 8 and 10 years of
age whom
he had invited into home under the pretense of showing them his
ham
station. He has been institutionalized for several years
but his ham
license was, nonetheless, renewed in 1996 for another ten years.)
In 1990, Candell continued with his plot to destroy and discredit
KV4FZ in
retaliation for Herb's alleged "interference" with the
net's "business".
Candell actively leagued with other enemies of KV4FZ such as Pat
Miller,
KP2J in St. Thomas, and Richard Whiten, WB2OTK.
Miller supplied Whiten
the so-called "proof" of a crime by playing a recorded
tape on both 20 and
75 meters. Miller introduced Candell to the operator of a
long distance
resale service that KV4FZ briefly subscribed to in 1987.
Some of the users
of the CALLS (Caribbean Automated Long Line Service) system (a
six digit
access code system on which half the possible combinations of
digits gained
the caller access to a WATTS line) had been illegally abusing the
CALLS
scheme. Malcolm Ford had claimed losses to the tune of
$200,000 and needed a scapegoat. Thereupon, it was decided
that a criminal case should be
manufactured against Herb, KV4FZ.
Ford needed this falsification to support his ludicrous claim
that the
impending bankruptcy of CALLS was not due to his inept
management.
Instead, it proffered that somehow Herb had caused his business
to fail.
This was vital to Ford because he was still salaried as the GM of
CALLS
even though they were in receivership. Ford's efforts failed and
he was
physically removed from the operation after the Federal
Bankruptcy judge
found him raiding the treasury and assets of CALLS.
However, all during this time, Ford was fabricating evidence in
an attempt
to establish a connection between CALLS financial failure and
KV4FZ. Yet
the Department of Justice continually refused to prosecute Herb.
This
resulted in even more acrimonious letters to officials and
politicians in a
further attempt to implicate Herb as the culprit.
Malcolm Ford, the previous owner of CALLS, was then under
investigation for bankruptcy fraud. In an attempt to escape
indictment, Ford hired John
Ackley, KP2A, to fabricate various reports that would designate
Vitelco(a
local phone service), STSJ Long Lines, ITT and Herb as
coconspirators who
were attempting run him out of business. While this was
going on, Ackley
was attempting to buy the nearly defunct company for ten cents on
the
dollar. (Ackley failed but STSJ was able to get the company back
on its feet.)
Miller, Hoffman, Candell and others intensified their letter
writing campaign to hundreds of politicians in Washington urging
them to investigate. They even began writing letters to
newspapers, claiming that politicians were shielding KV4FZ from
prosecution. In these hate letters to public officials,
Herb was equated with organized crime, drug trafficking, and high
level political corruption. In 1991, KV4FZ was writing a
hard-hitting column for the St. Croix Avis newspaper. Herb
frequently attacked political corruption so it stood to reason
that he might have some enemies in government. Herb had
articles published about the check kiting and House Banking fraud
perpetrated by the Virgin Island Delegate to Congress, Ron
Delugo. Outraged and distraught, Delugo (who had designs upon
becoming the next governor of the Virgin Islands) assigned a full
time staff attorney (Sylvester Julian) to explore methods of
pressuring the FCC, the Secret Service, and the Department of
Justice into investigating Herb and "putting a 'severe
hurting' on him".
However an obstacle remained in the path of their plan to
annihilate KV4FZ.
Some at the FCC supported Herbs activities on behalf of the
amateur radio
service. Additionally he was elected as Vice Chairman of
the Virgin
Islands Republican Committee, which made him a frequent delegate
to the GOP Conventions. Furthermore, Herb was personally
acquainted with President Bush. Herb's father had served on
the President's Commission for the Handicapped.
Initially, each and every involved agency claimed there was not
enough
evidence to support a charge against Herb. Subsequent to
this, John
Ackley, KP2A, manufactured a list of 660 telephone calls that
were
prearranged to add up to $1,047 in value. This was exactly
forty-seven
dollars over the amount needed to achieve the threshold of
prosecution.
Delugo wrote threatening letters to various government agencies
threatening
that he would see to it that their funding was severely curtailed
if he did
not receive figuratively receive Herb's head on a silver platter.
Ruth Hoffman constantly badgered the acting U.S. Attorney for the
Virgin Islands, Terri Halpern. This continued to the point
that Hoffman was finally ordered to stop harassing Halpern.
However, as a Congressman to the VI, Delugo was in a position
convince colleagues not to block Halpern's confirmation.
Delugo reportedly told Halpirn that, unless she prosecuted Herb
Schoenbohm, she would never become U.S. Attorney. (Halprin was
fired in 1992 by the DOJ for ethical lapses after the Office of
Professional Responsibility investigated the severe criticism,
from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, that Halpern received for
the "knowing use of false evidence" to secure a
conviction. Nevertheless, the trial prosecutor was cleared by OPR
because they were unable to prove that the prosecutor actually
knew the evidence used was false.)
Herb's trial took place in April 1991 (four months past the
five-year
statute of limitations). Both Ackley and Miller testified, under
oath, as
to the veracity and accuracy of the incriminating evidence they
had
assisted in concocting. (Miller offered his so-called
"caught in the act"
tape of Herb dialing "illegal access codes".
Ackley presented his list of
random numbers that he verified, as a government expert witness,
were all
telephone numbers dialed by defendant Schoenbohm.
The puzzled and confused jury convicted Herb on all three counts
of Title
18, SS 1029(a): 1,2 and 3, which is, in reality, an illegal
credit card
statute. This statute has been used infrequently to curb
the illegal use
of cloned cellular telephones. After trial, Schoenbohm with the
help of Bob
Sheron, W4ASX, closely scrutinized the evidence and began
tracking down the parties that Ackley had claimed, under oath,
that Herb had illegally
called. A most amazing discovery unfolded: most of the persons
contacted
did not know Herb Schoenbohm or had never had a telephone
conversation with him. Amazingly, they had already given
statements confirming this fact to the Secret Service
investigators. Most had even identified persons, other
than Schoenbohm, whom had called them from the Virgin Islands
during the
timeframe in question (1987). Interestingly, the court refused to
allow
Schoenbohm to verify the numbers before trial.
The court incredibly claimed that it needed to protect the
potential witnesses
from pre-trial disclosure! After trial, armed with affidavits
from the persons
alleged to have received Herb's "illegal" calls, Herb
moved for a Judgment of
Acquittal not withstanding the jury verdict. The court
granted the motion on
all counts but one (Possession or Use of a Counterfeit Access
Device). The
court maintained that the Miller tape proved that something was
amiss and
the jury could correctly deduce from this that the law had been
broken.
This court decision differs from the previous decision in that
the device
is similar to, but not exactly the same as, a valid device and
does not
require the threshold of over $1000 in use. (The irony in this
entire
matter is that Herb freely admitted to using the service briefly
in 1987.
He was a bona fide customer and the total actual use amounted to
$106.
CALLS finally was required by the court to produce Herb's check
for $104
that they had received in1987. They admitted that they did
not cash the
check but, instead, held it as an aid in the plot to entrap
KV4FZ.)
When the court vacated the judgment requiring two months prison
time,
Herb's detractors were enraged and, once again, began the
political letter
writing campaign. Now the claim was that Herb had used
amateur radio in
the commission of a crime and should be taken off the
air. They sent the
highly doctored Miller Tapes to the FCC in an attempt to prove
their
incredible theory. Their letters were full of outrage over
the fact that
Herb had once more cheated Madam Guillotine and he still on the
air making
waves. Some were furious due to the fact that they had
given financial
support to certain political candidates and nothing permanent had
been done
to rid the airwaves of this "pest", KV4FZ. (Ruth
Hoffman even conveyed
gifts to officials at the FCC in attempt to bribe public
servants. One
such official, William Cross, was investigated for leaking
internal
information to Ruth Hoffman in the KV4FZ matter. Hoffman
then disseminated this information for use in the hate campaign
against Herb.)
KV4FZ then was subsequently forced to embark upon a long and
costly
struggle for justice. He has had to fight the refusal to renew
his amateur
license by demanding a hearing before the FCC. (The refusal to
renew is
rarely used as a procedure and has been given the title:
"The FCC Death
Penalty" because the entire burden of proof is placed upon
the licensee.)
At the first FCC hearing, Administrative Law Judge Luton ruled
against
KV4FZ. However, upon higher review, the FCC General Counsel
refused to
accept Judge Luton's findings and remanded the matter for
reconsideration.
The principle issue is whether or not KV4FZ had used amateur
radio in the
furtherance of the commission of a crime. This time the ALJ
ruled that
there was nothing in the evidence (The Miller Tape) that was
illegal in any
way. The concluded that Schoenbohm actually was dialing
ordinary and valid
Virgin Islands telephone numbers. He was not entering illicit
access codes
to make long distance calls.
The ALJ did, however, agree with the Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau
(WTB) assertion that, by giving out the telephone number, in
1994, of
Herb's future boss, Congressman Frazer (whom, incidentally ran
Delugo out
of office), Herb was violating a solicitation restriction of
ex-parte
rules. This was despite the fact that WTB had conceded that no
actual
ex-parte violation had taken place. The ALJ ruled that, by
attempting to
explain his conviction as a De Minimus violation rather than a
crime of
major impact, he was trying to mislead the trial of fact.
(In administrative law, the assertion of innocence is a crime
even if the accused is actually innocent! It is akin to Hobson's
Choice or the Salem witch trials whereupon, if the tied woman is
thrown into the pond, and she does not drown, then she must
surely be a witch and, thus, must be burned to death.
Herb had been fighting the remaining count through the Federal
Courts and
has even succeeded in convincing the courts to severely criticize
the DOJ
for their handling of the case. Nevertheless, they refused
to reverse the
remaining conviction because of the nearly impossible to define
"standard
of harmless error". The appellate court ruled that the
motion for Judgment
of Acquittal had been filed too late even though the trial judge
had granted an extension based on the emergence of irrefutable
proof that the prosecution had used false evidence. As a result
they were barred from considering the sufficiency of evidence
matter at this late date under the rigorous standards of Habeas
Corpus review. However, a positive revelation in the latest FCC
decision is that it clearly vindicates Herb on the original
charge of using ham radio in the commission of a crime. It also
conclusively proves that his detractors engaged in perjury before
a Federal Grand Jury and Petit Jury trial.
Many on the local scene recognized the truth. The Trial
Judge, The
Honorable Ann Thompson, wrote a letter of support and praise on
Herb's
behalf. The Governor of the Virgin Islands did not simply
restore Herb's
government career. He elevated Herb to a position of higher
authority with
more responsibility to the island and a significantly higher
salary. He was
also employed, as a part-time field representative, on the
congressional
staff of newly elected Congressman Frazer.
The FCC WTB attorneys characterized these as "political
jobs", unworthy of
consideration as a mitigating factor in Herb's
"rehabilitation"!) Although Herb had a Congressional
Floor Pass, granting him direct access to the ears of the
politicians, there is no evidence that he ever abused his
position to lobby House members against the FCC. This is in
spite of the fact that the bureaucrats inside the FCC are very
much afraid that Herb might just whisper in the ear of someone
who controls their finances. Because of this, Herb is not allowed
to take his case to the very people who would be horrified to
learn the truth about how he has been treated. These are the
people who could finally put a stop to this travesty of
justice. Yet, Herb's detractors are on the phone daily,
pushing those in power to get him off the air, one way or
another. When will the voice of reason and justice be
heard?
Some of us do not like the odds and are willing to help end this
fiasco.
Herb's legal bills are soaring but he continues the fight.
His attorney,
Larry Colby (a licensed ham), has stated that when this issue
gets into the
proper arena, Herb will be totally vindicated. But this can only
happen if
Herb is allowed to fight on and get his case into the proper
arena. Right
now, it is still in a forum where all the rules are stacked
against the
licensee. When the matter gets out of the FCC, and into the
D.C. Circuit
Court, then the playing field is closer to being balanced.
There, the Feds
don't have the automatic upper hand that allows them to do what
their
political puppet-masters demand.
A small donation of $25, $50 or $100 will go a long way in
continuing the
fight for justice. There is an underlying principle that
must be
preserved. It is not keeping Herb on the air that drives
his supporters.
It is the realization that if they can deprive KV4FZ of justice
then they
can deprive any of us of justice. Today they are persecuting
KV4FZ.
Tomorrow it could be you. You could be railroaded just
because somebody
doesn't agree with your position on the nets, phone patching, or
apple pie.
Herb is working vigorously to get the funds together for his
appeal. His
attorney Larry Colby is attempting to get an extension of time to
file
exceptions. If you can help in anyway, please contact John
Dillenger,
K4GFM, who is the custodian of the Defense Fund.
Schoenbohm Defense Fund
PO BOX 690263
Vero Beach,
Florida 32969
Let's Keep Hope Alive!
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