Crown Castle took notice of a court ordered sale of three FMs owned by Ed Stolz’s Royce International Broadcasting. Crown Castle owns the tower used by Royce’s KFRH (FM), Las Vegas. Crown Castle says Stolz owes more than $700,000 in back tower rental payments.
The towerco told a federal court it hasn’t been paid for that tower since May 2015, according to Inside Radio. In a filing in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Crown Castle seeks $738,099 in unpaid fees, another $144,569 in various fees and expenses for KFRH’s tower site on Mt. Potosi and $15,766 in late fees. Crown Castle asked the court to award the towerco a total of $882,668 from the pending $6 million sale of KFRH, and sister FMs KREV, San Francisco and KRCK, Palm Springs, CA.
Crown Castle filed a lawsuit earlier seeking to recoup the fees from Stolz and Beasley Broadcast Group, which sold KFRH to Stolz in 2009. As part of that deal, Stolz assumed the tower rental contract that Beasley signed in 2004, according to Inside Radio.
Broker Larry Patrick is the court-appointed receiver for the three stations. He’s lined up the sale of the FMs to VCY America for $6 million. Patrick told the court in December, the FMs are more than $3.74 million in debt that can only be paid with their sale. That debt includes the money owed to Crown Castle.
Stolz has tried unsuccessfully to block the sale of his stations, according to the account. Judge Jesus Bernal on Thursday found Stolz in contempt of several earlier court directions. He ordered Stolz to surrender to U.S. Marshals in Riverside, CA today, Tuesday, February 2.
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