Judge orders unlicensed music station to silence

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A federal judge has ruled that a gospel radio station based in Bloomfield has to shut down until it gets a license from the Federal Communications Commission.

However, the order from U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton Friday does not mean the station will immediately be silenced. Robert Simpson, the attorney for the illegal station, Prayze FM, said he and the federal prosecutor planned to discuss the order sometime today with the judge to clarify it.

The station has operated illegally since November 1996 at 105.3 FM on the dial. The station operators used a simple antenna, several CD players and an electronic sound board to broadcast the music and local advertisers' spots.