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 American Airways.
IN A LETTER I HAVE FROM ONE OF THE SISTERS AT CAMP COURAGE, SHE STATES THAT SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HERBERT SCHOENBOHM, AND HE DID VERY LITTLE WITH THE DISABLED FOLKS THERE.BY HE WAY, HOW ABOUT THAT ARTICLE YOU WROTE FOR WORLD RADIO ?? YOU REALLY UPSET A LOT OF EUROPEAN STATIONS , SO MUCH SO THAT YOU WERE TO TO STAY AWAY FROM THEM YOU HAD NO AUTHORITY TO INTERFER WITH ANY OF THEM.

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)
OH HERBIE, WHAT WILL WE EVER DO WITHOUT YOU!!!

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.)
OK MAGNIFICENT HERO (YOUR WORDS) WHY DIDN'T YOU HAVE ALL THESE AWARD IN WASHINGTON WITH YOU WHEN YOU WENT THERE TO SAVE YOUR LICENSE??

Herb also took a detailed interest 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.
FLAGRANT!! APPALLING!! YOU WERE JUST MAD BECAUSE YOU WERE NOT ALLOWED TO TO BE ON THE NET. ATTACKING PHONE PATCHES WHICH WERE VERY LEGAL DID NOT CUT THE CAKE. YOUR BUDDY WA2EXQ, LLOYD MONTCOLM WROTE SO MANY LETTERS TO HIS CONGRESSMAN,SENATOR, GOVENOR, ARRL AND TO TOP IT OFF HE PUT AN AD IN THE WASHINGTON POST FOR ANYONE WHO WANTED FREE PHONE CALLS TO CONTACT THE FCC OR ANY RADIO AMATEUR... HOW SICK CAN YOU GET?

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.
OK NOW LETS HEAR ABOUT THE TRUTH OF THE JIM JONES AFFAIR. WERE THEY ON 14313 SURE THEY WERE. THEY WOULD HAVE TRIED ANYTHING AND THEY DID. WHEN KV4IJ (SK)AND OTHERS LEARNED OF THEIR ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES THEY WERE IMMEDIATLY TOLD TO GET OFF THE AIR.. WHAT THEY WERE DOING WAS ILLEGAL. GUESS WHAT THEY DID! THEY WENT TO 15 METERS. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THE BOOKS THAT WERE WRITTEN OR IN THE ARCHIVES THAT CONNECTS THEM WITH THE INTERCONTINENTAL TRAFFIC NET.WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INFO FROM? I HAVE SEEN NOTHING IN PRINT YET.

Some of the net cabal hierarchy rebuffed all attempts to institute reform and a nasty power struggle ensued. Eastman and Galego where "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 sodemized 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 Judgement 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 aid in the plot to entrap KV4FZ.)

When the court vacated the judgement 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 Judgement 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 b 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.