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Bishop Willis passes away
- Thread starter EncSpy
- Start date
Here's a few revelations on the man from the Virginia Pilot...
The Internal Revenue Service and the state of Virginia filed liens against several of his stations for failure to pay taxes. He paid off the debts after selling WOWI-FM in 1989.
The troubles snowballed in the 1990s. In 1992, he was convicted of a felony in federal courts for mishandling a loan repayment and was sentenced to four months of home detention.
...
Willis’ broadcasting company was showered with liens and lawsuits based in unpaid bills and loans.
In 1997, Willis paid more than $700,000 to settle charges of music piracy – playing copyrighted songs on the radio without paying licensing fees.
In 1999, the Internal Revenue Service sought contempt of court charges against Willis if he did not turn over tax records from Willis Broadcasting for 1995 through 1998. He eventually complied.
In 2000, the IRS placed a $1.2 million lien against Willis for unpaid taxes dating to 1994 and 1995.
In 2003, his son, Levi Willis II, said the bishop’s illness in 2001 caused financial problems for the broadcasting company. The business sold some of its stations to cover debts, including $150,000 in back city taxes.
You can read the entire story here...
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/02/influential-hampton-roads-bishop-levi-e-willis-sr-dies
This quote from a Pilot reader pretty much mirrors my opinion of Bishop Willis:
There are some people who work like the devil for the Lord.
There are those that hide behind the church and rip off people - and yet still preach all that is holy on Sunday morning.
Bishop Willis was great for talking the talk, but not walking the walk.
Like any man, Levi Willis was filled with contradictions, with those that loved him and those that despised him.
We all have to answer to a Greater Power sometime.
Now, it is Levi Willis' turn. -markk33831
The Internal Revenue Service and the state of Virginia filed liens against several of his stations for failure to pay taxes. He paid off the debts after selling WOWI-FM in 1989.
The troubles snowballed in the 1990s. In 1992, he was convicted of a felony in federal courts for mishandling a loan repayment and was sentenced to four months of home detention.
...
Willis’ broadcasting company was showered with liens and lawsuits based in unpaid bills and loans.
In 1997, Willis paid more than $700,000 to settle charges of music piracy – playing copyrighted songs on the radio without paying licensing fees.
In 1999, the Internal Revenue Service sought contempt of court charges against Willis if he did not turn over tax records from Willis Broadcasting for 1995 through 1998. He eventually complied.
In 2000, the IRS placed a $1.2 million lien against Willis for unpaid taxes dating to 1994 and 1995.
In 2003, his son, Levi Willis II, said the bishop’s illness in 2001 caused financial problems for the broadcasting company. The business sold some of its stations to cover debts, including $150,000 in back city taxes.
You can read the entire story here...
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/02/influential-hampton-roads-bishop-levi-e-willis-sr-dies
This quote from a Pilot reader pretty much mirrors my opinion of Bishop Willis:
There are some people who work like the devil for the Lord.
There are those that hide behind the church and rip off people - and yet still preach all that is holy on Sunday morning.
Bishop Willis was great for talking the talk, but not walking the walk.
Like any man, Levi Willis was filled with contradictions, with those that loved him and those that despised him.
We all have to answer to a Greater Power sometime.
Now, it is Levi Willis' turn. -markk33831
M
Marathon Don
Guest
Not to sound flip at a family's time of loss, but can we have our radio station back now?
My condolences to Bishop Willis' Family, i guess the next question is, will the
stations he had be sold?, From the stories i hear, many of them, like WGTM
in Wilson, need a lot of work, but with AM stations slowly fading away for a
lack of listeners, especially in small and rural areas, who would be willing to
purchase these?, 590 AM is a great frequency and with the right ownership,
and properly tuning the transmitter and tower, the people of Wilson could once
again have a good sounding station, let's hope this will not go dark like WVOT
could if they can't get back on the air soon, these are two outlets with a lot
of broadcast history.
stations he had be sold?, From the stories i hear, many of them, like WGTM
in Wilson, need a lot of work, but with AM stations slowly fading away for a
lack of listeners, especially in small and rural areas, who would be willing to
purchase these?, 590 AM is a great frequency and with the right ownership,
and properly tuning the transmitter and tower, the people of Wilson could once
again have a good sounding station, let's hope this will not go dark like WVOT
could if they can't get back on the air soon, these are two outlets with a lot
of broadcast history.
My heart goes out to the Willis family, being very late on this subject. Since I don't get the Daily Times I have no idea if it was even published, I am sure it was. So one has to wonder the future of the station, and in light of the financial problems they had, what will become of it?
I still think there is room for a local AM station to make a dent in radio, if the stations made a committment to get the community involved, rather than just assuming that playing music qualifies as getting involved. I am called to remember the article about WVOT and how they boasted that they serve the community by playing religious music and reading announcements free...but that does not qualify as serving the public. She was talking about PSAs, and all stations do that, just as much as playing music.
I truly hope there is some resolution in this, although I see tough times ahead for all stations of Wilson.
I still think there is room for a local AM station to make a dent in radio, if the stations made a committment to get the community involved, rather than just assuming that playing music qualifies as getting involved. I am called to remember the article about WVOT and how they boasted that they serve the community by playing religious music and reading announcements free...but that does not qualify as serving the public. She was talking about PSAs, and all stations do that, just as much as playing music.
I truly hope there is some resolution in this, although I see tough times ahead for all stations of Wilson.
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