Gavin Howe
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) of 1970 is a federal law in the United States that enables prosecutors to target criminal organizations by allowing them to charge all individuals involved with the same crime. Prior to RICO, prosecutors could only try mob-related crimes individually, which made it difficult to dismantle entire criminal organizations. RICO defines 35 offenses as constituting racketeering, including gambling, murder, kidnapping, arson, drug dealing, bribery, and fraud. To violate RICO, a person must engage in a pattern of racketeering activity connected to an enterprise, which can be a legal or illegal entity. RICO charges are serious, carrying up to 20 years in prison and severe financial penalties.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of enactment | 1970 |
| Purpose | To strengthen legal tools in evidence gathering by establishing new penal prohibitions and providing enhanced sanctions and new remedies for dealing with the unlawful activities of those engaged in organized crime |
| Scope | Federal |
| Nature of offences | Criminal and civil |
| Nature of offences (criminal) | Racketeering activity including gambling, murder, kidnapping, arson, drug dealing, bribery, extortion, blackmail, mail and wire fraud, money laundering |
| Nature of offences (civil) | Retaliation against whistle-blowers or victims or to silence another's speech |
| Nature of enterprise | Legal or illegal; could be a crime family, a street gang, a drug cartel, a corporation, a political party, or a managed care company |
| Number of predicate crimes required | 2 |
| Timeframe | 10 years |
| Statute of limitations | 5 years |
| Penalty | 20 years of prison, financial penalties, forfeiture of interest in the enterprise |
| Applicability | 33 states, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands |
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What You'll Learn
RICO's historical focus on mob prosecutions
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law was passed in 1970 to target mob prosecutions. Before the introduction of RICO, prosecutors could only try mob-related crimes on an individual basis. This meant that even if multiple mobsters were involved in a single crime, the government could only prosecute one individual at a time. This made it difficult to shut down entire criminal organizations.
RICO changed this by allowing the prosecution of all individuals involved in a corrupt organization. This meant that the government could go after not only the hitmen but also the top leadership of mob families. RICO also established enhanced sentences for those convicted of racketeering crimes. The law defines 35 offenses as constituting racketeering, including gambling, murder, kidnapping, arson, drug dealing, bribery, and mail and wire fraud. To be charged under RICO, an individual must have committed at least two of these predicate crimes within a 10-year period.
In the 1970s, prosecutors used RICO to target the Mafia and other organized crime groups. For example, in 1978, the US Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Arkansas used the RICO Act to indict officers of Local 1292 of the Laborers International Union of North America. This was the first labor union official trial, and the defendants were convicted of conspiracy, murder for hire, perjury, and embezzlement of union property. In 1979, the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York employed the RICO Act to convict Scotto, the head of the International Longshoremen's Association, of racketeering, accepting unlawful labor payments, and income tax evasion.
While RICO was established to target mob prosecutions, today the law is used more broadly. The government rarely uses RICO against the Mafia, but instead, because the law is so broad, both governmental and civil parties use it against all sorts of enterprises, both legal and illegal. For example, in 2001, the former minority owners of the Montreal Expos baseball team filed charges under the RICO Act against MLB commissioner Bud Selig and former Expos owner Jeffrey Loria, claiming that they conspired to devalue the team for personal benefit.
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RICO's expansion to street gangs and politicians
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly known as RICO, is a US federal law that was originally enacted in 1970 to combat organised crime and provide enhanced penalties for acts performed as part of a criminal enterprise. The law allows for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of a criminal enterprise or racketeering activity. Over time, the scope of RICO has expanded significantly, and it has been increasingly applied not only to traditional organised crime groups but also to street gangs and even politicians.
When it comes to street gangs, RICO has been instrumental in disrupting and prosecuting gang-related activities. Gangs often engage in a pattern of racketeering activities, including drug trafficking, extortion, and violence. By utilising RICO, law enforcement can target the entire gang as a criminal enterprise, rather than just prosecuting individual members for specific crimes. This allows for more effective disruption of the gang's operations and can lead to longer prison sentences for those convicted. RICO also enables the seizure of assets and profits obtained through illegal activities, which can significantly hinder a gang's ability to continue its operations.
The application of RICO to politicians and public officials has been more controversial but no less significant. RICO can be used to prosecute politicians who abuse their positions of power for personal gain or to further criminal enterprises. This can include acts such as bribery, corruption, and the misuse of public funds. In some cases, RICO has been used to target political organisations or parties suspected of engaging in systematic corruption or racketeering activities.
One of the key advantages of using RICO in these contexts is the ability to link seemingly unrelated crimes together and demonstrate a pattern of criminal activity. This can be particularly effective in gang cases, where individual members may commit different crimes but are all part of the same overarching enterprise. Similarly, politicians or public officials may engage in various acts of corruption, and RICO allows prosecutors to tie these acts together and demonstrate a pattern of criminal behaviour.
The expansion of RICO to street gangs and politicians has had a significant impact on law enforcement strategies and prosecutions. It has provided law enforcement agencies with a powerful tool to disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises, regardless of whether they are traditional organised crime groups, street gangs, or corrupt political organisations. However, the use of RICO in these contexts has also raised concerns about overreach and the potential for abuse of power.
Criticisms and concerns have been raised regarding the broad and flexible nature of RICO, which can sometimes lead to its misuse or over-application. There are worries that the law's originally intended purpose of targeting organised crime may have been distorted, and that its use against street gangs and politicians could potentially criminalise associations and activities that were not intended to fall within the scope of the law. Nonetheless, the expansion of RICO to these areas continues to shape how law enforcement approaches and prosecutes criminal enterprises in the United States.
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RICO's civil component
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. The RICO Act's civil component allows individuals or businesses to seek legal remedies for damages inflicted by racketeering activities.
To successfully bring a civil RICO claim, a plaintiff must prove several elements. Firstly, they must show the existence of a "RICO enterprise", which could be a person, partnership, corporation, association, or any other legal entity. This enterprise must be an ongoing organization with a common purpose. Secondly, the plaintiff must demonstrate a pattern of racketeering activity, involving at least two predicate acts within a specified timeframe. Predicate acts include bribery, extortion, fraud, and other specified crimes. Thirdly, it must be established that the defendant played a part in the operation or management of the enterprise, which may involve conducting the enterprise's affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity. Finally, the plaintiff must demonstrate a direct causal link between the defendant's participation in the enterprise and their injury.
The civil RICO claim process is complex and requires intricate legal and factual analysis. Plaintiffs must also establish that they have standing to bring a RICO claim, which generally means that they were directly harmed by the RICO violation. If a plaintiff wins a civil RICO case, they are entitled to treble damages (triple the amount of actual/compensatory damages).
The RICO Act has been used to bring civil claims against a wide range of enterprises, including street gangs, politicians, and businesses. For example, in the 1999 Rampart scandal, over 140 civil RICO lawsuits were filed against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) for widespread criminal activity within its anti-gang unit. In another case, the former minority owners of the Montreal Expos baseball team filed charges under the RICO Act against Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and former Expos owner Jeffrey Loria, claiming they conspired to devalue the team for personal benefit.
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Predicate offenses
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act was passed in 1970 to target mob prosecutions. Before the RICO Act, prosecutors could only try mob-related crimes individually. The Act allows prosecutors to target entire criminal organizations and go after top leadership, hitmen, and capos.
To violate RICO, a person must engage in a pattern of racketeering activity connected to an enterprise. The law defines 35 offenses as constituting racketeering, including gambling, murder, kidnapping, arson, drug dealing, and bribery. These crimes are known as "predicate offenses." To charge under RICO, at least two predicate crimes within a ten-year period must have been committed through the enterprise.
The enterprise can be a crime family, a street gang, or a drug cartel, but it may also be a corporation, a political party, or a managed care company. It must be a discrete entity, and the predicate offenses must be coordinated by the enterprise.
The prosecution must demonstrate a trackable relationship between the alleged member and the enterprise. The burden of proof lies with the prosecution, which has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed two or more racketeering offenses within an enterprise.
One of the most successful applications of the RICO laws has been the ability to indict and sanction individuals for their behavior and actions committed against witnesses and victims in alleged retaliation for cooperating with federal law enforcement.
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RICO's statute of limitations
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law was passed in 1970 to aid in mob prosecutions. It allows for the prosecution of all individuals involved in a corrupt organization, including top leadership, hitmen, and capos. To violate RICO, a person must engage in a pattern of racketeering activity connected to an enterprise, which can be a legal or illegal entity such as a corporation or a mob. The law defines 35 offenses as constituting racketeering, including gambling, murder, kidnapping, arson, drug dealing, and bribery.
Significantly, RICO did not include a statute of limitations when it was passed. This omission caused issues, particularly with regard to civil claims. The United States Supreme Court addressed this problem by adopting a four-year statute of limitations for all federal civil RICO claims, borrowing the limitations period from the Clayton Anti-trust Act. This uniform statute of limitations applies regardless of the jurisdiction in which a particular RICO claim is filed.
The statute of limitations for criminal RICO claims is addressed through Title 18, section 3282 of the U.S. Code, which serves as a "catch-all" statute of limitations for federal crimes. However, there is no similar "catch-all" provision for civil claims. The statute of limitations in civil RICO cases raises several questions, such as whether it runs from the first or last predicate act, or if it restarts with each new predicate act.
The real power of RICO lies in its civil component. Anyone can bring a civil suit if they have been injured by a RICO violation and receive treble damages if they win. To succeed in a civil RICO claim, a plaintiff must show that the defendant committed one of the enumerated RICO crimes, such as mail or wire fraud, and that there was a pattern of at least two related or continuous crimes.
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Frequently asked questions
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is a federal law passed in 1970 to strengthen legal tools in evidence gathering and provide enhanced sanctions for dealing with unlawful activities of those engaged in organized crime.
The purpose of the RICO Act is to allow prosecutors to go after all individuals involved in a corrupt organization, including top leadership, and not just prosecute individual criminals.
A violation of the RICO Act occurs when a person, in connection with an enterprise, engages in a pattern of racketeering activity. Racketeering activity includes gambling, murder, kidnapping, arson, drug dealing, bribery, and money laundering.
A RICO violation can result in severe criminal and financial penalties, including up to 20 years in prison and treble damages in civil suits.
The RICO Act is broad and can be used to bring charges against individuals or corporations involved in illegal enterprises, such as crime families, street gangs, or drug cartels, as well as legal enterprises, such as corporations or political parties.
