RICO Act Essay

The Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as the RICO Act or RICO, is a law passed by the United States Congress in 1970. The RICO Act was used to strengthen the Organized Crime Control Act (OCCA) enacted by Congress in the 1960’s. RICO targeted a long list of racketeering activities being used at the time by members of organized crime groups, which involved mostly mafia or other mob syndicates. The RICO Act provided the government and individuals with a way to pursue criminal or civil actions against individuals of organized crime groups. The RICO Act became an instrumental tool for federal prosecutors, which in most cases helped to dismantle or weaken many organized groups. Federal prosecutors were able to charge all individuals

identified and involved in any racketeering activities from low level players to the head ring leader. However, in later years, federal prosecutors have used the RICO Act to go after other established organized groups like drug cartels, biker gangs, street gangs, and corrupt politicians or law enforcement officials who conspired together in racketeering activities for financial gain, leverage, influence, or control of other individuals and/or businesses (HG.org Legal Resources, 2015).
RICO was designated as a law to address the criminal activities of individuals or organized groups that conspired together to build a criminal enterprise, expand existing businesses, and/or manipulate a system (public, private, or governmental), through criminal or illegal means for financial gain, control, or influence.

Under RICO, such racketeering activities had to show a pattern that involved two or more crimes committed by individuals or organization to build its worth or enterprise, and the law also had to prove how the use or investment of ill-gotten income influenced interstate commerce. Some examples of racketeering activities that explains these crimes include the use of intimidation and threats against person’s or businesses for financial gain or influence in exchange for protection from said individuals or organizations. Other included crimes have involved ordered or targeted murders, firearms trafficking, drug violations, extortions, robberies, arsons, assaults, bribery, gambling, prostitution, kidnappings, intimidation of witnesses, jury tampering, political corruption, obstruction of justice, inside trading, money laundering, and any other crimes that promoted the endeavors of those individuals with organized crime and racketeering activities (Pollock,

2013).
In one case found in a news report, the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was used to indict twenty-eight members identified as being members of a Wichita Crips gang.

A yearlong investigation involving federal, state, and local law enforcement officials and agents identified twenty-members of the Crips, which also included members associated with subsets of the Crips as being involved in a number of racketeering activities. Law enforcement officials described in its indictment how the Crips gangs and its members engaged in violent criminal activities to protect and expand the Crips criminal enterprise. The investigation also showed that the Crips gangs used threats, intimidation, murders, attempted murders, robberies, and drive-by shooting to advance its business. Other crimes for which the Crips gang members were indicted included arson, burglaries, drug possession and trafficking, the transportation of minor for the purpose of prostitution, unlawful possession of firearms, and wire fraud. Furthermore, the investigation helped law enforcement official connect businesses that the Crips used to hide their ill-gotten gains, and also helped law enforcement officials seize cash, vehicles, and other properties identified as being used for the distribution and trafficking of drugs (Kourl,

2007).
While initially the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was used as a way to go after and dismantle organized mafia or mob syndicates. Today, RICO is a vital law enforcement tool used to prosecute anyone involved or shown to be involved in any type racketeering activities for financial gain, influence, control, and expansion of a criminal enterprise. Law enforcement officials have used the RICO Act to bring criminal and/or civil charges against organized crime groups and individuals, which have included mafia figures, biker gangs, street gangs, corrupt politicians and law enforcement officials, drug cartels, and even CEO’s of major corporations.