Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms of extortion RICO uses broad definitions to cover a variety of corporate criminal activities. One of RICO`s initial goals was to eliminate organized crime families. However, because Congress could not legislate against specific individuals or families, it was forced to use broad language to define extortion and organized crime. The broad wording of the legislation has subjected a large number of criminal accused to RICO sentences. The typical RICO defendant is far from the stereotypical violent gangster. A RICO defendant can be any person who uses a business in any way to commit two or more of the many extortion offences. CNN. “Two Baltimore detectives plead guilty to blackmail.” Retrieved 26 February 2021. Chicago Sun Times. “Black Souls executives face multiple life sentences for extortion.” Retrieved 26 February 2021. However, the term “thugs” has expanded over time and can now be used less strictly to refer to any ongoing or repeated illegal organized crime, including those that do not necessarily involve fraudulent or coercive practices or extortion. For example, “rogue” may refer to the “number beater” or the “drug beat”, which do not generally or necessarily involve blackmail, coercion, fraud or deception of the intended clientele.
Due to the clandestine nature of the black market, most proceeds of crime are often not taxed. Although RICO was designed to help federal prosecutors fight organized crime, the law itself has found a much wider range of applications. [5] RICO has strengthened the power of federal prosecutors and enabled federal prosecutions in areas traditionally reserved to states in the exercise of their general police power. [6] The Supreme Court did not describe RICO as a means created by Congress to combat organized crime, but concluded that “RICO was an aggressive move to complement old remedies and develop new methods of fighting crime in general.” [7] The court even ruled that plaintiffs (or victims) of RICO violations need not suffer harm that is in no way “blackmail harm.” The harm must only be a natural consequence of the predicate offence and must have nothing to do with the defendant`s organizational blackmail activities. In June 2018, Kansas and Missouri counties filed federal extortion complaints against more than a dozen manufacturers of opioid painkillers. They were accused of fraudulently misleading the marketing and distribution of painkillers. The prosecutor`s office accused companies of distorting the dangers of dependence in favor of their own profits. For example, if a defendant was convicted of extortion for making illegal loans (usury) to car renters who had not made their payments, the cars themselves were under RICO`s responsibility, even though the illegal credit was between the dealer and customers and the cars themselves were not the subject of the illegal transactions. Finally, in Scheidler v.
NOW & Operation Rescue v. NOW, 537 U.S. 393, 123 S.Ct. 1057, 154 L. Ed. 2d 991 (2003), the Court limited the use of RICO against protest groups and political demonstrations. In an 8-1 decision, the court ruled that RICO could not be used as a basis for criminal charges against pro-life protesters protesting outside abortion clinics. He noted that allegations that organizers had violated RICO by engaging in a nationwide plot to close clinics through extortion activities involving extortion were not valid if the protesters had not acquired property, attempted to obtain property, or conspired to obtain property from abortion clinics. The court also ruled that injunctions obtained against abortion protesters on the basis of RICO were invalid.
“The purpose of this Act [short title of the 1970 Amending Note above] is to seek to eliminate organized crime in the United States by strengthening legal instruments in the evidence-gathering process, introducing new prohibitions on punishment, and providing for harsher penalties and remedies to deal with the illegal activities of persons involved in organized crime.” Extortion involves well-organized groups of people who conduct illegal business activities for profit. It is codified in federal law in 18 U.S. Code Chapter 96: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO). Proof of a civil violation of RICO requires the same evidence as evidence of a criminal violation of RICO. In fact, the topics of many of the cases we discussed in this module were RICO civil cases. Another very important RICO remedy that is often used in RICO civil cases is civil forfeiture. Although section 1964 does not contain the word “forfeiture,” the injunction under section 1964 allows the government to confiscate property used for extortion. [23] RICO is extremely useful in combating extortion and organized crime. It allows prosecutors to effectively target criminal businesses and organizations, as well as the leaders of these groups, even if they let others commit the actual crimes.
Nevertheless, extortion laws have become an important part of the arsenal of federal and state governments in the fight against crime, and organized crime in particular. At the heart of this arsenal is the federal RICO law. Extortion is any illegal activity that is repeatedly committed for the purpose of making a profit, often through the threat or use of force. For a person to be considered a blackmailer, they need two or more crimes from a list of 35 predicate offenses, 27 federal crimes, and eight state crimes. These crimes, also known as “extortion,” include murder, kidnapping, arson and money laundering. Transfer fraud and postal fraud are also on the list of predicate offences. FIFA officials and executives were charged in 2015 with conspiracy and bribery involving bribes and bribes to secure profitable media and marketing rights for international football tournaments. An accused convicted of extortion can be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. If the accused has committed a predicate offence that would result in life imprisonment, the maximum penalty is also life imprisonment. 1.
Federal courts have the power to remedy extortion violations through injunctions, restrictions, and even the dissolution of criminal organizations; Since the passage of the federal RICO Act in the 1970s, most states have enacted their own anti-extortion laws, sometimes referred to as “Baby RICO” laws. Despite the disappointing nickname, these laws are often more comprehensive and comprehensive than their federal counterparts. Georgia`s Supreme Court, for example, noted that Georgia`s extortion law is so broad that it is “amorphous and chameleon” and has been “compared to a dark iceberg whose dark contours of its base seem to extend forever beneath Georgian criminal jurisdiction.” [27] For RICO to apply, an individual`s criminal activities must be related to a “blackmail enterprise.” It can be a criminal organization such as a criminal family, a street gang or a drug cartel. A legitimate business or other non-criminal organization such as a corporation, political party, or managed care society may also be the society through which individuals commit extortion crimes. For example, an organization advocating for a new law may have many innocent members who truly believe in its mission, as well as people who use it to embezzle funds. Finally, a federal amendment to RICO, the Racketeering Violent Crime Act or VCAR,[29] makes it a federal crime to commit various acts of violence in support of a company that engages in extortion. This legislation has the potential to significantly expand the scope of federal criminal law. While acts such as robbery, assault, kidnapping, etc. are not normally federal crimes, if committed in support of a criminal enterprise, they can be prosecuted at the federal level. In Boyle v. United States, the defendant was charged with RICO offences for participating in a number of bank robberies and other similar crimes involving various other persons. Although there is no structure or hierarchy in the organization, and although there are no officers, regular meetings or other characteristics usually associated with organizations, the Court found that RICO applied.
No “structure” is required, other than that the group has been involved in a pattern of illegal activities. The organizational requirement simply means that there must be a relationship between members, a common goal, and that they stay together long enough to engage in illegal conduct. [10] Another form of extortion takes place after the illegal trade has flourished. He can invest some of his money in a legitimate business called money laundering. RICO has proven to be a powerful tool in the German government`s fight against organized crime. Many states have also enacted RICO-style laws to stop organized crime that somehow evades RICO regulations, including: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin. Although they sometimes use different language, these state RICO laws generally affect the same areas of law and provide for damages similar to those provided by federal law. Prosecutors used RICO against various criminals and got long prison sentences for them. Traditionally, the illegal acquisition or extortion of money or the conduct of illegal commercial activities, usually through organized crime.
A set of illegal activities carried out as part of a business owned or controlled by the persons involved in the illegal activity.
