NCJ Number
119576
Journal
Notre Dame Law Review Volume: 64 Issue: 4 Dated: (1989) Pages: 646-721
Date Published
1989
Length
76 pages
Annotation
The history and development of the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) enterprise concept are examined to illustrate how the central idea behind RICO drives the statute toward its remedial goals.
Abstract
The RICO statute encompasses a wide variety of enterprises, from diverse and hierarchical criminal entities typified by the Mafia to legitimate entities such as individuals, governments, and associations that display similar structure and organization. Litigators should carefully construct RICO around an appropriate enterprise element. The enterprise provides prosecutors and plaintiff attorneys with the procedural and remedial tools to make their litigation effective. The enterprise also offers defense counsel, both criminal and civil, various possible objections to poorly constructed indictments and complaints. The enterprise is more than an essential element of a RICO charge or claim for relief; it is responsible, wholly or in part, for RICO's breadth, procedural agility, and potent remedies. In short, the enterprise element shapes RICO litigation; conversely, litigation shapes the enterprise. The enterprise element within RICO provides a flexible tool for litigators, as it adapts to varied fact patterns and strategies and functions well to serve specific and significant purposes within the context of concrete litigation. 356 references.