Practical Utility and Ramifications of RICO: Thirty-Two Years After Its Implementation

• NCJ Number: 206854
• Journal: Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 15 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2004 Pages: 294-323
• Author(s): Martin G. Urbina; Sara Kreitzer
• Date Published: September 2004
• Length: 30 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research); Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study conducted face-to-face interviews with prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges who have been involved in cases charged under the 1970 Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, so as to increase understanding of RICO's benefits, consequences, and future.

Abstract

This jurisdiction was selected for the study because criminal organizations are known to operate in the Midwest with connections in the Chicago area; Milwaukee is an ethnically/racially diverse city; and this district has tried several major RICO cases. The interview queried participants on whether RICO is being used primarily to prosecute politically and/or economically powerful organizations engaged in illegal activities as anticipated when RICO was enacted, the primary benefits of RICO, the major negative consequences of RICO, whether its benefits substantially outweigh its consequences, and the role RICO will have in the future. The interviews (N=23) were conducted between March 2001 and August 2001. The weight of the evidence from the interviews leans toward the claim that RICO has been very effective in the prosecution of traditional organized crime. Further more, the contemporary criminal groups being prosecuted under RICO tend to be more heterogeneous, and the operations are more transcontinental, lethal, and sophisticated than when RICO was passed in 1970. Although the study could not mathematically quantify whether RICO's benefits substantially outweigh the negative consequences, both the benefits and the ramifications of RICO are apparently significant, a trend that is not likely to change in the future unless Congress modifies the statute. The findings indicate that RICO cases typically involve many defendants, trials that last several months, difficulty in finding jurors, and impediments to the efficient and timely management of court dockets. One practitioner argued that because of the ramifications of processing a case under RICO, it should only be used if there is no other law under which to charge and convict the defendant. 23 notes and 75 references