NCJ Number
184987
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 37 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2000 Pages: 879-940
Date Published
2000
Length
62 pages
Annotation
This article presents a comprehensive review of the case law under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
Abstract
RICO, enacted as Title IX of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, is designed to combat organized crime. RICO also has broad application beyond the organized crime context, since Congress has mandated that RICO "be liberally construed to effectuate its remedial purposes." In "Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co.," the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that RICO is not limited to organized crime, but may be applied to legitimate businesses. Although the Supreme Court subsequently reaffirmed its reliance on RICO's "liberal construction" clause, it has acknowledged that this clause is not without limits. RICO's overall purpose is to remove organized crime from the legitimate business community. Section II of this article discusses the elements of a RICO offense; these include two or more predicate acts of racketeering activity, pattern, enterprise, effect on interstate commerce, prohibited acts, and scope of outsider liability. The two most controversial elements of RICO continue to be the "pattern" and "enterprise" requirements. Section III addresses a variety of potential defenses against RICO prosecutions, and Section IV covers criminal penalties for RICO violations and describes the applicable Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Section V discusses civil RICO, and Section VI describes several recent developments in this field. 479 footnotes