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MIAMI AND FORT LAUDERDALE
CRIMINAL ATTORNEY
Attorney
Representation in Miami, Florida Since 1984
While
the statute's said purpose is to get rid of the invasion
of organized crime and racketeering into legitimate
organizations, which operate, in interstate commerce,
numerous instances have come up where RICO has been
applied to individuals, organizations and situations,
in ways that Congress did not intend.
Because
of the huge list of offenses, including white collar
crimes, that could potentially qualify as RICO offenses,
many organizations and individual persons find themselves
subjected to the possible harsh penalties and punishments
under RICO. Federal offenses such as mail, wire
or bank fraud, bribery, money laundering, drug trafficking,
and illegal gambling, might all be under the same
limits of RICO if employed in a continuous manner
by an organization that has some of the same leading
mechanisms which operate at a length beyond what
is necessary to engage in the racketeering.
In
most federal jurisdictions, to be convicted of a
RICO crime, an Assistant United States Attorney
(AUSA) must show enough evidence, that when submitted
to a jury or judge, it would prove beyond a reasonable
doubt that:
1. Said defendant was a person employed by or had
associations with the outfit charged;
2. Said enterprise was an ongoing organization,
either formal or informal, and it behaved as such
continuing unit;
3. Said defendant voluntarily joined in the action
of such affairs of the enterprise through a pattern
of racketeering activity. A pattern is defined as
acts that are related to each other, and pose a
threat of criminal doings in a continuous manner.
At minimum, the AUSA must show two such acts committed
within 10 years of each other; and
4. Said enterprise was involved in interstate commerce
or that its actions had influence on interstate
commerce.
So
how have the courts interpreted RICO violations?
A. The pattern requirement was met in the defendants’
law enforcement officer taking bribes, because the
defendant had engaged himself in a series of criminal
acts. United States v. O'Connor, 910 F.2d 1466 (7th
Cir. 1990).
B. The judge in RICO suit was not required to take
himself off the case, even though he had been involved
with social and business relations with victims
of defendants, the relationships had since ceased
several years before the trial. United States v.
Lovaglia, 954 F.2d 811 (2d Cir. 1992).
Possible
Penalties
One
may be found guilty of a felony, put in prison up
to life, and ordered to pay $250,000, or twice the
gross amount of monies gained from participating
in illegal activities, whichever amount is found
to be greater.
Most
often, the prosecuting Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA)
will obtain a Federal Indictment from a Federal
Grand Jury and charge a defendant not only with
RICO crimes, but also with mail, wire or bank fraud,
money laundering, securities fraud, drug crimes,
and/or conspiracy/collusion to commit the previously
mentioned crimes. One should also be aware that
since 1987 parole has been extinguished in the Federal
System. Expungement, which is the removal of conviction
from public records, is also not available.
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