Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is the name of a US federal law defined in 18 USC § 1962. Many states have their own versions of RICO which their district attorneys (DAs) may use for prosecution.
RICO is a type of conspiracy.
Overview[edit | edit source]
On the one hand, RICO allows a prosecutor to bring numerous defendants and crimes together in a single prosecution for conspiracy. On the other hand, this statute is very complex and broad.
The prosecutor has to show a criminal enterprise. RICO is used to target sustained criminal activity.
RICO makes the defendants liable both with criminal and civil penalties. On the criminal side, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison. On the civil side, the statute allows for treble damages (3 × actual damages) plus attorneys' fees.
Because of the serious nature of RICO, federal prosecutors throughout the country seek approval from Main Justice in Washington DC before initiating a RICO charge.
Requirements[edit | edit source]
RICO requires (1) an enterprise and (2) a pattern of racketeering activity.
Cases[edit | edit source]
Turkette[edit | edit source]
In United States v. Turkette, 452 U.S. 576 (1981), the Supreme Court ruled that an "enterprise" can be a purely criminal organization. The enterprise doesn't need to be a legal corporation or partnership.[1]
Northwestern Bell[edit | edit source]
Northwestern Bell was a telecom company in Minnesota. It was alleged in a civil case that its members had bribed the state utilities commission to allow the company to raise rates.
In H.J. Inc. v. NW Bell Tel. Co., 492 U.S. 229 (1989), the Supreme Court held that the "pattern of racketeering activity" doesn't require more than one criminal scheme. Thus, this holding broadened the scope of the RICO statute.
Reves[edit | edit source]
Reves v. Ernst & Young (1990) was a civil RICO case. Reves was an agricultural co-op that went bankrupt. Creditors brought a RICO case alleging that the accounting firm Ernest & Young had engaged in accounting fraud.[2]
The Supreme Court held that the accounting firm didn't have a role in the operation or management of the enterprise.
Boyle[edit | edit source]
Boyle v. United States, 556 U.S. 938 (2009), has also come down with the majority ruling that an association-in-fact enterprise under the RICO statute doesn't need to have organizational hierarchy.
FIFA[edit | edit source]
The 2015 FIFA corruption case involved the DoJ charging soccer officials from several continents with RICO. They were all charged in New York. The prosecutors argued that the soccer officials' actions were sustained over a period of 20 years.
