Knowra Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act is a United States federal law that imposes criminal and civil liability for specified patterns of racketeering activity connected to an enterprise.
Racketeering activity : A statutory category of offenses that can serve as predicates for liability under RICO. RICO cases must identify qualifying predicate offenses, not merely misconduct in general.
Criminal prosecution : A government proceeding seeking punishment for conduct defined as a crime. Federal prosecutors use RICO to charge qualifying patterns as criminal violations.
Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 : A United States federal statute enacted in 1970 to strengthen tools against organized crime. RICO was enacted as Title IX of this broader law.
Hobbs Act : A federal law criminalizing robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. Hobbs Act extortion can be a RICO predicate, but the Act does not itself require a racketeering pattern.
Pattern of racketeering activity : A statutory requirement involving at least two racketeering acts within ten years, with continuity and relationship assessed by courts. The alleged acts must form a pattern rather than remain isolated predicate offenses.
Civil RICO : A private civil action under 18 U.S.C. § 1964(c) seeking treble damages and costs for injury to business or property. The statute lets qualifying private plaintiffs seek enhanced damages for injuries caused by RICO violations.
G. Robert Blakey : An American legal scholar who helped draft RICO and later wrote extensively about its purpose and operation. Blakey's drafting work helped translate congressional goals into RICO's statutory structure.
Travel Act : A federal law prohibiting interstate travel or use of certain facilities to promote specified unlawful activity. Travel Act offenses may serve as RICO predicates, while the Travel Act targets interstate facilitation directly.
Enterprise (RICO) : An individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, as well as an associated-in-fact group, under RICO. The acts must be connected to an enterprise whose affairs are implicated by the alleged conduct.
United States v. Turkette : A 1981 Supreme Court decision holding that an enterprise under RICO can consist entirely of an unlawful association. The ruling confirmed that RICO reaches criminal groups as well as legitimate organizations.
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