In many cases, the threat of a RICO indictment can force defendants to plead guilty to lesser charges, in part because the seizure of assets would make it difficult to pay a defense attorney.
Despite its harsh provisions, a RICO-related charge is considered easy to prove in court because it focuses on patterns of behavior as opposed to criminal acts.
"[4] On December 1, 1977, the federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Louisiana indicted thirteen defendants, Robert J. L'Hoste & Company, Inc. for conspiracy and racketeering activity.
In May 1979, prosecutor Mark L. Webb, Northern District of California, conducted RICO trial, United States v. Sam Bailey Gang.
The successful prosecution used the RICO statute to allege that a gang of postal burglars and a Nevada fence collaborated criminally in an organized crime fashion.
Perroni's successful prosecution used RICO to convict the defendants of conspiracy, murder for hire, perjury and embezzlement of union property in United States v. Allison, et al.
Scotto, who was convicted on charges of racketeering, accepting unlawful labor payments, and income tax evasion, headed the International Longshoremen's Association.
Three Assistant United States Attorneys assisted in the trial: Michael Chertoff, the eventual second United States Secretary of Homeland Security and co-author of the Patriot Act; John Savarese, later a partner at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz; and Gil Childers, a later deputy chief of the criminal division for the Southern District of New York and later managing director in the legal department at Goldman Sachs.
[14] Predicate acts are related if they "have the same or similar purposes, results, participants, victims, or methods of commission, or otherwise are interrelated by distinguishing characteristics and are not isolated events.
[citation needed] In 1979, the United States Federal Government went after Sonny Barger and several members and associates of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels using RICO.
Several high-ranking officers of the department, including Deputy Police Chief Raymond Cassamayor, were arrested on federal charges of running a protection racket for illegal cocaine smugglers.
The FBI began to investigate the group using RICO following the assassination of Jewish radio host Alan Berg on June 18, 1984, and the arrest of member Tom Martinez, for using counterfeit bills to buy liquor.
In 1986, the Christic Institute filed a civil RICO case naming 30 defendants who were also implicated in the Iran-Contra scandal that they were also part of a conspiracy behind the La Penca bombing.
The suit, titled Avirgan v Hull named several Central Intelligence Agency figures and accused them of participating in illegal political assassinations, as well as arms and drug trafficking.
"[29][30] On March 29, 1989, American financier Michael Milken was indicted on 98 counts of racketeering and fraud relating to an investigation into an allegation of insider trading and other offenses.
[31] On September 7, 1988, Milken's employer, Drexel Burnham Lambert, was threatened with RICO charges under respondeat superior, the legal doctrine that corporations are responsible for their employees' crimes.
[35] After the 1998 simultaneous bombings of the US Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, the US Department of Justice sued Osama bin Laden in absentia under the RICO statute.
A 2004 documentary by BBC filmmaker Adam Curtis called The Power of Nightmares argued controversially that in order to prosecute bin Laden in absentia, U.S. prosecutors had to prove that he is the head of a criminal organization responsible for the bombings.
In 2000, Federal District judge William Rea ruled the RICO statute could be used to name the entire LAPD as a criminal enterprise for individuals suing it over police brutality and misconduct.
[37] In July 2001, US District Judge Gary A. Feess said that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue the LAPD under RICO, because they were alleging personal injuries rather than economic or property damage.
Bonanno crime family boss Joseph Massino's trial began on May 24, 2004, with judge Nicholas Garaufis presiding and Greg D. Andres and Robert Henoch heading the prosecution.
[54][55] In Tampa, on October 16, 2006, four members of the Gambino crime family (Capo Ronald Trucchio, Terry Scaglione, Steven Catallono, and Anthony Mucciarone and associate Kevin McMahon) were tried under RICO statutes, found guilty, and sentenced to life in prison.
He was accused of funding his philanthropy, political contributions, law firm salaries, and an extravagant lifestyle with a massive 1.2 billion dollar Ponzi scheme.
Bond was denied by US Magistrate Judge Robin Rosenbaum, who ruled that due to his ability to forge documents, he was considered a flight risk.
[58] A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Pennsylvania handed down a 48-count indictment against former Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella.
The defendants had allegedly used the enterprise as a front to collect millions of dollars in bribes, which may have influenced Russia and Qatar's winning bids to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022, respectively.
[71] The indictment, filed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, consisted of 56 counts against 28 affiliates of the label, with Thug himself facing 8 charges.
[73] The allegations of this meeting resulted in Steel being held in contempt of court and taken into custody, as he refused to disclose the source of his information; he was sentenced to 10 weekends in jail, but this was overturned on appeal.
Anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) laws can be applied in an attempt to curb alleged abuses of the legal system by individuals or corporations who use the courts as a weapon to retaliate against whistle blowers or victims or to silence another's speech.
RICO could be alleged if it can be shown that lawyers or their clients conspired and collaborated to concoct fictitious legal complaints solely in retribution and retaliation for themselves having been brought before the courts.