Movies have an incredible way of making anything look glamorous – even the dangerous world of organized crime. You would be surprised by the number of people who’ve contemplated becoming a mobster after watching Robert De Niro pulling up in front of a nightclub in his shiny, vintage Aston Martin moments before shooting up the entire place.
Make no mistake about it, though. This is not a world you want to get caught up in. The legal repercussions that come from a criminal conviction are hefty and will no doubt change your life forever.
What is organized crime, and what happens if you’re found guilty of engaging in such activity?
Organized Crime Definition
Organized crime is often described using sweeping phrases like “mafia-related,” “mob-linked,” and other suggestive terms that differentiate this category of illegal activity from conventional crimes.
The FBI defines organized crime as illegal activities carried out by groups or associations seeking to obtain monetary gains, power, and influence. If these criminal activities extend beyond the geographical borders of any single country, it becomes Transnational organized crime.
The structure of these associations varies based on their networks, cells, and hierarchies and may even evolve into more elaborate models. The majority of organized crime groups are insular. They protect and perpetuate their criminal operations by employing various methods, including violence, corruption, coded communication mechanisms, and international commerce. They may even adopt an organizational structure that exploits national boundaries.
More often than not, the primary goal of most organized crime associations is economic gain. As a result, they rely on a wide range of both legal and illicit schemes to generate revenue and turn a profit. The law criminalizes participation in organized crime in two ways: Criminal association and conspiracy.
It means that any individual, who willfully participates in or contributes to the criminal activities of organized crime groups, is criminally liable for their actions. The penalties are designed to hold individuals who associate with such groups responsible even if they have not directly committed any offense. In other words, criminal liability extends to situations where a crime is anticipated to occur, but a specific violation has not yet materialized (conspiracy).
Organized Crime Examples
As mentioned before, the primary goal of any organized crime association is to generate profit. To do this, they employ a wide range of illicit schemes, including:
- Drug trafficking
- Counterfeit goods
- Cybercrime
- Extortion
- Human trafficking
- Illegal gambling
- Migrant smuggling
- Money laundering
- Trafficking of firearms
- Cultural property and wildlife smuggling
Because of the massive sums of cash involved in these activities, organized crime directly impacts government agencies with corrupt officials and even compromises legitimate economies.
What Is Racketeering
The legal racketeering definition is – criminal activity in which an organization runs illegal businesses (rackets) or uses legitimate business enterprises to embezzle funds. A “racket” comes about when a criminal organization creates a problem for other entities or individuals for the sole purpose of using extortion to “solve” that particular problem.
Examples of racketeering include criminal activities such as embezzlement, kidnapping, arson, bribery, drug trafficking, extortion, counterfeiting, prostitution rings, tax evasion, blackmail, forgery, trading in illegal weapons, illegal gambling, etc.
Given the devastating effects that such criminal activities have on both public and private institutions, federal and state governments have developed a system of laws designed to prosecute individuals who may otherwise slip through the cracks of the American criminal justice system. One of these laws is the RICO Act.
What Is the RICO Act
In 1970, Congress established the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO, for short. This federal legislation makes it illegal to make money from or participate in organized criminal activity.
According to the Act, a racketeering conviction can result in imprisonment and government seizure of illegally obtained revenues. It also allows the injured parties that suffered financial harm to file lawsuits against the perpetrators and sue for damages.
RICO targets organized criminal associations such as the Mafia and Mexican Cartel and legitimate enterprises or associations that engage in illicit activity. Some of the offenses that have been the target of RICO include political corruption, fraud, and white-collar crime.
Criminal Activities Targeted by RICO
RICO makes it a federal crime to:
- Use any proceeds obtained from racketeering activity or from illicit debt collection to establish, operate, or acquire any organization or business that affects interstate commerce;
- Maintain an interest in or acquire any organization or business through racketeering activity;
- Use racketeering activity to conduct the lawful or illicit affairs of an organization or business;
- Conspire to participate in any of the activities listed above.
A successful conviction requires federal prosecutors to prove to a jury that:
- A pattern of racketeering exists
- A criminal enterprise exists
- The crimes had an impact on interstate commerce
The sections below explore these three elements in detail.
Pattern of Racketeering
For a RICO prosecution to stick, federal prosecutors must prove that the organization or individual in question has displayed several instances (a pattern) of criminal wrongdoing. Racketeering charges consist of underlying illegal acts referred to as “predicate crimes.”
A predicate crime may include anything from a drug crime, bribery, money laundering, and embezzlement; to robbery, kidnapping, and murder.
Prosecutors have to show that the defendant committed a minimum of two such violations within a 10-year period, excluding any imprisonment term they may have been serving at the time. For a pattern to exist, prosecutors have to show that the accused engaged in ongoing criminal activity.
For instance, a single bank robbery would be considered an isolated crime. However, if several bank robberies occur over a specific time frame, by the same group of criminals, using the same tactics, that shows a pattern.
Keep in mind that several criminal acts committed when perpetuating a single illegal scheme would not constitute a pattern.
A pattern of illegality needs to have the following components:
- The number of illegal acts
- The methods used to carry out these acts
- The duration over which these crimes are committed
- The number of victims
- The number of perpetrators involved
- The number of criminal schemes
- The nature and complexity of the criminal schemes in question
For instance, one successful act of murder, regardless of the number of unsuccessful attempts leading up to it, would not constitute a pattern.
On the other hand, two attempts to extort money from a public official would be considered a pattern. One attempt to extort money and one successful act of bribery would also be considered a pattern.
Criminal Enterprise
RICO defines a criminal enterprise as a group of associated individuals working together informally (such as a criminal gang) or a distinct legal entity (such as a union, partnership, or corporation).
For a group or legal entity to be considered a criminal enterprise, it needs to:
- Be an ongoing association that operates as a single unit
- Exist separately from the criminal activity of the members
- Have a common purpose
An enterprise may have a legal and valid purpose or an illegal objective. For instance, if two criminals collaborated to kidnap someone, this would not constitute a criminal enterprise.
On the other hand, if a group of businesspeople held regular meetings and even worked together for several years to (among many things) bribe public officials to receive lucrative city contracts, this would fall in the realm of a criminal enterprise.
A successful conviction would require federal prosecutors to prove that the defendant(s) in question participated in the management or operation of the criminal enterprise. To do this, they would have to show that the defendant(s) had some level of influence over the group’s activities.
Even if the defendant was merely a mid-level dealer in a drug cartel, as long as they had some level of decision-making power and acted with some level of discretion (for instance, setting drug prices), prosecutors could use this fact to show control.
Interstate Commerce
Last but certainly not least, a successful RICO conviction would require federal prosecutors to show that the violations in question had some effect on interstate commerce. Criminal organizations that move significant amounts of money, commodities, or people from state to state, or have a significant economic impact, will usually meet this requirement.
Punishment for Racketeering
Each count of racketeering is punishable by a prison term of up to 20 years. If the underlying predicate crime is punishable by life imprisonment, the racketeering offense in such instances is punishable by life imprisonment as well.
Additionally, the court can use its discretion to impose a fine worth double the illegal profits amassed by the defendant. RICO also allows government seizure of all assets acquired or controlled through racketeering, giving it legal title to the assets in question.
If a criminal enterprise owned property such as land, vehicles, and equipment, the ownership rights to those assets would now belong to the government.
Civil Remedies
In addition to federal criminal prosecutions, RICO also allows private citizens to sue defendants if they suffered financial harm due to racketeering activities. For example, suppose a competitor was undercutting the owner of a private nightclub due to them engaging in illegal business practices such as prostitution and gambling. In that case, the club owner could sue for damages.
A plaintiff in a civil suit would have to prove that the RICO violation was directly responsible for the economic harm they suffered. To do this, they have to demonstrate the same things that federal prosecutors show in criminal court proceedings. That is:
- A pattern of racketeering exists
- A criminal enterprise exists
- The crimes had an impact on interstate commerce
In such suits, the federal court may order the defendant to:
- Pay the plaintiff three times the amount in damages they incurred
- Pay the plaintiff’s lawyer’s fees
- Cease and desist from engaging in certain businesses or activities
The courts may also provide equitable relief by dissolving the defendant’s organization.
What Is a Cartel
The general definition of a cartel is – a group of independent organizations or enterprises that collude to manipulate the prices of commodities in the market. Their goal being – total market domination. In the world of organized crime, the word “cartel” takes on a slightly different meaning. In most cases, it always has a drug connotation to it.
A drug cartel can generally be defined as an association that is significantly involved in, controls, or promotes drug trafficking. The elaborate structure and organization of cartels make them extremely dangerous. Mexican cartel rings such as the Sinaloa, Los Zetas, and Jalisco are known to wield an incredible amount of power and influence, capable of destabilizing entire communities.
Cartels are known to not only engage in the illegal drug trade but also in racketeering activities, including extortion, embezzlement, murder, intimidation, money laundering, fraud, gambling, and more.
What Is Extortion
Attempting to obtain monies or assets from an individual using the threat of violence, threatening to publicize damaging or private information about them, or threatening to falsely accuse the victim of a crime are all acts that fall within the realm of extortion.
Is extortion a crime when it targets private citizens? It ultimately boils down to what the law in your state has to say about it.
Generally, extortion applies to public officials. Some states define extortion as acts committed by government officials, whereas blackmail refers to acts committed by private citizens – even though the activities involved in both instances are the same.
With that in mind, what is considered extortion? There are four main elements to consider:
- Threats – Extortion must involve the perpetrator threatening to injure or commit a harmful action against the victim.
- Intent – The threat is made with the specific intention of forcing the victim to part with something of value, such as money or property.
- Fear – The threat must elicit fear in the victim. It could be based on social stigma, economic loss, the fear of violence, or anything else that may cause the victim to yield to the perpetrator’s demands.
- Property – The asset that the perpetrator tries to obtain when extorting their victim encompasses anything that would be considered valuable to either party.
The penalties for extortion vary by state. However, more often than not, it is punished as a felony offense with a fine of up to $10,000, a minimum sentence of one year behind bars, or both.
Get Legal Representation
Organized crime charges are severe and carry severe legal consequences. Oftentimes, organized criminal groups coerce or deceive unwitting accomplices in their criminal scheme. If you find yourself in this situation, get in touch with a competent criminal defense attorney to get the best possible outcome in your case.
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