Criminal Law U5IP - Research Paper Example

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act RICO or the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act was passed in 1970.Rico is a federal Act that offers extended criminal consequences and civil claims for acts resulting from organized crime. Baldwin (2010) provides that the RICO was intended to eliminate the cruel effects of organized crime on businesses and the economy. The RICO Act (1970) prohibits four different kinds of activities:1) investing income derived from a pattern of racketeering activity in a business engaged in interstate commerce; 2) acquiring control of a business engaged in interstate commerce through a pattern of racketeering activity; 3) participating in the conduct of a business engaged in interstate commerce through a pattern of racketeering activity, and 4) conspiring to violate any of the above (section 1962).

In order for a RICO claim to succeed the plaintiff must show that the conduct of the enterprise or business is through a pattern of activity connected to racketeering. Prior to the enactment of the RICO Act it was difficult to combat racketeering activities (Batista 2007). It was only possible to convict lower ranking members in the rackets as they were directly involved in illegal activities. This meant that racketeering activities still affected businesses and the economy as the higher ranking members were harder to prosecute since they were not directly connected with the illegal activities.

The RICO Act provides prosecutors with a tool to fight organized crime (McNeill 2009). The RICO Act is remarkably effective in combating organized crime as it does not require proving that the suspect committed an illegal act but rather that the individual owns or manages an enterprise that regularly conducts an illegal activity prohibited by the Act (Batista 2005). The RICO Act is given a very wide interpretation, and as such legal issues will always arise out of its interpretation and application.

The RICO criminal defense practice will, therefore, remain relevant as long as the Act is in use. Reference listBaldwin, F. N. (2010). Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and the mafia must now welcome organizational crime. Journal of Financial Crime, 17(4), 404-416.Batista, P. A. (2007). Civil RICO Practice Manual. Aspen Publishers Online.Batista, Paul A. (2005). Civil Rico Practice Manual: (2005 Cumulative Supplement Included). Wolters Kluwer Law & Business. McNeill, C. (2009). Seeing the Forest: A Holistic View of the RICO Statute of Limitations.

Notre Dame L. Rev., 85, 1231.Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), Title IX of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, Pub. L. No. 91-452, 84 Stat. 941 (Oct. 15, 1970), codified at 18 U.S.C. Ch. 96, §§1961-1968.