RICO Commons^™

Systemic Racial Bias And Rico's Application To Criminal Street And Prison Gangs, Jordan Blair Woods

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Article presents an empirical study of race and the application of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to criminal street and prison gangs. A strong majority (approximately 86%) of the prosecutions in the study involved gangs that were affiliated with one or more racial minority groups. All but one of the prosecuted White-affiliated gangs fell into three categories: international organized crime groups, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and White supremacist prison gangs. Some scholars and practitioners would explain these findings by contending that most criminal street gangs are comprised of racial minorities. This Article challenges and problematizes this …

Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations (Rico): Basic Concepts - Criminal And Civil Remedies, G. Robert Blakey, Brian Gettings

Journal Articles

This article will present a brief overview of the legislative history of RICO, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, and its structure, including its standards and basic concepts. The article will then consider the criminal sanctions authorized under RICO and discuss specific aspects of the RICO civil suit as well as some of the problems that may be expected to arise in it. The objective of the article is to provide the reader with a short introduction to RICO, one of the most sophisticated statutes ever enacted by Congress.

Spotting Money Launderers: A Better Way To Fight Organized Crime?, Diane Marie Amann

Scholarly Works

Money laundering investigations have been much in the news of late. There have been stories that Radil Salinas de Gortari laundered kickbacks from drug traffickers while his brother was President of Mexico. That Ferdinand Marcos stashed nearly half a billion dollars in Swiss banks while he ruled the Philippines. That two of Mexico's largest banks have pleaded guilty to laundering charges stemming from a controversial U.S. sting operation. That the former prime minister of Ukraine pleaded guilty to Swiss charges that he laundered $9 million in stolen funds, even as he faced U.S. charges of laundering $114 million. And, of …

Rico Basics: A Primer, Stephen D. Brown, Alan M. Lieberman

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Crime Legislation And The Public Interest: Lessons From Civil Rico, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

This Securities Symposium provides an opportunity to evaluate civil RICO's place in American law at the end of the private remedy's first quarter-century. In its essence, civil RICO is the unfortunate product of crime legislation hastily enacted in the heat of a national political campaign. Rushing toward adjournment, Congress enacted RICO on October 12, 1970 as Title IX of the omnibus Organized Crime Control Act (OCCA). President Nixon signed the OCCA on October 15. Less than three weeks later, Americans preoccupied with crime went to the polls in off-year congressional elections after a shrill campaign dominated by ‘law and order‘ …

Time-Bars: Rico-Criminal And Civil Federal And State, G. Robert Blakey

Notre Dame Law Review

The article discusses the role of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in criminal proceedings. The Act considers several provisions including illegal services of drugs and gambling, corruption in labor or management relations, and commercial fraud such as bankruptcy and securities fraud. The Act applies criminal and civil sanctions including fines and imprisonment, forfeiture, and treble damage relief for persons who injured in business due to violation of law.

The Rule Of Announcement And Unlawful Entry: Miller V. United States And Ker V. California, G. Robert Blakey

Journal Articles

Mr. Justice Frankfurter, in his classic dissent in United States v. Rabinowitz, pointed out that "the safeguards of liberty have frequently been forged in controversies involving not very nice people." Few cases decided by the Supreme Court since Rabinowitz have better illustrated that observation than Miller v. United States and Ker v. California. This Article will consider the problems posed in the administration of federal criminal justice by the "liberty forged" in these two decisions.

Until the Miller decision in 1958, the Supreme Court had never squarely considered and decided a question of announcement and unlawful entry. It is therefore …

Using The Master's Tools: Fighting Persistent Police Misconduct With Civil Rico, Steven P. Ragland

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rico-Claim Accrual For Statute Of Limitations Purposes In Civil Rico Causes Of Action: The Third Circuit Strikes Out When Redefinig Its Accrual Rule In Annulli V. Panikkar, Lara Czajkowski Higgins

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Introduction: The Ancient Roots Of Modern Forfeiture Law, Jimmy Gurulé

Journal Articles

Civil forfeiture is one of the most potent weapons available to prosecutors in the “war on drugs” and against traditional organized crime. Unlike criminal forfeiture it is in rem and based on a legal fiction that property used in violation of law must be held responsible for harm that it has caused. The conceptual underpinnings of civil forfeiture are long established and can be traced back to English common law, but they also create the potential for abuse. There is currently federal legislation that considers scaling back the reach of civil forfeiture and recent Supreme Court decisions have also limited …