Racketeering / RICO

Racketeering is also known as RICO, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. To prove the charge of Racketeering, the Government has to prove three things: (1) that the person charged was employed by or associated with an enterprise, (2) he participated in the enterprise by engaging in at least two “predicate crimes,” and (3) at least two predicate offenses were interrelated and not isolated.

The RICO statutes generally allow for the head of an organization to be criminally prosecuted for the crimes that he orders to be done. RICO laws have been successfully used to prosecute businesses and corporations, criminal gangs, and organized crime enterprises or mafias. Under Florida law, Racketeering is a first degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Racketeering is a complicated crime because of the many avenues the Government may use to prove the charges. It is important for a person facing Racketeering charges to hire an attorney who has extensive criminal defense experience so that he may properly challenge the sufficiency of the evidence brought by the Government.