Contact us to see how we can work together. We are selective in the types of cases we represent, focusing on white collar offenses, such as RICO, patient brokering, and healthcare fraud. Ron is well-known in and out of the legal community as a skilled criminal litigator who is respected by judges, prosecutors, and community leaders. That is what attorney Ron Herman provides. When you are up against the full resources of the federal government and a conviction could essentially ruin you financially, professionally, and personally, you want criminal defense counsel that is experienced and will zealously advocate on your behalf. Conspiring to levy war was distinct from actually levying war. The RICO Act is broad, which allows prosecutors to bring RICO charges in a wide variety of cases. Supreme Court has had occasion to further define what each type of treason entails. Because of the loss of these assets, the enterprise can suffer irreparable harm and even dismantlement.Īlthough it has roots in the prosecution of organized crime families, RICO charges are not just for the mob. In the event of a conviction, forfeiture of the defendant’s entire interest in the enterprise is handed over to the government. The reasoning behind this was that making the government wait until a guilty verdict was entered would allow time for these assets to be well hidden. RICO rules of procedure allow the government to freeze the assets of the defendant prior to the case even going to trial. In the establishment of RICO, there was the fear that assets associated with the enterprise would disappear before a final judgment was issued. The prison time can increase to up to a life sentence depending on the underlying crime that was committed. A person convicted can face a fine of either $250,000 or double the amount of proceeds earned from illicit activity. Not only does the RICO statute provide for criminal penalties including 20 years of prison, but the financial penalties are severe. The enterprise must be a discrete entity.Ī conviction under RICO has serious consequences. An enterprise may be a legal or an illegal one. These predicate offenses must also have been committed in connection with an enterprise. A person charged with a RICO violation must have been engaging in a minimum of two predicate crimes within a 10-year time frame. Racketeering activity includes:įor RICO purposes, these are considered “predicate” offenses. However, now prosecutors do not just use RICO in mob prosecutions but have also utilized the law to prosecute everything, from street gangs to politicians.Ī violation of RICO occurs when a person, in connection with an enterprise, engages in a pattern of racketeering activity. conspire (with somebody) (to do something) She admitted conspiring with her lover to murder her husband. conspire (together) (to do something) They deny conspiring together to smuggle drugs. The RICO Act gave prosecutors the ability to do this. conspire (with somebody) (against somebody) They were accused of conspiring against the king. A different mob member would be prosecuted for a particular crime, but prosecutors could not take down the whole criminal organization at once. Prior to the enactment of the RICO Act, prosecutors only had the ability to individually try crime that was mob-related. Conspiracy to commit a class 1 felony is punishable by a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of release on any basis until the service of twenty-five years, otherwise, conspiracy is an offense of the same class as the most serious offense which is the object of or result of the conspiracy.Passed in 1970, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act aimed to take down organized crime organizations. A person who conspires to commit a number of offenses is guilty of only one conspiracy if the multiple offenses are the object of the same agreement or relationship and the degree of the conspiracy shall be determined by the most serious offense conspired to.ĭ. If a person guilty of conspiracy, as defined in subsection A of this section, knows or has reason to know that a person with whom such person conspires to commit an offense has conspired with another person or persons to commit the same offense, such person is guilty of conspiring to commit the offense with such other person or persons, whether or not such person knows their identity.Ĭ. A person commits conspiracy if, with the intent to promote or aid the commission of an offense, such person agrees with one or more persons that at least one of them or another person will engage in conduct constituting the offense and one of the parties commits an overt act in furtherance of the offense, except that an overt act shall not be required if the object of the conspiracy was to commit any felony upon the person of another, or to commit an offense under section 13-1508 or 13-1704.ī.
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