RACKETEER INFLUENCED AND CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS ACT
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.A law designed to attack organized
criminal activity and preserve marketplace integrity by investigating, controlling, and prosecuting
persons who participate or conspire to participate in racketeering. • Enacted in 1970, the federal
RICO statute applies only to activity involving interstate or foreign commerce. 18 USCA §§
1961–1968. Since then, many states have adopted laws (sometimes called “little RICO” acts)
based on the federal statute. The federal and most state RICO acts provide for enforcement not
only by criminal prosecution but also by civil lawsuit, in which the plaintiff can sue for treble
damages. — Abbr. RICO. [Cases: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations 2. C.J.S.
RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) § 7.]
“Before criminal or civil liability can attach under RICO, it must be shown that the two or
more acts of racketeering alleged in the criminal indictment or civil complaint constitute a pattern
of racketeering activity on the part of the culpable person. The statutory definition of pattern
‘requires at least two’ predicate acts occurring within ten years of each other, with one of them
occurring after October 15, 1970. More broadly put, the pattern of racketeering activity is a
scheme of unlawful conduct with a nexus to both the culpable person and the enterprise.” David R.
McCormack, Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations § 1.04, at 1-20 (1998). [Blacks Law 8th]