Badfellas
The Organized Crime Control Act (OCCA) of 1970 was signed into law by President Nixon. After the Congressional hearings in the late 50s and early 60s, it became pretty clear that something needed to be done to combat organized crime, despite decades of denial by J. Edgar Hoover that the Mafia even existed. The most famous part of the law was section 901(a) which discussed prosecution of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. Its acronym – the “RICO Act” – may have been a tongue-in-cheek homage to Little Caesar (the movie, not the pizza) whose gangster anti-hero was Cesare “Rico” Bandello, played by Edward G Robinson.
Mother of Mercy! Is this the start of RICO?
Not only does RICO provide for criminal prosecution of members of a criminal organization, it also provides civil penalties as well for the victims of such an organization – triple damages, in fact!
There are over 30 criminal acts – known as RICO “predicates” – which are covered under this law. These predicates include your normal Mafia-type stuff: murder, arson, loan-sharking, gambling, theft, counterfeiting, drug-trafficking, etc.
To qualify for a RICO prosecution, two instances of any one of the “racketeering” predicates must occur within a 10-year period. They have to exhibit a pattern of continuity, rather than being isolated events, and they have to have been conducted as part of an “enterprise.” Per the law: “enterprise is defined as including any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity.”
A Transitional Association, in fact
I left out a few RICO predicates in my list above, and here is where it gets interesting: fraud, including bankruptcy and securities fraud. Money laundering. Immigration fraud and misuse of visas for financial gain. Slavery. Obstruction of justice. Obstruction of criminal investigations. Bribery. Obstruction of state or local law enforcement. Currency and foreign transaction reporting. Sexual exploitation of children. Illegal surveillance. Fraud in foreign labor contracting. Economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. Coercion of or retaliation against witnesses and whistleblowers.
Re-read each and every crime in that last paragraph – and think back to everything we’ve heard over the past year. The Bondi Bribe. The child rape victim. Melania’s visa bingo. The immigration / white slavery status of all of Trump’s models. Manafort’s bribes and money laundering. Daddy Trump buying Trump casino chips illegally. Threats and witch hunts to find “leakers.”
Even the Trump U fraud that led to a raft of his woes last year, after his racist smearing of Judge Curiel, WAS IN FACT A CIVIL RICO CASE! Which he settled as soon as his other RICO activities with certain foreign entanglements illegally elevated him to be the Chief Executive of a republic now gone bananas.
Yes, you.
Now, here’s where it gets REALLY interesting: Manafort, Flynn, Cohen, Bannon, Trump himself – ALL clearly part of the enterprise. But so were/are people like Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General responsible for prosecuting a Trump-RICO case, and Devin Nunes, the House Intelligence (forsooth!) Committee Chair responsible for investigating the foreign entanglements portion of a Trump-RICO case, who just went running to Trump with news about the investigation.
By a prima facie application of the RICO statutes, just about anyone and everyone involved in bringing a criminal case against the Trump Crime Family is already a member of the Trump Crime Family.
…For now…
Which is why we need an independent, special prosecutor. I hear Preet Bharara and Sally Q Yates are available.
Do you really think we rate bananas at this point?
I think all we got are the scorpions that used to hang out in bananas and now infest the White House.
1If a special prosecuter is neeede I hear there is this guy in New York who just got laid off and might have some time on his hands.
2He has experience as an investigator/ prosecuter. His last target before getting his pink slip was D governor of NY.
Maybe we could recruit him.
Same budget ( adjusted for inflation) and freedom to expand his investigation as Starr had.
Now all we need is a partisan judge like sentelle to give the investigation judicial cover no matter where it goes.
I edited lightly now: I meant as in “going bananas” not as in already a “Banana Republic”
3Sally Yates would be acceptable, as would Merrick Garland. Under the laws of schadenfreude, karma and the general principle that Judge Garland is owed a job, he would be my preferred choice.
4If we didn’t investigate the Catholic Church under RICO, we certainly won’t investigate Trump
5Well put, Primo. I fear that Trump’s control over the Justice Department may preclude having anyone as competent as Yates, Bharara, or Garland prosecute the Trump Crime Family.
6The fix would be in and Sessions would sabotage the attempt by appointing a Republican crony. The fact that the Trump University fraud case went away without so much as a whimper seems to indicate that the deck is stacked.
“If we didn’t investigate the Catholic Church under RICO, ”
7Or the police fraternal orgs who are dedicaited to protecting any murderer, their or rapist if they are wearing blue.
Hell most of the police contracts institionalize obstruction of investigation as clauses in contracts.
With experience in both Detroit and Chicago, crime families have tendency to wipe themselves and each other out. It just takes a bit longer but the result is way more definite.
8RICO civil cases against MEMBERS of the RCC hierarchy have been brought but failed. RICO criminal cases have been considered but not brought. LAPD is one of I believe several successful prosecutions against individuals in LE. It is my understanding that the organization in a RICO case is not the defendant. The members of it are. Hence you cannot bring RICO against a Church or PD or fraternal org or a union etc
9maggie,
Careful, I have in-law kinfolk of a certain national heritage in the first place you mention, with the same surnames of the top dogs thereof…been told when I asked that they’re no kin, buuuttt…
And they rarely ‘wipe themselves out’, they, and their offspring, just acquire a preponderance of legitimate business interests to screen the rest.
10We once had a (rare) family get-to-gether in a sort of famous Italian restaurant on an elite island where many of the area ‘movers-and-shakers’ of all kinds live, including not just auto execs, etc., (most think they all live in the GP’s, and thereby overlook the secluded GI).
We shared the large ‘back’ ‘family room’ with some rather interesting people…and I’ve never even seen those Godfather or Soprano movie/tv films, but I sensed a certain ‘something’ in the air, heheheh. I did eat there often once long ago, Italian food being one of my (many) weaknesses, and it being most excellent there (and a couple of others I remember).
Treble damages? Let’s consider that Sec. Clinton was damaged to the tune of $1.2 billion in campaign expenses on a rigged campaign.
11I’m not sure where I read this story in the mid-1940s–maybe in Readers’ Digest. A young sailor on leave was near his limit. He was hitch-hiking to get back to his ship when a limo pulled up and offered him a ride. When Edward G. Robinson heard his story, EGR asked his driver to never mind the cut-off to EGR’s home, but just to rush the kid to his ship.
12https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/499713153f1ad65417df9ee963ceb2ed9534bcd81b86df1872c6d31c92b3d90d.gif?w=480&h=179
13Is that popcorn in the picture, epo?
14Aww! How sweet!! The popcorn munching dear is holding up an ear for each day that Trump has completely failed even to get a vote on his plan, much less win a vote.
Can you say “loser” ? I’ll bet you can!
15Um . . . deer. A dear deer indeed, but a deer.
16Upon thinking it over I just can’t agree that this is an example of organized crime.
Disorganized crime, absolutely.
We need a RICO-diculous Act.
17The Universe, Karma, whatever term one prefers, will reestablish balance. We need to do our part not sit on our collective patooties and wait, however. Keep the pressure on and exploit the fissures that result. Trump is insane, he cannot utter a cohesive sentence. Those around him are greedy bastards. They are already blaming each other for the failure of trumpcare. Trump’s house of cards is coming apart. When he is of no further use to the Russians, they will pull the money that keeps him afloat. Soon, soon.
18S’posed to be popcorn, Maryelle.
19Re the RCC and RICO: Then let’s prosecute the pope, who has done a wonderful job of creating the myth that he’s aggressively attacking abusers while he’s actually hiding them. Let’s also prosecute the archbishops and bishops. It’s long past time for Vatican Inc to answer for its crimes.
20Sandridge, so do I. That’s what inspired me.
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