Top Fort Defiance, AZ RICO Lawyers Near You
822 S Kansas Ave, Suite 200, Topeka, KS 66612
902 East 66th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46220
2700 Weston Centre, 112 East Pecan Street, San Antonio, TX 78205
One State Street, Suite 1800, Hartford, CT 06103
830 Morris Turnpike, Suite 304, Short Hills, NJ 07078
400 S Hope St, Los Angeles, CA 90071
100 Crescent Court, Suite 700, Dallas, TX 75201
201 West Railroad St, Suite 300, Missoula, MT 59802
20 Church Street, Hartford, CT 06103-3402
1300 East 9th Street, Suite 1700, Cleveland, OH 44114
1313 N Market St, Suite 1201, Wilmington, DE 19801
Law Offices at Brickell Bay, 2333 Brickell Avenue, Coral Gables, FL 33129-2497
22260 Haggerty Road, Suite 110, Northville, MI 48167
75 14th Street NE, Suite 2130, Atlanta, GA 30309
633 West Fifth Street, 28th Floors, Los Angeles, CA 90071
1700 Broadway, Suite 900, Denver, CO 80290
2303 Market Street, Camp Hill, PA 17011
1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3700, Houston, TX 77010
One New York Plaza, 44th Floor, New York, NY 10004-1482
1415 Marlton Pike East, Suite 201, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
501 Fayetteville St, Suite 500, Raleigh, NC 27601
1900 N St NW, Washington, DC 20036
3 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 400, PO Box 967, Mankato, MN 56002
4265 San Felipe St, Ste. 700, Houston, TX 77027
705 2nd Avenue, Suite 1111, Seattle, WA 98104
Fort Defiance RICO Information
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What Is a RICO Violation?
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act was enacted in 1970 to address organized crime. Under RICO laws, anyone associated with the criminal group could be charged, including organization leaders who ordered or oversaw the criminal activity without directly taking part. RICO also provided for civil remedies and triple damages to recover unlawful gains.
How Do I Get a RICO Charge?
A RICO charge generally involves participation in a “criminal enterprise” with a “pattern of racketeering activity.” To get a RICO charge, the prosecutor must suspect you were involved in a criminal gang or group and the criminal activity involved more than a one-time event. Initially, RICO was used to go after organized crime and the Mafia. However, since the law went into effect, it has been used to indict a number of alleged criminal enterprises, including street gangs, motorcycle gangs, corporations, and police departments
The RICO Act also makes it a violation to conspire to commit racketeering offenses. Conspiracy to violate RICO charges means that someone can be charged and convicted even if the crime was never carried out. A conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime, with some overt act towards furthering the offense.
What Does the RICO Act Cover?
A “pattern of racketeering activity” requires at least two qualifying acts, within a period of ten years. The RICO Act has included several crimes that qualify as racketeering activity, including state and federal offenses. Acts of racketeering can include:
- Illegal gambling
- Murder
- Kidnapping
- Extortion
- Arson
- Robbery
- Bribery
- Dealing in obscene matter
- Drug offenses
- Counterfeiting
- Theft
- Embezzlement
- Fraud
- Witness tampering
- Human trafficking
- Money laundering
- Murder-for-hire
- Loan-sharking
- Terrorism
- Mail fraud
- Wire fraud
- Securities fraud
How Serious Is a RICO Charge?
A RICO charge is a serious criminal offense that carries the possibility of jail time, fines, and seizure of assets. RICO charges are federal felony charges that include imprisonment for up to 20 years or more. In addition to prison penalties, there are severe financial penalties, which include forfeiture of any interest, security, or property derived from racketeering activity.
There are also civil penalties under RICO. A violation of the RICO Act could include ordering the defendant to turn over financial or business interests, restrict future activities, and break up organizations. Civil remedies can also require restitution to any victims of the criminal offenses.
How Do You Beat a RICO Case?
When federal prosecutors charge someone with RICO offenses, the penalties can include years in federal prison and loss of your financial assets. However, you may have a strong legal case to beat RICO charges. Legal defenses may include challenging the prosecutor’s case to show there was no criminal enterprise and no pattern of criminal activity.
Even if you were involved in criminal activity, it has to be a pattern of racketeering. If there is only evidence of one crime, the defendant should not be convicted under RICO. Alternatively, committing a crime on your own without participation in a criminal organization may be another defense strategy.
Prosecutors may rely on the seriousness of RICO charges to get the defendant to plead guilty to other charges instead of facing the increased RICO penalties. However, before you plead guilty to criminal charges, you should consider talking to a criminal defense attorney for legal advice.