Top Fort Defiance, AZ RICO Lawyers Near You
199 Water St, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038
60 State St, 36th Floor, Boston, MA 02109
7887 East Belleview Avenue, Suite 1100, Englewood, CO 80111-6097
1701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20006
1800 Main St., Suite 200, Canonsburg, PA 15317
450 Laurel Street, II Rivermark Centre, 21st Floor, Baton Rouge, LA 70801
17304 Preston Rd, Suite 800, Dallas, TX 75252
1 East Washington Street, Suite 2300, Phoenix, AZ 85004-2555
Queen's Court, 800 Bethel Street, Suite 600, Honolulu, HI 96813
747 Third Avenue, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10017
1201 O St, Suite 304, Lincoln, NE 68508
4514 Cole Avenue, Suite 1550, Dallas, TX 75205
200 Schulz Drive, Suite 402, Red Bank, NJ 07701
333 SW Taylor Street, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97204
50 Kennedy Plaza, 11th Floor, Providence, RI 02903
32 Old Slip, New York, NY 10005
50 Station Road, Building 1, Water Mill, NY 11976
101 N. Monroe Street, Suite 1090, Tallahassee, FL 32301
96 Broad Street, Charleston, SC 29401
17838 Burke St, Suite 250, Omaha, NE 68118
One PPG Place, Suite 3200, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
103 Carnegie Center, Suite 300, Princeton, NJ 08540
7502 E Monterey Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
390 Lytton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301
2332 Galiano St, 2nd Floor, Miami, FL 33134
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.