>>12092444 lb
RICO is to cut the head off the snake. Plea deal lower players to work up the ladder, remember Guiliani, Comey etc used RICO to take down the heads of the 5 families running New York Jersey etc
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Law
https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/rico/
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/court-told-mob-bosses-voted-whacking-giuliani-86-article-1.227996
The federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law was passed in 1970 as the "ultimate hit man" in mob prosecutions. Prior to RICO, prosecutors could only try mob-related crimes individually. Since different mobsters perpetrated each crime, the government could only prosecute individual criminals instead of shutting down an entire criminal organization. Today, the government rarely uses RICO against the Mafia. Instead, because the law is so broad, both governmental and civil parties use it against all sorts of enterprises, both legal and illegal.
RICO allows for prosecution of all individuals involved in a corrupt organization. For mob prosecutions, that means that the government can go after top leadership as well as the hit men and capos. And RICO established much enhanced sentences, as well. John L. Smith described the impact of RICO in an article for the Las Vegas Review-Journal: "After RICO, mob families began to crack under the very real threat that members and associates could be indicted en masse for a wide range of criminal activity. … [E]ven the strongest stand-up guy would have trouble fading the 20-year (and more) sentences that began accompanying RICO convictions."
While RICO was originally aimed at the Mafia, over the past 37 years, prosecutors have used it to attack many forms of organized crime: street gangs, gang cartels, corrupt police departments and even politicians.
Criminal RICO
To violate RICO, a person must engage in a pattern of racketeering activity connected to an enterprise. The law defines 35 offenses as constituting racketeering, including gambling, murder, kidnapping, arson, drug dealing, bribery. Significantly, mail and wire fraud are included on the list. These crimes are known as "predicate" offenses. To charge under RICO, at least two predicate crimes within 10 years must have been committed through the enterprise.
Note that an enterprise is required. This might be a crime family, a street gang or a drug cartel. But it may also be a corporation, a political party, or a managed care company. The enterprise just has to be a discrete entity; but an enterprise is not the same as an individual. Thus, a corporation may be the enterprise through which individuals commit crimes, but it can't be both an individual and the enterprise.
The criminal RICO statute provides for prison terms of 20 years and severe financial penalties. The law also allows prosecutors to attach assets, so they can't be whisked out of the country before judgment.
Civil RICO
Even though RICO threatens very long prison terms for racketeers, the law's real power is its civil component. Anyone can bring a civil suit if they've been injured by a RICO violation, and if they win, receive treble damages. In the 1980s, civil lawyers attempted to fit many different claims inside of RICO, but in the 1990s the federal courts set up a number of hurdles for civil RICO claims. To succeed on a RICO claim, a plaintiff must show:
Criminal Activity. You must show that the defendant committed one of the enumerated RICO crimes, which include the broad crimes of mail and wire fraud. If you bring a claim on a fraud basis, however, the court will apply strict scrutiny.
Pattern of Criminal Activity. One crime is not enough. You have to show a pattern of at least two crimes. A pattern requires the crimes be related in some way—same victim, same methods, same participants—or continuous, meaning it was conducted over at least a year.
Within the Statute of Limitations. The Supreme Court held that RICO has a four-year statute of limitations, which begins tolling from the time the victim discovers his or her damages.
RICO is powerful and complex. If you think you've been seriously injured by criminal activity that is covered by RICO, consult with a lawyer to see if you have a case. But make sure it's worth the effort. RICO civil suits can be very costly.
http://www.writersofwrongs.com/2018/09/jury-selected-as-mafia-bosses-head-to.html
Jury selected as Mafia bosses head to trial
Jury selection began September 8, 1986, in the federal trial of alleged Mafia Commission members in New York City….
The Commission Case was set in motion years earlier by Rudolph Giuliani, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. He reportedly was inspired by a discussion of the Commission in A Man of Honor, the autobiography of longtime Mafia boss Joseph Bonanno. "If he could write about it," Giuliani reasoned, "we could prosecute it."
Giuliani was emboldened by recent successes in applying the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act against organized crime leaders.
A federal indictment was unsealed February 26, 1985, charging representatives of all five New York City Mafia families with conspiring in the management of the underworld. As the fifteen-count indictment was announced, Giuliani commented, "This is a bad day, probably the worst ever, for the Mafia." Much of the case was based on electronic surveillance.
All defendants pleaded not guilty (A defense attorney entered the pleas for his clients Dellacroce and Scopo), except Corallo. Corallo attorney Albert Gaudelli stated that his client refused to waive the right to plead in person. Rastelli collapsed during the arraignment and was taken to the hospital for treatment and evaluation.
A superseding indictment in June 1985 added two more defendants, Carmine Persico and Stefano Cannone, along with additional charges related to a concrete industry extortion scheme. The government charged Persico with being the reigning boss of the Colombo Crime Family (reducing Langella to Persico's underboss or acting boss).
Several defendants died before the trial began. Aniello Dellacroce died of natural causes December 2 in a Queens hospital. Two weeks later, boss Paul Castellano was shot to death in front of a Manhattan restaurant. The death of Stefano Cannone was reported January 12, 1986, (NY Daily News) as a "recent death from natural causes." Cannone's death appears to have occurred months earlier in September of 1985.
Philip Rastelli was severed from the case because he was being tried on a separate matter in Brooklyn. Prosecutors added Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato, as a representative of the Bonanno clan. Mafia leaders reportedly considered but ultimately decided against the assassination of Giuliani. (This was not revealed until the fall of 2007.) John Gotti, new boss of the Gambino Family, and Persico reportedly were in favor of murdering the U.S. attorney. The Lucchese, Bonanno and Genovese bosses rejected the notion.
At jury selection before Judge Richard Owen, the names of prospective jurors were kept confidential to ensure that they would not be influenced by threats or bribery. During the selection process, prospective jurors were asked questions about their knowledge of American Mafia history, such as whether they had ever heard of Al Capone.
Prosecuting attorneys in the case were Michael Chertoff, John Savarese and John Childers. One defendant, Carmine Persico, elected to serve as his own defense counsel.
Trial Defendants:
Bonanno Crime Family
Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato, 38
Colombo Crime Family
Carmine "Junior" Persico, 53
Gennaro "Gerry Lang" Langella, 47
Ralph Scopo, 58
Genovese Crime Family
Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, 75
Lucchese Crime Family
Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo, 73
Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro, 72
Christopher "Christy Tick" Furnari , 62
The trial lasted a month and a half. It included surprising defense admissions that the Mafia and a ruling Commission existed in New York and prosecution testimony from turncoat Cleveland Mafioso Angelo Lonardo (part of his testimony dealt with the 1927 Mafia murder of his father) and undercover FBI agent Joseph Pistone.
The jury deliberated for five days. The verdict was returned to a crowded courtroom at 12:20 p.m. on Wednesday, November 19: All defendants were found guilty on all the charges brought against them.
Persico, Salerno and Corallo were convicted as the bosses of the Colombo, Genovese and Lucchese Crime Families. The case established Langella as Colombo acting boss or underboss, Santoro as Lucchese underboss and Furnari as Lucchese consigliere.
All the defendants were convicted of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy. Indelicato was convicted of participating in the 1979 Commission-authorized murder of Carmine Galante. All the defendants but Indelicato were convicted of extortion, extortion conspiracy and labor payoffs. Corallo and Santoro also were convicted of loansharking conspiracy.
Judge Owen sentenced the defendants on January 13, 1987. Persico, Salerno, Corallo, Langella, Santoro, Furnari and Scopo were sentenced to a century in prison. Indelicato was sentenced to forty years.
Civil RICO
Even though RICO threatens very long prison terms for racketeers, the law's real power is its civil component. Anyone can bring a civil suit if they've been injured by a RICO violation, and if they win, receive treble damages. In the 1980s, civil lawyers attempted to fit many different claims inside of RICO, but in the 1990s the federal courts set up a number of hurdles for civil RICO claims. To succeed on a RICO claim, a plaintiff must show:
Criminal Activity. You must show that the defendant committed one of the enumerated RICO crimes, which include the broad crimes of mail and wire fraud. If you bring a claim on a fraud basis, however, the court will apply strict scrutiny.
Pattern of Criminal Activity. One crime is not enough. You have to show a pattern of at least two crimes. A pattern requires the crimes be related in some way—same victim, same methods, same participants—or continuous, meaning it was conducted over at least a year.
In Georgia, if they cheat the same on January 5th that would meet the criteria for a pattern of two crimes…Although the was the primaries and a special election in July??
my bet on Zuck