RICO has facilitated the prosecution of those involved in OC, as the use of traditional conspiracy statutes has proven difficult. Rather than having to prove a series of distinct conspiracies, under RICO it is a crime to belong to an enterprise that is involved in a "pattern of racketeering", even if that pattern was displayed by other members. A "pattern" refers to just two or more of the specified offences within a ten-year period. The violation of RICO’s criminal provisions may result in imprisonment for 20 years and/or a fine of up to $25,000 (Abadinsky, 2003:319).

RICO also contains provisions according to which citizens can sue for damages to their business or property. They stand to recover threefold the damages sustained, as well as the cost of the suit. RICO also has asset forfeiture provisions, as well as those pertaining to the divestiture of the interests of OC figures in businesses and unions. These issues are discussed in the sections on the Seizure and Forfeiture of Assets and Injunctions, Divestitures, and Trusteeships.

By 1990, more than 1,000 major and minor OC figures had been convicted under RICO and given lengthy prison sentences (Abadinsky, 2003:319). The threat of long sentences has also served as a stick to gain the cooperation of defendants. Also, Giuliani (1986:106) argues that RICO "enables the Government to present a jury with the whole picture of how an enterprise, such as an organized crime family, operates. Rather than pursuing the leader or a small number of subordinates for a single crime or scheme, the Government is able to indict the entire hierarchy of an organized crime family for the diverse criminal activities in which that "enterprise" engages."

https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/jsp-sjp/rr05_5/p5.html