From the Sophisticated Undertakings of the Genovese Crime Family to the Everyday Criminal: The Loss of Congressional Intent in Modern Criminal RICO Application

Authors

Emily A. Donaher

First Page

197

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

Due to the unmanageable development of organized crime in America, principally the growth of La Cosa Nostra, Congress enacted the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970. Through this Act, Congress intended to eliminate organized crime, by criminalizing not only the syndicate but also the activities in which it was engaged. Congress then passed the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which was to preclude organized crime from infiltrating legitimate American businesses. Although Congress intended courts to construe the RICO statute liberally to combat organized crime, in some cases, American courts have taken this liberal construction too far. The RICO statute was to be employed in pursuit of formalistic corrupt groups of criminals that were engaged in crimes such as robbery, extortion, and fraud. Today, this is simply not the way in which RICO is applied. In an appalling modem-day application of the RICO statute, Planned Parenthood filed a RICO lawsuit alleging that anti-abortion demonstrators comprised a RICO enterprise engaged in demonizing, harassing, and intimidating Planned Parenthood facilities.' The racketeering lawsuit was filed after Planned Parenthood was the target of viral surreptitious videos, depicting Planned Parenthood doctors marketing fetal tissue. The departure from the original congressional intent of the RICO statute is precisely what this Article is about. RICO is no longer a statute exclusively used to fight organized crime; instead, RICO is a statute that has been judicially expanded to encompass loosely affiliated groups who are not engaged in traditional organized crime activities. From Planned Parenthood activists to law firms, and even marriages, RICO is a statute used to prosecute groups of individuals rather than organized crime units that are engaged in crimes such as robbery or extortion.

Recommended Citation

Emily A. Donaher, From the Sophisticated Undertakings of the Genovese Crime Family to the Everyday Criminal: The Loss of Congressional Intent in Modern Criminal RICO Application, 28 St. Thomas L. Rev. 197 (2016).
Available at: https://scholarship.stu.edu/stlr/vol28/iss2/3