Criminology

This act was passed to law as an item under the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970. The drafting of this law was influenced by then need to fight organized crime and isolate it from legitimate business activities in the United States. The statute prohibits the use of proceeds from an organized crime or racketeering activity. However, the Supreme Court extended its mandate to legitimate businesses, and other unlawful ventures that involved direct or indirect racketeering activity. This act recognizes the existence and goes after persons who pretend to keep off from racketeering activities yet they form a ring of beneficiaries from these activities. According to this act, people found guilty of racketeering crime risks facing a fine of up to  25,000 and or a jail sentence of between 20 years to life. Prior to this legislation, the repealing of alcohol act in 1933 saw many crime factions and family units move to other crimes of money making while hiding under the disguise of other businesses. This vice continued to proliferate through 1960s until when the senate saw the need to pass a law that would combat these crimes. Before one is convicted, a pattern of at least two racketeering activities must be proven before the court.    

Racketeering activities encompasses a number of separate criminal wrong doings like bribery, fraud, drug trafficking, gambling, extortion kidnapping, blackmail and prostitution.RICO statute has seen increased application in the environments of organized labor trials. An example of this case is where the Second Circuit Court found sufficient evidence to indict the International Brotherhood Teamsters. On this prosecution, one of the Teamster employees was found to have had association with an organized crime personality which necessitated a disciplinary action. This statute has faced many challenges at the prosecution stage as many arms of federal government find themselves on the spot of accusation. This has in turn made the statute look like a system that is fighting itself. Most of such cases have led to unsuccessful prosecutions but although the act has had a success in other parts.
  
One of the cases that the federal government has had a success in utilizing the RICO statute is that of Gambino Family of October 2006. This family has a long history of involvement in get-away racketeering activities. The court was able to prove the involvement of the two members of this family Steven Catallono and Terry Scaglione together with their associate named Kevin McMahon in racketeering activities. The court found them guilty and sentenced them to a life imprisonment. Even though the sentencing did not succeed in dismantling the whole family of Gambinos, successful arrests and putting away of its active members will go along way in crippling and eventually terminating this group of criminals.

In another case, RICO statutes have led to expulsion of a lawyer who dubbed as the Chief executive officer and the chairman of the law firm in the name of Rothstein R. Adler. Scott was accused of funding the firm, making generous political and charitable contributions using proceeds of a fraudulent scheme. In spite of the fact that Scott turned himself in to the authorities on December 2009 and pleaded not guilty to his initial charges, he later pleaded guilty to five racketeering crimes in January 2010. He was denied any bail on the count that he had an offence of successfully forging other legal documents therefore considered a threat to the public. His sentencing is expected to take place sometimes in May 2010.
   
In my opinion, the law enforcement officials have moved a step forward in strive to eradicate organized crime. The struggle is however thwarted by the fact that organized crime has infiltrated itself to these very systems which are fighting it by having membership among corrupt officials in police departments and legal systems. This destroys the public image and trust of these agencies by the public. In Sarpy and Douglas Counties in Nebraska, law enforcers have resulted to involving the local community in the fight of crime. The participation of local population will increase the awareness and make the population play their role in crime eradication.

In summary, this act is a noble chance through which the society federal government can move in a progressive direction to eradicate organized crime.