W5 Crime Statutes Aimed at Combating Organized Crime Coursework

Organized Crime Statutes
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Organized Crime Statutes
The onset of organized crime in the early 20th century brought about some new forms of criminal activities. The impact that perpetrators of organized crime have on the everyday business in a country particularly in the modern era of globalization is damning. They infiltrate legitimate businesses, sponsor shady deals, and compromise the financial systems through money laundering and counterfeiting (Marine, 2006). They also engage in human and drug trafficking and many other illegal undertakings (Marine, 2006). Just like any other enterprise, criminal enterprises evolve and become more sophisticated with time. The advent of technology and globalization enables criminal enterprises from different parts of the world to work in collaboration. Congress has enacted some legislation in a bid for the US government to suppress the adverse effects of organized crime, and perhaps completely do away with it. The Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) and the Continuing Criminal Enterprise (CCE) are the two statutes meant to curb organized crime. The effectiveness of these laws is subject to debate, but to say the least, they have been in handy in the fight against organized crime.
RICO was passed in 1970 for the sole purpose of eliminating organized crime vices through prosecution of crime syndicates and their members (Morselli & Kazemian, 2004). To properly understand the application of RICO, there is a need to define some terms commonly associated with the act. The statute defines a criminal enterprise as an individual, group, legal entity, or close associates that partake in a crime. A pattern of racketeering refers to the series of dubious and offensive activities committed within ten years. Continuity, predicate, reasonable doubt, among other terms that are vital with the RICO statute, are clearly defined (Department of Justice, 2005). For an offender to be convicted of violating the RICO Act, some conditions must be satisfied, among other things, an enterprise, capable of altering the state of interstat...