I have learned some interesting things while doing research for my several books. One of those is brought out in my novella Friends at Homeland Security which will shortly be published. There are multiple tools available to law enforcement which tip the scales of justice in the direction of law enforcement especially in the ongoing efforts to interdict organized crime. Some of the most potent of those tools are the RICO statutes, or just the threat of using them against a criminal. One of my characters in Friends at Homeland Security describes the laws to a likely suspect:
Det. Redworth takes over for the moment, “The acronym RICO—I’m sure you know—is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Its main provisions include hefty fines—as much as double the gross profits or proceeds from the criminal gains–and prison sentences of twenty-to-life. You lose any interest and any present or future rights to any property involved in the racketeering enterprise and forfeit any ill-gotten gains that came out of the enterprise including money or any property or objects of value. You will have to post a satisfactory performance bond. You can’t transfer property to anyone to evade the penalties. Any property given to your wife or family resulting from the imposition of RICO penalties will be forfeited to the federal government. In very brief language–short of the death penalty–getting hung up by RICO is the ultimate bummer.”