The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act was originally designed to fight the Mafia criminal organization but has since been used to prosecute the Key West Police Department in the 1980s, Michael Milken in 1989, and more recently Mohawk Industries for its hiring of illegal aliens, Los Angeles private investigator Anthony Pellicano, and tobacco companies.
The RICO Act dramatically enhances the criminal penalties involved and makes prosecution much easier. It is an abuse of federal power designed to fight criminal enterprises but, as with any federal power, it has been used in unintended ways – even to prosecute individuals.
For a RICO prosecution to be considered, the offending party must commit 2 of 35 crimes within a 10 year period. RICO prosecutions are only possible against a group that has repeatedly and systematically violated the law and committed specific crimes. These crimes are detailed under section 90 of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970.
ACORN has repeatedly committed voter registration violations. This happened most recently in the 2008 elections, but also in the 2004 elections. The recent exposure of ACORN’s activities demonstrated a systematic willingness to help perpetuate crimes – tax evasion, child prostitution rings, human trafficking, etc.
By repeatedly flaunting the law ACORN fits the definition of a criminal enterprise. A criminal enterprise is “a group of individuals with an identified hierarchy, or comparable structure, engaged in significant criminal activity” according to the FBI. Criminal enterprises “often engage in multiple criminal activities and have extensive supporting networks.”
The ACORN organization is certainly extensive. The group claims to have more than 350,000 members that are organized into 850 chapters in more than 100 cities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and the Dominican Republic.
While the recent journalistic exploits probably couldn’t form the basis of a criminal case, the repeated voter fraud violations certainly can. Charges have been filed in at least three states and 14 have launched investigations into ACORN’s voter registration activities. The incidents date back to at least 1998.
So a RICO prosecution is certainly possible, but is there a prosecutor out there willing to pursue it?
Comments
Well, since Obama admitted that "community organizing" was his main preoccupation for years, then yes, I would say that he sure as hell wouldn't admit to it being a criminal enterprise.
"Is ACORN a criminal enterprise?"
Under the overly broad interpretations of RICO, probably yes.
But was more interesting is your situational ethics, Brian: You correctly describe RICO as "an abuse of federal power..." - but even so, you consider it okay to use against ACORN because you don't like ACORN.
Time to go take a course in Libertarian Philosophy 101.
Under any definition ACORN is a criminal enterprise...a top official of ACORN embezzled close to $1,000,000 and the leadership of ACORN hid it for years... It was the brother of the CEO of ACORN ..He qwas protected just like a mafia leader would have been. ACORN has been involved in stealing elections for many election cycles now including the MN senatorial race of 2008. The Democrats have benefitted from ACORN's crimes and now they run from ACORN as if it had the plague. How will they win without ACORN? By inventing a new ACORN to sign up the dead to vote the straight Democrat ticket and getting the support of Mickey Mouse and such.
jg, I don't like ACORN - but I'm still waiting for someone - anyone - to come up with an example of where a fraudulent registration was actually used to VOTE.
All the charges I've seen so far are about registration fraud - which is criminal (and in fairness, in places like Florida, was given to prosecutors by ACORN itself) - but I've yet to see where Mickey, Minnie or Goofy voted.
You want real election fraud, you need to go places like East St. Louis - where, some years ago, the two brothers of a city councilman voted in person at the polling place - despite the fact they were in federal prison in a different state! Or the two dozen absentee ballots cast from an address where a singel senior citizen woman lived.
All because party officials, precinct committeemen, automatically become deputy registrars for the election board - and can turn in registrations without anyone checking.
Now THAT'S a criminal enterprise.
Exactly Jake - use their institutions against them. Its a favorite tactic of minority groups.
So, Brian... just so we're clear on this... you believe it is perfectly acceptable to use an abusive federal process like RICO as long as it is used against someone or something you personally do not like - right?
Discard principles in the interest of expediency?
You might want to spend some time contemplating the classic poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller, "First they came ..."
If it works to achieve an ideal end...certainly.
Then quit pretending you are a libertarian, Brian - since you admit to having no principles.
You'd fit right in with the pseudo-conservatives, though.
Jake - ACORN has a 30 year history of damaging the country and is behind pushing Fannie and Freddie to loan money to people who couldn't afford the house they were buying. The organization must be stopped and a RICO prosecution would do it.
I'm a libertarian Jake, I donate to the party and am active with the state organization. You are a progressive.
You are a dolt, Brian. No defender of individual rights would support using RICO in any circumstance - it is a fatally corrupt law and process.
Maybe when you grow up you'll realize that - but I tend to doubt it, since you think 'party' defines you.
In another era, you would have made a good Nazi, I suspect.
Whatever Jake, I believe ACORN is throwing Presidential elections and must be stopped. These people have abused the system for decades and are entrenched in our system on false pretenses - a socialist agenda as confirmed by Rathke in the recent television interview. Stopping them is a victory for liberty - even if it means beating them on their own terms by using the system. There's no other way.
While I think ACORN is sleazy and certainly has corrupt elements, at a minimum, I seriously doubt they had an impact on the presidential election. I've spent time investigating some of the most efficient election fraud - these bozos aren't in the same league; heck, they can't even play the same game.
But there are plenty of ways - multiple fronts - that can be used against them without resorting to something as fundamentally corrupt (and corrupting) as RICO.
Of course, it takes talent and work to do things like dig deeply into 990s and other documentation, interview current and former ACORN workers, examine the projects they have done for impact and caost-effectiveness, etc.
Far easier to just punt it to federal prosecutors, huh, Brian? Expect the government to do the everything for you?
Interesting attitude for a self-proclaimed 'Libertarian.'
ACORN is going down anyway...RICO or not. However, the group does fit the definition of a "criminal enterprise." Here we are, back at square one and the point of my article.
No Brian - the point of your article is that you advocate using what you yourself describe as "an abuse of federal power" against something you don't like because you don't like them.
You advocate using evil to fight perceived evil.
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