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Is ACORN a criminal enterprise?
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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?
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