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Enterprise Requirement: Getting to the Heart of Civil RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations)

NCJ Number
118104
Journal
Wisconsin Law Review Volume: 1988 Issue: 4 Dated: (1988) Pages: 663-698
Author(s)
M A Gardiner
Date Published
1988
Length
36 pages
Annotation
The enterprise requirement is central to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), but it must be narrowly defined to achieve the goal of addressing organized crime.
Abstract
RICO provides for enhanced criminal remedies and treble damage civil recovery where an "enterprise" is involved in a "pattern of racketeering activity." However, the use of the statute has grown and its civil provisions have been used in contexts that its drafters had probably never contemplated. In response to the alleged abuses, defendants and judges sought ways to limit civil RICO. However, appellate courts are divided over the issue of how to define "pattern." Thus, judicial efforts to limit civil RICO based on the definition of pattern have not succeeded. Attention has therefore shifted to another possible issue: the definition of "enterprise." To function properly, the enterprise requirement must have three elements: 1) an ascertainable structure; 2) continuity, both of structure and of personnel; and 3) existence distinct from the pattern of racketeering activity. 190 footnotes. (Author summary modified)