Title IX - Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations

Authors

Richard Levy, University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow

Abstract

Organized crime's penetration of legitimate business has long been a major congressional concern. Although the means employed to effect such penetration may vary, the result remains constant; organized crime is provided with additional economic power and a facade of legitimacy behind which it can more easily spread its influence and pursue its goals. At the same time, organized crime's monopolistic tendencies, furthered by its use of various forms of coercion, pose a serious threat to free trade and lawful ownership. Prior law proved inadequate in curtailing these abuses. Federal law was piecemeal and not designed to meet the challenge of organized crime, and, consequently, much reliance had to be placed upon ineffectual state laws. Moreover, difficulties of proof made the successful prosecution of members of criminal syndicates, especially those in the higher and more isolated echelons of the organized crime structure, extremely difficult. More importantly, however, conviction of any one member of a criminal syndicate did not loosen organized crime's hold on legitimate business. Rather, it resulted only in the adoption of a "compulsory retirement and promotion system" in which other syndicate members were promoted to take the place of the convicted few.

Recommended Citation

Richard Levy, Title IX - Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, 4 U. Mich. J. L. Reform 622 (1971).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr/vol4/iss3/17