Hot Topics: RICO and the Trial of Young Thug

The purpose of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 is to facilitate the eventual eradication of organized crime in the United States, by strengthening the evidence-gathering process, by adopting new penal prohibitions, and by creating increased sanctions and numerous remedies to deal with unlawful activities.

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is a federal law (codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-68) targeting organized criminal activity and racketeering. RICO enhances existing criminal punishments and creates new causes of action for acts done as a part of an organized criminal enterprise.

A service that is offered through false pretenses or fraud, usually to solve a specific problem, is often known as a “racket.” Rackets can involve various different financial crimes.

Currently before this Court are the omnibus pretrial motions of defendants John A. Gotti, Dominick Loiacono, Vincent Zollo, Anthony Plomitallo, Michael Zambouros, and Dennis McClain who are charged in various counts of the Indictment with, inter alia, racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, wire fraud, extortion in telecommunications and gambling.

A jury returned a verdict of guilty upon two counts (13 and 18), as well as other counts, of an indictment, which charged wilful failure to file tax returns for the years 1929 and 1930. Since said date defendant has been confined in a Federal penitentiary.