1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff. Lauren Vogelbaum here. In a pivotal scene 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: in the movie The Godfather, the aging mafia kingpin Vita 4 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: cor Leone played by Marlon Brando, calls a meeting of 5 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,600 Speaker 1: prominent mafio so from across the United States to strike 6 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: a pact the drugs for the new game in town, 7 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: and cor Leone, hesitant at first about entering the narcotics business, 8 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: proposes that the competing mob operations work together to control 9 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: the drug trade nationwide. The Godfather is fiction, but that 10 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:40,239 Speaker 1: scene is reminiscent of real world criminal conspiracies hatched by 11 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,879 Speaker 1: mob bosses like John the Teflon, Don Gotti and Anthony 12 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: Tony Duck's Corralo. These types of backroom deals were the 13 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: bread and butter of the mob business model for decades. 14 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: The cops and FBI might nab some lower level operatives 15 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: for murder, bribery, or extortion, but the bosses at the 16 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: top were able to keep their hands clean. Gatty's business 17 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: card said he was a salesman for a plumbing contractor, 18 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 1: and since prosecutors couldn't connect him or other mafia dons, 19 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: directly to specific crimes. The biggest criminals were seemingly untouchable. 20 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,400 Speaker 1: Then came the RICO Act of nineteen seventy, otherwise known 21 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: as the Racketeer, Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. RICO gave 22 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: the fed's new power to indict mob kingpins for various 23 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: rackets or crimes committed by their underlings. Before the article 24 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: this episode is based on House to Works. Spoke with 25 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: Jeffrey Grell, an attorney and adjunct professor at the University 26 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: of Minnesota Law School who specializes in RICO law. He 27 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,680 Speaker 1: said the philosophy behind RICO was to get the Vita 28 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 1: cor Leones of the world. RICO goes into that conference 29 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: room where you've got a bunch of people who never 30 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: get their hands sturdy, who aren't out dealing drugs, murdering people, 31 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: or engaging in any criminal activity directly. Those are the 32 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: people that RICO is designed to get, the people who 33 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: engage others to engage in rack tearing. A racket is 34 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:07,639 Speaker 1: any organized criminal scheme like, for example, the twentieth century 35 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: mob rackets of prostitution, gambling, illegal lotteries run running during Prohibition, 36 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: and the protection racket in which the mob offers businesses 37 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: paid protection from criminal gangs, notably themselves, But as defined 38 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: by RICO, racketeering is whenever an individual operates or manages 39 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,839 Speaker 1: an enterprise through a pattern or series of racketeering activities. 40 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,840 Speaker 1: The alleged racketeer does not have to commit any of 41 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:36,960 Speaker 1: the crimes themselves or even know about the crimes, which 42 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:41,399 Speaker 1: can include everything from kidnapping to wire fraud to biological weapons. 43 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: A Contrary to popular belief, RICO cases aren't easier to 44 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:50,399 Speaker 1: prosecute than regular criminal cases, and Hollywood depictions often get 45 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: it wrong, though Grell said that the RICO episode of 46 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: Better Call Saul pretty much nailed it. Although the language 47 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: of RICO is broad, the Supreme Court and federal appeal, 48 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: those courts have narrowed its application. As a consequence, the U. 49 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:08,920 Speaker 1: S Department of Justice very rarely pursues racketeering charges. Grell 50 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: said that most of the time, people who commit crimes 51 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,839 Speaker 1: are out there committing the crimes. They're dealing drugs, they're 52 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: murdering people. Why would the Feds use RICO when they 53 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: can just charge them with the underlying crime. The DJ 54 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,680 Speaker 1: only uses RICO when there's really no other alternative, like 55 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: with John Gotti. To make a racketeering charge stick, you 56 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: first need to prove that a pattern of related criminal 57 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: activity took place, whether it was murder, extortion, drug dealing, 58 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: or some other racket. Again, you don't have to prove 59 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 1: that Gouty himself pulled the trigger or ordered the hit, 60 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: but that someone in the enterprise did the second, and 61 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: most importantly, you need to prove that Gotti or any 62 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: other alleged racketeer operated or managed the enterprise. Grell points 63 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: out that under RICO law, the enterprise or organization itself 64 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: isn't on trial for racketeering, but rather the individuals in charge, 65 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: defined as those who quote exercise discretionary authority on behalf 66 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: of the enterprise. If an individual associated with an enterprise 67 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: simply follows orders and exercises no discretion in carrying out 68 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 1: their duties, most courts agree that such low level associates 69 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: cannot be held liable under RICO, but there are also 70 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: civil Rico suits. The original Rico Act contained a provision 71 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: allowing civil lawsuits in which plaintiffs could collect triple damages 72 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: if they were injured by a RICO violation. In the 73 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties that led to a wave of civil reco claims, 74 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: some of which had flimsy legal rounding. This led to 75 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,120 Speaker 1: tighter restrictions on civil rico suits, including a four year 76 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: statute of limitations. In recent years, some of the biggest 77 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: scandals in the news cycle have also been the subject 78 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: of civil racketeering lawsuits, including the Catholic Church sexual abuse 79 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: scandal and the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal. In that example, 80 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:03,039 Speaker 1: in addition into filing individual sexual harassment lawsuits against this 81 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: media mogul, lawyers for the victims have also filed a 82 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: civil reco case allegingd that Weinstein and his enablers operated 83 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: a criminal organization that the lawyers are referring to as 84 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: the Weinstein Sexual Enterprise. If the allegation sticks, then Weinstein 85 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:21,920 Speaker 1: and his associates could owe triple damages to their victims 86 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: under civil racketeering law. Here are a few more traditional 87 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: rico suits from recent years. In there was the Atlanta 88 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 1: cheating scandal. Eleven teachers and administrators from Atlanta, Georgia's schools 89 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: were convicted of racketeering, and not because they were ordering 90 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: hits on the lunch lady or running a speakeasy in 91 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: the faculty lounge, but because they had conspired to cheat 92 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 1: on their students standardized tests, and schools that performed better 93 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:51,280 Speaker 1: on the tests got more money from the government. So 94 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: these ringleaders created a system that rewarded teachers for correcting 95 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 1: their students answers and punished those who refused to play ball. 96 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: That same year, the soccer world was rocked by the 97 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: indictment of nine prominent officials from FIFA, the sports international 98 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 1: governing body, on racketeering charges. The Department of Justice alleged 99 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 1: that since nineteen ninety one, the men had run a 100 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: kick back scheme. The used bribery to secure the rights 101 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,760 Speaker 1: to certain FIFA events, including the World Cup. As of 102 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 1: this writing, only two of the accused have been convicted 103 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,599 Speaker 1: of criminal racketeering conspiracy, a charge the caries of to 104 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 1: twenty years in prison. Then there's the opioid crisis. You 105 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,160 Speaker 1: may know that a number of pharmaceutical companies have been 106 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,720 Speaker 1: targeted for their role in worsening the deadly opioid epidemic 107 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: in the US, but five executives at Insist Therapeutics were 108 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: convicted of engineering a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe 109 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 1: their fentinel based mouth spray even when it wasn't medically necessary. 110 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:52,919 Speaker 1: The charge was racketeering because the executives didn't pay the 111 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,840 Speaker 1: bribes themselves, but helped organize phony speaker programs in which 112 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:02,039 Speaker 1: doctors were recruited and paid off. Grel said, rico is 113 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: a good tool when you're working with large groups, like 114 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: a drug dealing enterprise or corporation. If you substitute that 115 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: room full of mafioso's with the board of directors for 116 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: any corporation, it's the same thing. Today's episode is based 117 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: on the article Racketeering Isn't just a crime for mobsters 118 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: on how stuff works dot Com, written by Dave Rouges. 119 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership 120 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: with how stuff works dot Com, and it is produced 121 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit 122 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:36,440 Speaker 1: the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 123 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:37,440 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.