The “Racketeering and Corrupt organization” laws have been a boon for prosecutors of organized crime. prosecutors like Rudi Giuliani were able to put scores of criminals in jail, using this law. my question; corrupt political machines seem to share a lot with organizations like the Mafia-they extort money, commit fraud, and rob taxpayers, So, can RICO be used against corrupt politicians? take the crew that run the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority: they operate just like the mafia. Could these acts be prosecutable under RICO?
There are two that I know about off the top of my head. Vincent “Buddy” Cianci is the former mayor of Providence, RI and was convicted of racketeering a few years ago and is now doing time in federal prison.
Former Louisiana governor, Edwin Edwards was also convicted of racketeering a few years ago and is also doing time in the federal prison system.
Politicians in the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and related entities likely have not been convicted due simply to budgetary constraints on the number of cells that can be built in a short amount of time.
James Traficant was tried in 1983 in a RICO prosecution in which he successfully defended himself, but was later convicted in 2002.
I can assure you I’ve never sat on any corrupt politicians in my life.
Carry on…
And why not? :dubious: