Racketeering Laws In The United States, Italy and Russia
Racketeering or more simply a “racket” is a planned or organized criminal act,
usually in which the criminal act is a form of business or a way to regularly, but
repeatedly earn illegal or extorted money and is often a continuous criminal operation.
Many countries unwillingly engage in such activities, specifically however not limited to
The United States, Italy and Russia. Organized crime has shown an increasing ability to
adapt to rapid shifts in economic and political areas, especially in the past few years.
Over the last few decades, criminal organizations have increased their involvement,
generating a vicious and unbreakable cycle between the management of illegal
activities and the reinvestment of money in the legal economy. Reinvesting profits from
illegal activities and illicit markets into the legal economy allows criminal organizations
to launder proceeds of crime, diversify and expand their activities, increase their funding
sources and exercise control over the territory. Which is in turn disastrous for its
inhabitants.
The first published account of what became the Mafia or “organized crime” in the
United States dates to the spring of 1869 when The New Orleans Times reported that
“The city's Second District had become overrun by notorious murderers, counterfeiters
and burglars, who in the last month, have formed a sort of general partnership or stock
company for the genuine downfall and disturbance of the city.” After steady
progressions in the structure and reign of organized crime, laws were essential and
needed to be put in place for the safety of the country’s population. Acts such as the
RICO act, The Italian Penal Code and Russian Racketeering Regulations aid in the
cooperation and administration of such laws but do not fix them all together. America
being a country at the forefront of most news and activity created and currently enforces
the RICO act. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. This a United
States federal law that provides extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action
for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization, similar to The Italian
Penal Code that “enables the Italian government to prosecute individuals who form an
independent organization to engage in criminal activity.” The act was enacted in the
1980’s soon after RICO. Nearly 10 years after the united states and Italy had both put
legal measures into place, Russia decided to follow suit. Since the collapse of the
Soviet Union, organized crime has taken control of many major sectors of Russia's state
economy, society, and government and unlike RICO and The IPC (Italian Penal Code)
most initiatives developed against organized crime groups have failed.
Furthermore, The negative impacts of organized crime ripple throughout society and
aside from the clear guidelines and laws, there are still repercussions for those who
choose to commit illegal actions....
