Will Blago Meet RICO?

[babylonsister]

http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/2009/01/will-blago-meet-rico.html

Will Blago Meet RICO?


U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has requested a three month extension of time to bring an indictment against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, stating that he needed more time to review thousands of telephone intercepts and to interview new witnesses. While I can't presume to know what is in Fitzgerald's mind, it looks likely that Fitzgerald will seek an indictment under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charging Blagojevich with conspiracy to violate RICO through a corrupt enterprise, namely, the Office of the Governor of the State of Illinois.

The RICO statute originally was developed as a means of attacking organized crime. The theory behind the statute was that even if the government could not prove that a mob boss himself engaged in criminal activity, the command of a corrupt organization (for example, a crime family) was itself a crime. In this way, if a mob boss managed to create layers of organization insulating himself from specific acts of extortion, bribery and other criminal behavior, the mob boss still could be held criminally liable. Over time, the use of RICO was expanded to cover non-organized crime activities, including public corruption.

At its core, RICO lists certain "predicate" acts (such as extortion), and applies to defendants who conduct a pattern of predicate acts through an "enterprise." Under a conspiracy theory, anyone who participates in conducting the enterprise may be liable. RICO is a powerful law enforcement tool because RICO eliminates the need for the prosecution to prove that a defendant himself engaged in the predicate acts. Needless to say, there is a lot of litigation over what constitutes an "enterprise," and other issues under RICO.

snip//

But with RICO, if Fitzgerald can prove that Blagojevich presided over a criminal "enterprise," these attempts to distance Blagojevich from his subordinates may be to no end. This is why Fitzgerald needs more time. Proving that there is an enterprise requires wide-ranging proof of people acting together such that there is an "enterprise." A few guys getting together to commit a single or series of crimes does not prove that there was an enterprise. This is why Fitzgerald needs to bring dozens of witnesses, hundreds of tapes, and a mountain of documents together, to show that Blagojevich was acting through an enterprise.

What would the criminal enterprise be? As in the case of Buddy Cianci, it would be the governmental organization under Blagojevich's control, namely, the Office of the Governor and the various executive departments and agencies controlled by the Governor. If you think you have seen screaming headlines so far, just wait until the entire executive branch of Illinois state government is alleged to be a criminal enterprise.

[Doctor_J]

1. So Fitz hauled him from his house at 6:00AM for the cameras, then postpones

the indictment for 4 months, leaking as he goes, and preventing a senator from IL from being seated. Now this genius says "I can't presume to know what is in Fitzgerald's mind, it looks likely that Fitzgerald will seek an indictment under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charging Blagojevich with conspiracy to violate RICO through a corrupt enterprise, namely, the Office of the Governor of the State of Illinois."

The right wing is once again playing chess while we play checkers

Rove set this up to keep a Dem Senator from being seated, thus requiring one more Repuke to cross over to break the upcoming phalanx of filibusters.

Obama's new AG needs to pursue all of the Bush DoJ criminals to the ends of the earth if need be, and mete out really harsh prison sentences for every one of them.

[babylonsister]

2. Rove set this up?

:rofl: You give him way too much credit.

[kevsand]

3. You obviously don't know about the last six years of political history in Illinois.

Blago is the head of the most corrupt Illinois administration in anyone's memory. Several of his top aides and associates are already in prison, with more likely on the way.

The arrest wasn't to prevent a Dem from being appointed Senator, it was to prevent Blago from selling the seat.

I'm not at all surprised that people would be starting to think RICO. I've been thinking it myself, and suggested it independently in another thread yesterday afternoon.

[jacksonian]

4. IL political history is longer than 6 years, sir

and Blago is still a long ways from outdoing George Ryan - really what Blago is accused of is pennies on the dollar compared to Ryan's corruption, even if every accusation is true. I recall people dying because of what Ryan did. Your memory is very short, sir, and reveals your bias in the matter.

[kevsand]

5. Yes, it's much longer than six years.

And I've been witness to over fifty of it. We've had many governors go to jail. There is nothing wrong with my memory, sir, but there is a great deal wrong with your grasp of the facts. This one is the worst.

Yes, people died indirectly because of Ryan's license scandal, but it was still just one scandal, and just one scheme. Blago has had dozens of different pay for play games, on the way to creating an entirely new, all pervasive environment of state corruption. His dollar totals far exceed anything Ryan collected.

We're talking state contracts. We're talking state jobs. We're talking permits, and executive orders, and favorable legislation. Anything and everything that he could deliver has been for sale, and he has sold them all.

The Senate seat isn't the first or only thing he's tried to sell. It's merely the latest and perhaps the most remarkable, especially considering that everyone (Blago included) has known that he's been under investigation for five years. It's also maybe the only thing he's ever actually been prevented from selling.

There's no bias on my part here. Everyone in Illinois knows the truth about this, and has known it for a long time. Anyone who doesn't is living in either ignorance or denial, but they are certainly not living in Illinois.

[babylonsister]

6. No, I'm a dumb one. But how does Rove figure in? nt

[kevsand]

9. I'm sorry, what?

[Doctor_J]

10. I know quite a bit about it, having lived there for my first 50 years

You, OTOH, must have been asleep for 8 years. The current DoJ is the most partisan and corrupt in the history of the republic. Does the name Don Siegleman ring a bell? David Iglesias?

Everything this DoJ does is suspect at least, and probably corrupt.

[kevsand]

11. I'm sure that will come as a great surprise...

...to those career personnel at Justice who have been resisting the Bush corruption this entire time, at great personal risk. Thanks for insulting them.

It will also come as a great surprise to the federal prosecutors who were fired for doing their jobs, whom you have just tarred with the same brush as the Bush cronies. You do know that Rove and Blago both tried to have Fitz fired for doing his job, right?

If you don't know that Blago is as crooked as it gets, you don't know squat. Read an Illinois paper once or twice. Talk to someone who's lived here recently. Get some actual facts about the local situation before you start making assumptions or making shit up.

[earcandle]

7. So why isn't Bush indicted under RICO?

Why isn't he responsible for Cheney's behavior, and his
Administration's behavior? 

Somebody, please demonstrate that we have the intelligence and
character and goodwill to have enough respect for our
constitution to answer this question in all sincerity, and
that we can both speak and act on the matter to get an answer.
 

And if we don't know the answer, could we speculate how the
rule of law (innocent until proven guilty) applies once the
complaints are filed? Do the press or the public or any public
servants have the right to slander a person who has had a
complaint filed?  Is that legal, or do we all have to abide by
this rule, as informed citizens, that understand and cooperate
with the laws? Do we teach our children that they must act so
in these circumstances to preserve the law?  Can we expect
those laws to be carried out by the people we hire to perform
the duties that ensure civility and lawful abidance?  

If not, why not?
Critical thinking skills are crucial to a working democracy.
Do we really want to leave our children a wasteland from
issues we
have pretended don't exist, unless we are in the know....

woo hoo.. in the know and didn't say a word? 

[tom_paine]

12. So very well said and true! Welcome to DU, earcandle!

:toast:

I was going to say some of what you just said and point out the irony, but you did that and more, imclduing contextualizing the larger issue of the, shall we say "social engineering that coincidentally disables democracy and enables feudal-style tyranny".

As Orwell said, and the Bushies put into practice, they have literally denied people the tools, vocabulary and concepts with which to challenge their tyranny. People can't challenged something they don't understand.

Well said and deserves it's own OP. Wish I could recommend this post!

:toast:

[earcandle]

8. What, then all states must be scrutinized to be fair

and they probably would all be found guilty, which is fine,
but we have to be careful about what is guilt, and what is
strategy in place, exercised loyally by the deference patterns
of mostly green card holders who are told what to do in our
government jobs and they do it. They do it because they want
to keep the jobs.  But most are not raised in a Democracy, so
they do not protest nor do they leak or expose, or even
understand that crimes are being committed when budgets veer
off to include accounts not on the books, or to purposes
unstated, and checks payable to one party are deposited to
another instead. But it doesn't matter because who gets the
checks back anymore to see depository information that was
once used to verify data, found on the back of the check?  

Blind, deaf and dumb or a dealer.  By the time politicians get
to the top, they know who they owe, and who owes them, yes? 
Isn't that a fact of relationship building and how the Senate
and Congress go about urging and lobbying and all of that? 
Isn't that why Obama is having that nazi open his inauguration
with some symbolic gesture?  Paradox.  Relationships.  Why
Gates is still there running the Pentagon?  

.... hey... do this to Blago, and do it to Schwartzenegger,
and everyone else.  Starting at the top with Bush!.  He is the
ring leader.... the RICO pinhead! 

PROOF that RICO should come down on Bush and Paulsen IN THE
PUBLIC EYE: 

Neil Barofsky (NY US Attorney) has been appointed as Inspector
General of a Special Treasury Department, and funded $50
million to investigate what Paulsen has done with every
portion of the $750 Billion bail out money.  They can't even
keep that straight.  Where is that money going?  That is easy
to audit, pull the bank statements.  You don't need $50
million to audit.  WTF?  

How can you pin the tale on Blago's government as a crime
enterprise without comparing it to the others to see what is
the "norm" today?  Look in Washington DC to see how
all the other states have complied with Bush economics and
start with this Adminstration's governing policies and
directives handed out to the Judiciaries across the land, as
well as the Governors and Mayors.... Machiavellianism has
ruled for thirty years, that is duplicity rather than
authenticity.  Want a crime industry and no security, pretend
to go after them, but don't change the system?   

And otoh, everyone knows that you can't get anything done in
government unless you kiss ass, or grease palms, so what are
you going to find out?  Who is doing who?  

Isn't it better to make them do their jobs for pay and
benefits, according to their job description, which we write,
or get kicked out? 

The ability to deal with ambiguity is a sign of mental health.
 
We got to get over it, and not be paralyzed.  
We need to Act. 

What is a general strike? 
Is that like what they did in our town when everyone went to
work and laid down on the floor, refusing to work until they
allowed black people to have corporate jobs too? 

Tell me what to do.  

[tom_paine]

13. Another winner of a post.

:toast: