Posted on 10/11/2004 5:49:59 AM PDT by mlmr
RICO needs only THE APPEARENCE of organized criminal activity.
One example of RICO can be a case where a College Professor or other scientific organization performs research on a company's claims and finds the company's claims to be unfounded and verging on the criminal. If the company in question threatens to sue the individual for libel, slander, and/or defamation knowing that their claims being exposed are false and/or fraudulent and that the Professor's summations and commentary are demonstrably true, it's possible that the threats or full-on lawsuit which attempts to silence the individual would befall RICO predicates. An attorney would be employed to judge whether RICO applies and, of course, a Judge would make the final decision in a court of law
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RICO_%28law%29
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