organized crime

Organized crime is a pattern of criminal conduct carried out by structured groups that operate as continuing enterprises for profit. Under U.S. federal law, it is primarily addressed through the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), enacted as part of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, rather than defined as a single standalone offense.

The RICO statute targets unlawful activities of highly organized, disciplined associations that infiltrate legitimate businesses and engage in racketeering activity. The law defines an enterprise as any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, as well as any union or group of individuals associated in fact though not a legal entity. The enterprise must be engaged in, or its activities must affect, interstate or foreign commerce.

Racketeering activity under RICO encompasses a broad range of predicate offenses including murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, and obstruction of justice. To establish a RICO violation, prosecutors must prove a pattern of racketeering activity, meaning at least two predicate acts within ten years, demonstrating continuity and relationship between the criminal acts.

The purpose of RICO, as stated by the U.S. Department of Justice, is the elimination of the infiltration of organized crime and racketeering into legitimate organizations operating in interstate commerce. In true crime contexts, organized crime typically refers to structured criminal groups such as traditional mafia families, drug cartels, street gangs with hierarchical structures, and transnational criminal organizations that repeatedly engage in illegal activity for profit through continuing enterprises rather than isolated offenses.