Conspiracy, Leading Organized Crime
In general terms, a criminal conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit an illegal act. Also generally required is some conduct, called an overt act or a substantial step, taken in furtherance of the agreement. The agreement need not be explicit, but can be tacit. The overt act or substantial step itself need not be a criminal act. Charging a conspiracy provides substantial advantages to prosecutors, broadening the nature and scope of admissible evidence, and, at least at the federal level, creating broad joint liability among co-conspirators for reasonably foreseeable crimes committed by any conspirator in furtherance of the conspiratorial goals.
Under Washington law, a person is guilty of criminal conspiracy when, with intent that conduct constituting a crime be performed, he or she agrees with one or more persons to engage in or cause the performance of such conduct, and any one of them takes a substantial step in pursuance of such agreement.
Under federal law, a conspiracy is committed if two or more persons agree either to commit an offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any federal agency in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of the persons commit an act to achieve the object of the conspiracy.
Under the federal Pinkerton doctrine, a defendant may be liable for the “substantive” crimes committed by other conspirators if (1) the defendant was guilty of conspiracy, (2) a co-conspirator committed the substantive crime pursuant to and as a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the conspiracy, and (3) the defendant was a member of the conspiracy at the time the crimes were committed. This allows federal prosecutors to seek liability and punishment for crimes not directly and personally committed by a defendant who is a member of a conspiracy.
Leading organized crime is defined in Washington as being the leader, organizer, manager, supervisor, or financier of a group of three or more persons engaged in a pattern of committing certain crimes for financial gain.
Under federal law, criminal liability for the members of a criminal enterprise is found in the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, also referred to as the RICO Act. This Act was passed by Congress with the declared purpose of seeking to eradicate organized crime in the United States.
As described in the U.S. Attorney’s Manual, the RICO statute makes it unlawful for anyone employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of
such enterprise’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt.
Racketeering activity includes violations of certain state and federal criminal statutes, including gambling, murder, kidnaping, extortion, arson, robbery, bribery, dealing in obscene matter, dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical, counterfeiting, theft, embezzlement, fraud, obstruction of justice, slavery, gambling, money laundering, murder-for-hire, bankruptcy fraud, securities fraud, embezzlement of union funds, drug trafficking, criminal copyright infringement, and acts of terrorism.
An “enterprise” is defined as including any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity. A “pattern of racketeering activity” requires at least two related acts of racketeering activity committed within ten years of each other that amount to or pose a threat of continued criminal activity.