Our Miami, Florida, criminal defense law firm provides clients with the thorough and aggressive representation necessary for an effective defense against state and federal charges prosecuted as RICO violations. Our Miami defense attorneys include board-certified criminal defense specialist David Rothman. Please contact our office to make arrangements if you would like to speak with one of our lawyers about a RICO investigation.
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) provides state and federal prosecutors with a way to combine diverse and seemingly unrelated crimes into a single serious charge.
When criminal charges are prosecuted under RICO, the accused faces far more serious consequences than otherwise. If each of several individuals is charged with a relatively minor drug violation, each may face a maximum sentence of as little as one year. When a prosecutor combines the charges into one RICO case against a group of individuals, and alleges they are acting as an illegal enterprise, each individual is now at risk of serving over a decade in prison. These trials are long and complex, more evidence is assembled against the accused than in other cases, and the cases often are prosecuted by teams with the backing of powerful state and federal agencies.
Current use of racketeering charges has expanded beyond that of traditional RICO cases.
The original intent of RICO was to help in the investigation and prosecution of organized crime, and the public tends to associate racketeering with the “mob” or mafia. Now RICO is used not only when the alleged crimes charged include interstate gambling, bribery, extortion, trafficking, counterfeiting, and loan sharking; but when the case involves white collar crimes such as securities fraud, falsifying ID documents, embezzlement, and even public corruption. In addition to broad application of the racketeering act, prosecutors are increasingly likely to include federal conspiracy charges in a case, again increasing the complexity of the case and the consequences of conviction.
Locally, we serve clients from the Middle and Southern federal districts of Florida, and communities including Ft. Lauderdale, Miami Beach, West Palm Beach, Hollywood, Palm Beach County, and Broward County; we also serve clients throughout Florida and the United States.
