1-24-94  SUPREME COURT DECISION

NEW INTERPRETATION OF RACKETEERING INFLUENCED CORRUPT
ORGANIZATIONS ACE--RICO

By Ross Regnart
"Crush Political Dissent?"

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on January 24, 1994, that organizations, groups, their
members and contributors are subject to being sued under Civil RICO Racketeering
Laws when their members commit a pattern of criminal acts to achieve political or
moral objectives.  Organizations using a pattern of violence or intimidation or any
other illegal means to financially damage a business or individual's property to
achieve political or moral objectives, may now be sued jointly and severally by
financially injured parties for three time actual financial damages, attorney fees,
and court costs.  Prior to this U.S. Supreme Court RICO interpretation, a necessary
element required to constitute a Criminal RICO Enterprise was a pattern of illegal
acts (at least two) committed by organization members, executed for the purpose
of furthering a financial scheme to profit organization members.  This is no longer
true.  An organization scheme may be motivated by ideology instead of cash.  RICO
Criminal Conspiracy:  An organization's scheme to expand by illegal means an
ideology, for instance, employing violence, arson, intimidation, or damage to a
business or property, can result in organization members being sentenced to 20
years in prison, having forfeited their personal and real property used to facilitate
or derived from a criminal RICO Enterprise, and/or assessed huge RICO fines.  More
than 30 states have their own RICO laws which have been modeled after federal
RICO laws.

Organizations and groups are now jointly and severally liable to Civil RICO  law
suits when members, known to have committed criminal acts for their
organization's or group's cause, are not ejected and/or turned over to the
appropriate authorities.  This is the first mistake an organization or group can make,
thus setting themselves up to be arrested or sued jointly and severally.  Note:  The
member who should have been ejected for illegal acts may in fact be the
government agent who will later testify against the organization or group that
administrating members had knowledge of its other members committing illegal
acts.  It is this kind of testimony which is difficult for organization and group
administrators to refute in subsequent Civil and Criminal RICO trials.

Northern Ireland:  Smart Political and Religious Leaders Learned to use RICO Type
Laws to their Advantage

Political and Religious Activists in Northern Ireland have had to deal with RICO type
laws since 1970, used by British forces against persons and groups considered a
political threat to the ruling government.  Political and religious activists originally
were defenseless against British agents who would infiltrate their groups and
organizations causing some of their members to commit illegal acts, such as
violence.  This was successful in criminalizing entire lawful organizations and citizen
groups.  Sometimes the members committing violent acts were British agents. This
fact is often camouflaged when "in the Furtherance of Justice," agents are given
immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony against their fellow
political group members, many of whom have not committed crimes, but were
considered threats to the ruling government.  Smart political and religious leaders
in Northern Ireland protect themselves from false arrest and imprisonment by
forming coalitions with other organizations and by restructuring their organizations
to include some of the following:

1.  Appointment of strong leadership and incorporation of written rules, policies,
and legal objectives of the organization or group.  Incorporate, in writing, the
group's or organization's policy for disposition of members who break the law. 
Appointment of "stewards" from within organizations and groups to oversee and
monitor member' behavior at public rallies and other events to insure organization
member not injure or attack persons or property.  Stewards also monitor
infiltrators at organization and group meetings and public events to insure they do
not appear to be representing the legitimate organization or group should the
infiltrator cause harm or damage to a person or property.

2.  Members of lawful and legitimate organizations must be extremely careful not
to associate with other groups who have members who have committed criminal
acts, but who have not been either ejected from the group or arrested.  Fusing of
members of different groups can lead to a quagmire so that government can not
separate one group's members and activities from another.  Government may
salivate at the opportunity to charge and criminally fine both the lawful and illegal
organizations together.

3.  Employment of private security at organization and public meetings in addition
to organization stewards, serves to keep order and provide independent witnesses
that organization members were not participating in illegal acts or violence, thus
diminishing government's opportunity to allege organization or group criminal or
terrorist conspiracy.  Organization insistence that police be present at certain
organization public events and meeting insures that these police may be called, if
necessary, as your witnesses.

4.  Violence at Public Events:  Tape Recorders and Video Cameras should be
employed to film and record organization and group meetings, public events, or any
other event, to document an organization or group's lawful activity and/or efforts
to keep the peace.  Organization stewards, upon witnessing violence at a public
event which organization members are attending, should immediately withdraw
their members.  Two video cameras should be employed to film the illegal acts of
the wrong doer(s).  One tape should be retained by organization security, the other
given to police.  Organizations may need to tape record their phone calls to later
prove their innocence.  It is difficult for a government to charge an organization
with Criminal Conspiracy when the organization acts lawfully and possesses
documentary evidence.

5.  Press Core:  It is necessary for every politically active organization to have a
credible relationship with the press.

Government's RICO Arsenal

Americans who are successful in confronting  the injustices and tyrannical activities
of governments, may find that their success, whether it be individual, by group or
organization action, may be met by government's new political RICO arsenal. 
Suggested:  Lawful groups and organizations integrate their activities and
objectives with those of other lawful and credible organizations, developing strong
political and moral coalitions.  Should government unreasonably attack, under RICO,
one group or organization, government will in effect be attacking all coalition
members.  Expect in The Future:  Political RICO  Criminal Arrests, Property
Forfeitures, Huge RICO Fines, Civil RICO Suits, and greater political opposition to
tyrannical activities  of government aimed at obstructing Americans' right to free
association and expression.  Political Forfeiture may be on the horizon.  It is
important to note the main element needed to constitute a RICO Criminal
Conspiracy is an agreement by at least two people to do an act or further an act
which is illegal under federal law (The Crime Control Act of 1970) and in the state
where committed.  Care should be taken by organization and group members not