In 1970, a law was passed to combat the Italian-American Mafia. Until then, it was impossible in the United States of America to charge a person who was a member of a long-standing business and who showed patterns of behaviour and links to such an organisation.
The law requires the prosecution to prove that the accused has committed two out of 35 possible crimes. These include crimes such as murder, kidnapping, bribery, fraud and obstruction of justice.
Each US state has its own version of the law – Georgia’s is particularly broad. The legal scope of Georgia’s RICO statute allows District Attorney Willis not only to present evidence that would otherwise be inadmissible, but also to indict others if a joint conspiracy can be proven.
If convicted by a state court, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison, and no governor, not even the president, has the power to pardon them – not even if Donald Trump himself were president of the United States of America.
To the German translation of this article: RICO