Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act

Long title	An Act relating to the control of organized crime in the United States
Acronyms (colloquial)	OCCA; RICO;
Nicknames	Organized Crime Control Act of 1970
Enacted by	the 91st United States Congress
Effective	October 15, 1970
Citations
Public law	91-452
Statutes at Large	84 Stat. 922-3 aka 84 Stat. 941
Codification
Titles amended	18 U.S.C.: Crimes and Criminal Procedure
U.S.C. sections created	18 U.S.C. §§ 1961–1968
Legislative history
	Introduced in the Senate as S. 30 by John L. McClellan (D–AR); Passed the Senate on January 23, 1970 (74-1); Passed the House on October 7, 1970 (341-26); Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on October 15, 1970;
United States Supreme Court cases
	H.J. Inc. v. Northwestern Bell Tel. Co., 492 U.S. 229 (1989); Tafflin v. Levitt, 493 U.S. 455 (1990); Cedric Kushner Promotions, Ltd. v. King, 533 U.S. 158 (2001); Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, 537 U.S. 393 (2003); Anza v. Ideal Steel Supply Corp., 547 U.S. 451 (2006); Mohawk Industries, Inc. v. Williams, 547 U.S. 516 (2006); Boyle v. United States, 556 U.S. 938 (2009);

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.

RICO was enacted by section 901(a) of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 (Pub.L. 91–452, 84 Stat. 922, enacted October 15, 1970) and is codified at 18 U.S.C. ch. 96 as 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961–1968. G. Robert Blakey, an adviser to the United States Senate Government Operations Committee, drafted the law under the close supervision of the committees chairman, Senator John Little McClellan. It was enacted as Title IX of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, and signed into law by US President Richard M. Nixon. While its original use in the 1970s was to prosecute the Mafia as well as others who were actively engaged in organized crime, its later application has been more widespread.

Beginning in 1972, thirty-three states adopted state RICO laws to be able to prosecute similar conduct.

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