The list of federal crimes specified in RICO includes bribery, fraud, gambling offenses, money laundering, financial and economic crimes, obstructing justice or a criminal investigation, and murder for hire. At the state level, racketeering can include crimes such as murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, and drug crimes, as long as they align with the "generic definition of the state offense referenced at the time RICO was enacted."
May 22, 2022
By Evette Dionne
In early January,(click here) Atlanta-based rapper Gunna’s third studio album, “DS4Ever,” debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart after selling 150,000 copies in its first week. It was the seeming culmination of Gunna’s rap ascension: He has hit songs (“Pushin P,” the first single from “DS4Ever,” spawned a viral TikTok trend), an enviable label situation with rap superstar Young Thug, and a much-rumored but never confirmed relationship with pop star Chlöe. But it all came crashing down last week when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis unveiled a sweeping 56-count indictment that accuses Gunna, Young Thug and 26 of their associates of using their music label, Young Slime Life, as a cover to participate in criminal activities....
These charges are not out of line with the national intelligence of The Bloods, as in Crits and Bloods. What do the Bloods have to do with any of this? “Young Slime Life” was formed in 2012 according to current facts and the is affiliated with the Boods.
By convicting the artists that sing within the culture the prosecutors hope to end the long term success of violence. Below is an assessment of the Bloods from the State of Virginia. These gangs are followed because they do indulge in crime.
The Bloods street gang (click here) has become one of the most violent and
notorious criminal organizations, spreading its influence in the U.S.
from coast to coast. A traditionally African American gang, Bloods
membership today includes Caucasians, Hispanics, and Asians.
Blood members are involved in a variety of criminal activities
including murder, assault, robbery, and narcotics distribution.
Nationally, gang membership in the Bloods has been estimated
between 15,000 and 20,000 members.1
Blood sets range from
highly organized and structured groups similar to the Italian Mafia to
loosely organized cliques with little discipline and loyalty. The
Bloods have grown in popularity over the years thanks in part to the proliferation of
music, movies, and television shows glorifying the “gangsta” lifestyle as well as social
networking sites and the vast amount of information on the gang available on the
Internet. Current intelligence gathered by the Virginia Fusion Center and other law
enforcement agencies indicates the Bloods are a significant criminal threat to the
Commonwealth and will continue to grow in numbers and operational scope....
Interesstingly enough, there is also a case in New York one would not expect to see. A murder story author is indicted for the violent death of her husband. She is Caucasian, but, she is also a woman. But, her writing exposed her as a suspect when normally that would not pre-determine the murderer.
May 18, 2022
By Mike Baker
Portland - While pondering the best methods for spousal murder, (click here) the romance novelist Nancy Brophy wrote that her career as an author — with steamy stories of romance and betrayal — left her thinking often about killings and how the police investigate them.
A spouse who commits mariticide will almost certainly become a prime suspect, she said in a 2011 blog post titled “How to Murder Your Husband.” The wife, she said, must “be organized, ruthless and very clever.”...
...Seven years later, Ms. Brophy’s husband, Daniel, was brutally murdered, shot twice inside the kitchen of a Portland, Ore., culinary institute where he was arriving for work on a sunny June morning. Now, prosecutors are trying to build a follow-the-string criminal case to prove that Ms. Brophy, 71, killed her husband with the same type of brutal cunning she once speculated would be necessary to evade conviction and reap the rewards — compiling gun components to avoid leaving a trace, attacking when no cameras or witnesses were present and moving to collect on a series of life insurance policies within days of her husband’s death....
The death of Mr. Brophy is not a RICO issue, but, it is an author facing her own fiction as proof of the murder.
Organized crime has always been one of those soft spots for law enforcement where it is often too difficult to prove. The idea of taking down the "real" gangsters at the top is difficult. Law enforcement across the country would love to stop these crimes and taking down the leadership is supposed to achieve it. Considering some of the history of an east coast USA crime family was first the dreamscape of two inmates at Ryker's Island, the idea of ending it is not likely.
The issue should not be the culture or the language or icons of RAP, but, if the monies earned from performances and/or sales of recordings supported crime or co-mingled with monies gotten from crime, then the relationship may be real, but, to assign a song or performer to a RICO statute without a solid link to crime then it is a slippery slope that needs scrutiny.
