With the passage of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, the federal government created for itself a powerful tool to be used against alleged criminals. Specifically, RICO provides:

The government with extended penalties for criminal acts performed by alleged criminal organizations. Some of the criminal acts that underpin a RICO charge against an alleged "Mafia" type organization or an international "cartel" are:

• Arms Trafficking
• Money Laundering
• Murder or Homicide
• Robbery
• Extortion
• Kidnapping
• Obstruction of Justice or Perjury

The expansion of the law to include criminal organization affords the US government with legal tools that make it easier to prosecute individuals that the government alleges are part of the criminal conspiracy.

If you have been accused of, or are under investigation for, racketeering and violations of the RICO Act the criminal defense Mercado & Rengel can help. Mercado & Rengel has defended individuals and organizations accused of high-level and complex crimes, including racketeering.

Prosecutors use rights granted by RICO to investigate a broad range of alleged criminal activities and organizations, including alleged drug organizations, organized burglary rings, car theft rings and other organizations. Jail time and asset seizure and forfeiture commonly result.

We focus our practice on handling complex cases that frequently involve multiple jurisdictions, multiple defendants and voluminous documents dating back months and years. If you have been accused of a RICO violation, contact us now before the investigation is complete. In some instances, we are able to convince the government that charges should not be brought.