State law prostitution and solicitation are not RICO predicate offenses and agreeing to engage the services of an adult lady offering sex for pay would not by itself give rise to a RICO conspiracy.
If the lady was part of an enterprise operating through a pattern of racketeering activity and the customer knew this and intended to further the enterprise by agreeing to engage or by engaging her services, that would be a different story even though the customer himself did not commit any RICO predicate acts. But that’s not why the typical customer sees the lady and the typical customer would not know of a lady’s involvement in more serious crime.
I have been reading a lot of stuff about this big Phoenix bust and have heard a lot about RICO charges. How could a customer be arrested on RICO charges and how easy would it be to get convicted of such charges?
I always thought RICO required two or more people to conspire. So, the pimps and their assistants would be eligible for RICO. Possibly the ladies too.
Now, the customers are all acting independently. But, if you and your friend went to visit a lady; or if guys on a board encouraged each other to visit a lady; that may be enough for a creative prosecutor to work with.
It could also be the Lady and the Customer are conspiring to break the law.
Disclaimer: I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night
You get a $25 ticket for J-walking, but if you discuss it with someone (and not even do it), you're facing ten years.
This is absurdity taken to an extreme.
People thought these laws were good because they would let the government go after organized crime, etc. Well, I have news for you: Organized crime is still around and thriving, and often found in the very bowels of the government that foists these conspiracy laws upon us.
The real reason for conspircy laws is to make it easier to lock up opponents of the government whenever they step out of line.
If these laws had been around during the civil rights struggles of the 1960's, we'd still have segregation and M L King would have died in a jail cell.
Sorry for the rant, but people have to realize that these kinds of laws need to be highly constrained in a democracy lest we become totalitarian.
(still not a lawyer)
State law prostitution and solicitation are not RICO predicate offenses and agreeing to engage the services of an adult lady offering sex for pay would not by itself give rise to a RICO conspiracy.
If the lady was part of an enterprise operating through a pattern of racketeering activity and the customer knew this and intended to further the enterprise by agreeing to engage or by engaging her services, that would be a different story even though the customer himself did not commit any RICO predicate acts. But that’s not why the typical customer sees the lady and the typical customer would not know of a lady’s involvement in more serious crime.
lightening than you do of being indicted for a RICO conspiracy.
But you can't expect a simple explanation of this. To understand what constitutes a RICO conspiracy, you have to understand what violates RICO in the first place which would take pages to explain.
So if you help plan a M&G could that fall under the RICO law?
The simple answer to that is NO.
My attorney laughed at the notion that M&G's are illegal. As long as there are no sexual acts and money exchanged for same on the premises, there is nothing illegal about them.
In fact, he was confident enough to attend one himself.
Of course attending a M & G would not violate the criminal law if your conduct at the party otherwise conforms to the law.
But your atty misunderstands why LE might have an interest in an escort M & G. LE will sometimes videotape such encounters and your presence at a M & G (1) is a piece of circumstantial evidence that in conjunction with other evidence might provide probable cause for a search warrant or (2) if not at least indicate the person's possible interest in illegal activity so as to warrant further investigation.
Now I doubt LE would care about a pure escort M & G but if the agency holding the affair is engaged in more serious criminal activity that's a different story.
My answer was in the context of a M&G such as they happen in the major cities.
It goes without saying if there are collateral criminal acts that attention can be drawn to such an event.
My attorney has no misunderstanding when it comes to the law and LE.
I can think of a hundred chicken little reasons to substantiate your theory.
Can you tell us which M&G's have been video taped, or are you guessing?
Most M&Gs are not hosted by agencies, as a matter of fact I have hosted a couple myself. Most M&Gs are a collaboration of hobbyists and providers and it is almost always stressed that no business is to be conducted at the actual M&G.
Now a function hosted by an agency for the purpose of furthering a "criminal enterprise" might be a different story, but that is a completely different set of circumstances. A M&G is exactly that, a meeting of like minded individuals. Not a thing illegal about that.
All true. The agency hosted M & G is simply as an example of when LE might have an interest in a M & G if the agency is engaged in
money laundering or some other RICO act.
If you are aware this is going on and that the M & G is part of this scheme and you attend, you could be roped into a RICO conspiracy although this is a long shot. But, regardless, if it is under survellance, you will come to the attention of LE.
As I said, in a pure escort M & G between guys and gals, it is hard to imagine any LE interest in that.
When Desert Divas was busted in Phoenix, LE had video taped the M&G. I wasn't talking about just attending a M&G. Lets assume a provider and a client plan a M&G with the purpose of putting folks together in the furtherance of planning a criminal enterprise, I would think that would fall under the RICO statute.
-- Modified on 8/20/2008 1:27:19 PM
While I was writing hypothetically when I first posted on this, note that according to the news report posted in the link above, the agency did host regular meets and greets at a local restaurant.
-- Modified on 8/21/2008 4:36:38 PM
What if a girls initial introduction to the scene was at that M&G that was recorded???? What would the case be then???? What would she have to back that up??? Like you said M&Gs' are usually not held by agencies but the agency did post an extended invitation to new girls, and or interested minds...
everyone in attendence was a known quanity, invitation only and screening mandatory. and expect for a outdoor cookout I had at my office(it's nice to be the boss) security has always been at the door to make sure there were no party crashers.
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