Evolving perceptions of organized crime: The use of RICO in the United States

The U.S. government’s crackdown on the American Mafia continues, but two additional and different kinds of organized crime groups have also emerged and posed their own threats: street gangs and international organized crime groups. In recent years, such entities have been identified, by the federal government, as threats meriting a concerted federal response. As the federal government’s perceptions of organized crime threats have evolved to include street gangs and international groups, so may the U.S. government’s laws and strategies evolve to thwart such crime.