Law for Mafia used in BP suit

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: Associated Press

MIAMI - USING a law originally enacted to combat the Mafia, attorneys are filing lawsuits accusing BP PLC and Transocean Ltd of committing a longterm series of crimes by concealing flaws in deepwater drilling plans and lacking safeguards to contain a catastrophic Gulf of Mexico spill.

BP has been named in at least three lawsuits brought under the federal law known as RICO, which stands for Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organisations. Transocean, which leased the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig to BP, has been named in two lawsuits filed in Louisiana and Florida.

The lawsuits accuse both companies of committing wire and mail fraud over a number of years by filing false documents with the US government, and by misleading investors through other documents and falsehoods.

They also claim both companies are guilty of bribery because they are part of an overall oil and gas industry effort to 'infiltrate' federal regulators by providing favours such as alcohol and drugs, sex, golf and ski trips, concert and sports tickets, and more.

Read more: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_555417.html

[drm604]

1. K&R

:kick:

[metapunditedgy]

2. Very good. I hope these lawsuits gain momentum. n/t

[ozymandius]

3. Brilliant!

RICO has been way underused on corporations that operate with a pretense of fair play. How this law is applied will blaze the trail for future application of RICO against mega-corporations.

[Jester Messiah]

4. Appropriate. [nt]

[zeemike]

5. RICO was never intended to be used in this way.

Against the big boys.
It was intended to be used against individuals who had money and property that could be confiscated if they were charged with drugs....and that has proven to be such a money maker for Law enforcement.
The courts will throw this case out of court in a second.

[creon]

6. Good idea

I like the idea. BP does have a bad safety record. And, safety rules were broken on that rig. I hope that the suits succeed.

[No Elephants]

7. Fuck AP. RICO is for organized crime, not "the Mafia."

[JDPriestly]

8. I don't know the facts in the Gulf well enough. But here is the law.

Maybe someone thinks that BP was trying to intimidate witnesses or hide evidence?

As I read this, it seems to me that we should be reading about indictments of some prominent bankers for some of these acts. But I don't know about BP.

http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/18/I/96

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person who has received any income derived, directly or indirectly, from a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of an unlawful debt in which such person has participated as a principal within the meaning of section 2, title 18, United States Code, to use or invest, directly or indirectly, any part of such income, or the proceeds of such income, in acquisition of any interest in, or the establishment or operation of, any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce.

A purchase of securities on the open market for purposes of investment, and without the intention of controlling or participating in the control of the issuer, or of assisting another to do so, shall not be unlawful under this subsection if the securities of the issuer held by the purchaser, the members of his immediate family, and his or their accomplices in any pattern or racketeering activity or the collection of an unlawful debt after such purchase do not amount in the aggregate to one percent of the outstanding securities of any one class, and do not confer, either in law or in fact, the power to elect one or more directors of the issuer.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person through a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of an unlawful debt to acquire or maintain, directly or indirectly, any interest in or control of any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of
which affect, interstate or foreign commerce.

(c) It shall be unlawful for any person employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise's affairs through
a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt.

(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to conspire to violate any of the provisions of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section.

(Added Pub. L. 91-452, title IX, Sec. 901(a), Oct. 15, 1970, 84
Stat. 942; amended Pub. L. 100-690, title VII, Sec. 7033, Nov. 18,
1988, 102 Stat. 4398.)
AMENDMENTS
1988 - Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100-690 substituted "subsection" for
"subsections".

From definitions

(1) "racketeering activity" means (A) any act or threat
involving murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery,
extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled
substance or listed chemical (as defined in section 102 of the
Controlled Substances Act), which is chargeable under State law
and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; (B) any
act which is indictable under any of the following provisions of
title 18, United States Code: Section 201 (relating to bribery),
section 224 (relating to sports bribery), sections 471, 472, and
473 (relating to counterfeiting), section 659 (relating to theft
from interstate shipment) if the act indictable under section 659
is felonious, section 664 (relating to embezzlement from pension
and welfare funds), sections 891-894 (relating to extortionate
credit transactions), section 1028 (relating to fraud and related
activity in connection with identification documents), section
1029 (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with
access devices), section 1084 (relating to the transmission of
gambling information), section 1341 (relating to mail fraud),
section 1343 (relating to wire fraud), section 1344 (relating to
financial institution fraud), section 1425 (relating to the
procurement of citizenship or nationalization unlawfully),
section 1426 (relating to the reproduction of naturalization or
citizenship papers), section 1427 (relating to the sale of
naturalization or citizenship papers), sections 1461-1465
(relating to obscene matter), section 1503 (relating to
obstruction of justice), section 1510 (relating to obstruction of
criminal investigations), section 1511 (relating to the
obstruction of State or local law enforcement), section 1512
(relating to tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant),
section 1513 (relating to retaliating against a witness, victim,
or an informant), section 1542 (relating to false statement in
application and use of passport), section 1543 (relating to
forgery or false use of passport), section 1544 (relating to
misuse of passport), section 1546 (relating to fraud and misuse
of visas, permits, and other documents), sections 1581-1592
(relating to peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons).,(!1)
section 1951 (relating to interference with commerce, robbery, or
extortion), section 1952 (relating to racketeering), section 1953
(relating to interstate transportation of wagering
paraphernalia), section 1954 (relating to unlawful welfare fund
payments), section 1955 (relating to the prohibition of illegal
gambling businesses), section 1956 (relating to the laundering of
monetary instruments), section 1957 (relating to engaging in
monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful
activity), section 1958 (relating to use of interstate commerce
facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire), sections 2251,
2251A, 2252, and 2260 (relating to sexual exploitation of
children), sections 2312 and 2313 (relating to interstate
transportation of stolen motor vehicles), sections 2314 and 2315
(relating to interstate transportation of stolen property),
section 2318 (relating to trafficking in counterfeit labels for
phonorecords, computer programs or computer program documentation
or packaging and copies of motion pictures or other audiovisual
works), section 2319 (relating to criminal infringement of a
copyright), section 2319A (relating to unauthorized fixation of
and trafficking in sound recordings and music videos of live
musical performances), section 2320 (relating to trafficking in
goods or services bearing counterfeit marks), section 2321
(relating to trafficking in certain motor vehicles or motor
vehicle parts), sections 2341-2346 (relating to trafficking in
contraband cigarettes), sections 2421-24 (relating to white slave
traffic), sections 175-178 (relating to biological weapons),
sections 229-229F (relating to chemical weapons), section 831
(relating to nuclear materials), (C) any act which is indictable
under title 29, United States Code, section 186 (dealing with
restrictions on payments and loans to labor organizations) or
section 501(c) (relating to embezzlement from union funds), (D)
any offense involving fraud connected with a case under title 11
(except a case under section 157 of this title), fraud in the
sale of securities, or the felonious manufacture, importation,
receiving, concealment, buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in
a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in section
102 of the Controlled Substances Act), punishable under any law
of the United States, (E) any act which is indictable under the
Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, (F) any act
which is indictable under the Immigration and Nationality Act,
section 274 (relating to bringing in and harboring certain
aliens), section 277 (relating to aiding or assisting certain
aliens to enter the United States), or section 278 (relating to
importation of alien for immoral purpose) if the act indictable
under such section of such Act was committed for the purpose of
financial gain, or (G) any act that is indictable under any
provision listed in section 2332b(g)(5)(B);
(2) "State" means any State of the United States, the District
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory or
possession of the United States, any political subdivision, or
any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof;
(3) "person" includes any individual or entity capable of
holding a legal or beneficial interest in property;
(4) "enterprise" includes any individual, partnership,
corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or
group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal
entity;
(5) "pattern of racketeering activity" requires at least two
acts of racketeering activity, one of which occurred after the
effective date of this chapter and the last of which occurred
within ten years (excluding any period of imprisonment) after the
commission of a prior act of racketeering activity;
(6) "unlawful debt" means a debt (A) incurred or contracted in
gambling activity which was in violation of the law of the United
States, a State or political subdivision thereof, or which is
unenforceable under State or Federal law in whole or in part as
to principal or interest because of the laws relating to usury,
and (B) which was incurred in connection with the business of
gambling in violation of the law of the United States, a State or
political subdivision thereof, or the business of lending money
or a thing of value at a rate usurious under State or Federal
law, where the usurious rate is at least twice the enforceable
rate;
(7) "racketeering investigator" means any attorney or
investigator so designated by the Attorney General and charged
with the duty of enforcing or carrying into effect this chapter;
(8) "racketeering investigation" means any inquiry conducted by
any racketeering investigator for the purpose of ascertaining
whether any person has been involved in any violation of this
chapter or of any final order, judgment, or decree of any court
of the United States, duly entered in any case or proceeding
arising under this chapter;
(9) "documentary material" includes any book, paper, document,
record, recording, or other material; and
(10) "Attorney General" includes the Attorney General of the
United States, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States,
the Associate Attorney General of the United States, any
Assistant Attorney General of the United States, or any employee
of the Department of Justice or any employee of any department or
agency of the United States so designated by the Attorney General
to carry out the powers conferred on the Attorney General by this
chapter. Any department or agency so designated may use in
investigations authorized by this chapter either the
investigative provisions of this chapter or the investigative
power of such department or agency otherwise conferred by law.

[alp227]

9. BP=a mafia anyway. n/t

[Earth_First]

10. Silly prosecutors, the Big Guys do not get prosecuted...

they are simply scolded "really bad" and given a 'largest fine in industry history' which pales in comparison with the actual damage done.

[w4rma]

11. Very good. This law was written for this kind of organized crime. (nt)

[Odin2005]

12. SOOO very appropriate for these fuckers.