The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an enterprise. The RICO Act was passed in 1970 to take down organized crime organizations. The Act allows prosecutors to tie together apparently unrelated crimes with a common objective into a prosecutable pattern of racketeering. A violation of RICO occurs when a person, in connection with an enterprise, engages in a pattern of racketeering activity. Racketeering activity includes a wide range of crimes such as bribery, extortion, money laundering, and wire fraud. For RICO purposes, these are considered “predicate” offenses. A person charged with a RICO violation must have been engaging in a minimum of two predicate crimes within a 10-year time frame. These predicate offenses must also have been committed in connection with an enterprise. An enterprise may be a legal or an illegal one, and it could be a corporation or a mob. A conviction under RICO has serious consequences, including criminal penalties such as 20 years of prison and severe financial penalties.