Can a Single Person Constitute a “Racketeering Enterprise” in Florida?
One of a Florida prosecutor’s favorite tools is the RICO statute. RICO stands for “racketeer influenced and corrupt organization,” and it empowers the state to go after alleged criminal gangs and similar groups as a single “enterprise.” Basically, if the prosecution can prove that a racketeering enterprise exists, they can charge individual members with committing individual “predicate acts” that furthered the enterprise as a whole.
Appeals Court Overturns Crooked Ex-Cop’s RICO Conviction
A Florida appeals court recently confronted the somewhat novel question of whether a RICO enterprise can consist of a single person who acted alone in committing their crimes. The case, Wester v. State, involves a corrupt former law enforcement officer who was caught planting evidence in dozens of drug cases.
From 2016 to 2019, then-Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputy Zachary Wester routinely “planted narcotics in selected vehicles” while conducting traffic stops, according to court records. Wester then arrested the occupants of those vehicles on bogus drug charges. Internal affairs started looking into Wester’s actions after he was found deliberately disconnecting his body camera during these traffic stops, in violation of Sheriff’s Office regulations.
Prosecutors subsequently levied 67 criminal charges against Wester, including official misconduct, perjury, possession of a controlled substance, and false imprisonment. The state also charged Wester with multiple counts of racketeering under Florida’s RICO statute.
A six-person jury ultimately found Wester guilty of 19 charges, including a single racketeering count.
On appeal, Wester argued that he could not be convicted of racketeering since he acted alone. The Florida First District Court of Appeal agreed and reversed his conviction on that charge alone. But the divided three-judge panel also certified the underlying legal question to the Florida Supreme Court, specifically whether Florida’s RICO law requires the state to prove an “enterprise” has at least “two persons with the understood purpose of accomplishing some illegal objective or end.”
The First District’s majority opinion noted that in federal racketeering cases, the United States Supreme Court “has explicitly rejected the interpretation of the federal RICO Act to include prosecution of sole actors in a civil context.” Florida’s RICO law, which was modeled on the federal statute, similarly required at least two people working together towards a common criminal goal.
The state, as well as a dissenting judge on the First District panel, argued that the Sheriff’s Office itself provided Wester with the means to commit his crimes, thus satisfying RICO’s “enterprise” requirements. The majority rejected this position, holding that Florida’s RICO Act “does not criminalize one person’s use of his or her place of employment to commit related crimes.”
If the Florida Supreme Court agrees to take up this case, however, it may adopt the dissent’s reasoning.
Contact an Orlando Drug Crimes Lawyer Today
Racketeering charges are often used in Florida to pursue individuals suspected of participating in criminal activities such as drug trafficking and fraud. If you are caught up in a RICO investigation, it is imperative that you speak with a qualified Orlando criminal defense attorney who can advise you of your rights. Call the Joshi Law Firm, PA, today at 844-GO-JOSHI or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation.
Source:
1dca.flcourts.gov/content/download/2443265/opinion/Opinion_2021-2114.pdf
