Also known as: organized crimes · criminal syndicate · syndicated crime
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
Widespread criminal activities coordinated and controlled through a central syndicate.
A syndicate of persons who carry out those activities and derive income from unlawful conduct.
Widespread criminal activities coordinated and controlled through a central syndicate.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A syndicate of persons who carry out those activities and derive income from unlawful conduct.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A written or broadcast statement accusing a person of laundering money for organized crime is actionable per se. The plaintiff need not prove special damages because the law presumes harm to reputation from such a serious criminal allegation.
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The online posting and the identical print edition constitute separate single publications. The plaintiff must bring one action for each publication and may recover all damages from that publication in that single action.
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The warrant must describe the defendant with reasonable certainty. A description limited to language ability and a single workplace location satisfies the requirement when it uniquely identifies the target among similarly named individuals.
Supporting sources
Judge Odette Orozco attends a private dinner hosted by a recently convicted racketeer. Several guests at the event maintain documented ties to organized crime syndicates. The attendance creates an appearance of impropriety that warrants judicial discipline even without evidence of actual bias.
Members of an organized crime syndicate use threats of force to collect debts from local borrowers. Congress determines that these intra-state extortionate transactions facilitate syndicate operations that reach across state lines. The activity therefore falls within federal regulatory power under the Commerce Clause.
After Otto Osman enters a plea, a new prosecutor recommends the maximum sentence by referencing Osman’s alleged connections to organized crime. Defense counsel objects that the original prosecutor had promised no sentencing recommendation. The court must decide whether the broken promise requires resentencing.
Police arrest Oscar Ortiz on suspicion of participating in an organized crime theft ring. Officers question him at length without advising him of his rights. Any resulting statements are later suppressed because the interrogation violated constitutional safeguards applicable to all suspects.
Ophelia O'Brien sets fire to a warehouse used by an organized crime syndicate to store contraband. Federal prosecutors charge her under the explosives statute enacted as part of the Organized Crime Control Act. The court must determine whether the statute reaches the private, noncommercial structure.
Octavia Okonkwo is convicted of racketeering offenses committed through an organized crime syndicate. The district court imposes sentence under the federal guidelines promulgated by the Sentencing Commission. Okonkwo challenges the guidelines as an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power.
…every defendant, whether the professional criminal or one committing a crime of momentary passion who is not part and parcel of organized crime. It will slow down the investigation and the apprehension of confederates in those cases where time is of the essence, such as kidnapping, see Brinegar v. United States , 338 U. S. 160,…