United States v. Thevis

474 F. Supp. 134, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10538
District Court, N.D. Georgia·Decided August 7, 1979·No. Crim. A. Cr. 78-180A·Published·Cited by 38 cases

Opinion

ORDER

HAROLD L. MURPHY, District Judge.

Defendant Michael G. Thevis has moved to dismiss Counts I and II of the indictment. All defendants have adopted his motion. In support of the motion, the defendant advances four arguments: (1) the counts must be dismissed for failure to state a claim; (2) the counts are based on a statute which is unconstitutional both facially and as applied; (3) paragraphs six and seven which seek forfeiture must be dismissed as an unconstitutional application of 18 U.S.C. § 1963; and (4) the forfeiture provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 1963 are unconstitutional. The Court will analyze each argument separately.

Counts I and II allege that the defendants were members of an enterprise which conducted its affairs through a pattern of *137 racketeering in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. § 1961, et seq. Count I charges a substantive violation of the act, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), while Count II alleges a conspiracy to violate RICO, conduct proscribed by 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d).

I.

The defendant’s first attack is strategic: he urges that the enterprise alleged in the indictment is not included in the statutory definition of that term, 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4) and, thus, he concludes that Counts I and II must fall for failure to charge a violation of RICO. See, United States v. Mandel, 415 F.Supp. 997 (D.Md.1976). In support of this conclusion, the defendant argues that the statutory language, Congressional intent, and traditional canons of statutory construction all support the defense contention. While the government acknowledges that the enterprise set forth in the indictment is not specifically included in the statutory definition, it is the prosecution’s contention that the definitional verb “includes” as used in the statutory definition is neither exhaustive nor inclusive, but a term of enlargement. Furthermore, the government urges in support of its position the Congressional directive that RICO “shall be liberally construed to effectuate its remedial purpose. ...” Pub.L. No. 91-452, § 904, 84 Stat. 947 (1970).

The enterprise alleged in the indictment is “a group of individuals associated in fact with various corporations to operate a pornography business through certain unlawful means. . . . ” Indictment, ¶ 1(e), p. 3. 1 The statutory definition of 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.” 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4). Since the statute does not specifically embrace an enterprise composed of “a group of individuals associated in fact with various corporations,” the defendant concludes that both Counts I and II must be dismissed since there is no violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962 if the enterprise which conducts its affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity is not the “enterprise” defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4).

The challenge mounted by the defendants is a question of first impression. Although the RICO enterprise concept has withstood a variety of different attacks, 2 those thrusts have generally been limited to the question of whether the RICO enterprise embraced licit as opposed to illicit organizations, see, United States v. McLaurin, 557 F.2d 1064 (5th Cir. 1977), formal as opposed to informal organizations, United States v. Elliot, supra, or governmental as opposed to nongovernmental organizations. Compare, United States v. Frumento, 563 F.2d 1083 (3rd Cir. 1977), cert. denied sub nomine Millhouse v. United States, 434 U.S. 1072, 98 S.Ct. 1256, 55 L.Ed.2d 775 (1978); United States v. Brown, supra with United States v. Mandel, supra.

In answering this new question, this Court is convinced that the RICO enterprise is broad enough to embrace an enterprise defined as a “group of individuals associated in fact with various corporations.” In reaching this conclusion, the Court has relied, as has the defendant, on the language *138 of the statute itself, the Congressional intent, and the traditional canons of statutory construction.

The starting point for analysis of the question presented must be the statute in question, 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4). At the onset, it must be recognized that the definition is neither exhaustive or inclusive, for had Congress intended to strictly limit the forms of potential RICO enterprises, it would have employed the definitional verb “means.” See, Helvering v. Morgan’s Inc., 293 U.S. 121, 125 n. 1, 55 S.Ct. 60, 79 L.Ed. 232 (1934). As the Supreme Court noted in that opinion, “ ‘[ijncludes’ imports a general class, some of whose particular instances are those specified in the definition.” Helvering v. Morgan’s Inc., supra at 125 n. 1, 55 S.Ct. at 62 (1934). That Congress recognized those definitional distinctions is illustrated by the statute itself. Compare, 18 U.S.C. § 1961(1) (“racketeering activity means . . .”) with 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4) (“enterprise includes . . . ”).

While the outer limits of the RICO enterprise may be obscure, this Court is convinced that the enterprise alleged in the indictment is within the general class set forth in the statutory definition.

The indictment states that the enterprise was “a group of individuals associated in fact with various corporations.” Under the statutory definition, the enterprise could be an individual, Atkinson, “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations,” 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-68: Broadest of the Federal Criminal Statutes, 69 J.Crim.L.C. 1 (1978), a group of individuals, United States v. Elliot, supra, or a corporation, see, United States v. Dennis, 458 F.Supp. 197 (E.D.Mo.1978). The defendant urges, however, that the enterprise could not be a de facto

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United States v. Thevis, 474 F. Supp. 134, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10538 (N.D. Ga. 1979).

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