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Opinion of the Court
most any involvement in the affairs of an enterprise would satisfy the "conduct or participate" requirement. But context is important, and in the context of the phrase "to conduct . . . [an] enterprise's affairs," the word indicates some degree of direction.3
The dissent agrees that, when "conduct" is used as a verb, "it is plausible to find in it a suggestion of control." Post, at 187. The dissent prefers to focus on "conduct" as a noun, as in the phrase "participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of [an] enterprise's affairs." But unless one reads "conduct" to include an element of direction when used as a noun in this phrase, the word becomes superfluous. Congress could easily have written "participate, directly or indirectly, in [an] enterprise's affairs," but it chose to repeat the word "conduct." We conclude, therefore, that as both a noun and a verb in this subsection "conduct" requires an element of direction.
The more difficult question is what to make of the word "participate." This Court previously has characterized this word as a "ter[m] . . . of breadth." Russello, 464 U. S., at 21-22. Petitioners argue that Congress used "participate" as a synonym for "aid and abet." Brief for Petitioners 26. That would be a term of breadth indeed, for "aid and abet" "comprehends all assistance rendered by words, acts, encouragement, support, or presence." Black's Law Dictionary 68 (6th ed. 1990). But within the context of § 1962(c), "participate" appears to have a narrower meaning. We may mark
3 The United States calls our attention to the use of the word "conduct" in 18 U. S. C. § 1955(a), which penalizes anyone who "conducts, finances, manages, supervises, directs, or owns all or part of an illegal gambling business." See Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 13, n. 11; Tr. of Oral Arg. 24-25. This Court previously has noted that the Courts of Appeals have interpreted this statute to proscribe "any degree of participation in an illegal gambling business, except participation as a mere bettor." Sanabria v. United States, 437 U. S. 54, 70-71, n. 26 (1978). We may assume, however, that "conducts" has been given a broad reading in this context to distinguish it from "manages, supervises, [or] directs."
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