Reves v. Ernst & Young, 507 U.S. 170, 12 (1993)

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Cite as: 507 U. S. 170 (1993)

Opinion of the Court

RICO Civil Fraud Action in Context: Reflections on Bennett v. Berg, 58 Notre Dame L. Rev. 237, 264, n. 76 (1982). The first line of S. 1861 reflected its expanded purpose: "to prohibit the infiltration or management of legitimate organizations by racketeering activity or the proceeds of racketeering activity" (emphasis added).

On June 3, Assistant Attorney General Will Wilson presented the views of the Department of Justice on a number of bills relating to organized crime, including S. 1623 and S. 1861, to the Subcommittee on Criminal Laws and Procedures of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Wilson criticized S. 1623 on the ground that "it is too narrow in that it merely prohibits the investment of prohibited funds in a business, but fails to prohibit the control or operation of such a business by means of prohibited racketeering activities." Measures Related to Organized Crime: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Criminal Laws and Procedures of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 91st Cong., 1st Sess., 387 (1969) (emphasis added). He praised S. 1861 because the "criminal provisions of the bill contained in Section 1962 are broad enough to cover most of the methods by which ownership, control and operation of business concerns are acquired." Ibid. (emphasis added). See Blakey, supra, at 258, n. 59.

With alterations not relevant here, S. 1861 became Title IX of S. 30. The House and Senate Reports that accompanied S. 30 described the three-part structure of § 1962:

"(1) making unlawful the receipt or use of income from 'racketeering activity' or its proceeds by a principal in commission of the activity to acquire an interest in or establish an enterprise engaged in interstate commerce; (2) prohibiting the acquisition of any enterprise engaged in interstate commerce through a 'pattern' of 'racketeer-foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise's affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity."

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