Cite as: 507 U. S. 170 (1993)
Souter, J., dissenting
Co-op as "limited to the audits, meetings with the Board of Directors to explain the audits, and presentations at the annual meetings." 937 F. 2d, at 1324. And only then could the court have ruled that, "as a matter of law, Arthur Young's involvement with the Co-op did not rise to the level required for a RICO violation," which it described (quoting Bennett v. Berg, 710 F. 2d 1361 (CA8 1983)) as requiring only "some participation in the operation or management of the enterprise itself." 937 F. 2d, at 1324 (internal quotation marks omitted).
But petitioners' evidence and respondent's concessions of activity going beyond outside auditing can neither be ignored nor declared irrelevant. As the Court explains today, " 'outsiders' may be liable under § 1962(c) if they are 'associated with' an enterprise and participate in the conduct of its affairs—that is, participate in the operation or management of the enterprise itself . . . ." Ante, at 185 (emphasis in original). Thus, the question here is whether Arthur Young, which was "associated with" the Co-op, "participated" in the Co-op's operation or management. As the Court has noted, "participate" should be read broadly in this context, see ante, at 178 (citing Russello v. United States, 464 U. S. 16, 21-22 (1983)), since Congress has provided that even "indirect" participation will suffice. Cf. Sedima, S. P. R. L. v. Imrex Co., 473 U. S., at 497-498 ("Congress' self-consciously expansive language" supports the conclusion that "RICO is to be read broadly").
The evidence petitioners presented in opposing the motion for summary judgment demonstrated Arthur Young's "participation" in this broad sense. By assuming the authority to make key decisions in stating the Co-op's own valuation of its major fixed asset, and by creating financial statements that were the responsibility of the Co-op's management, Arthur Young crossed the line separating "outside" auditors from "inside" financial managers. Because the majority, like
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