Not for nothing, but shylocking and enforcing shylock payments used to be small on the federal level
illegal gambling, loan-sharking, and conspiracy to commit extortion....Those are Philly's top rackets lol....They used to be ignored and considered petty crap in NY
Five Families consider petty crap all the families out NY.
Not for nothing, but shylocking and enforcing shylock payments used to be considered small time on the federal level in every city and not worth their time ...Now it looks like they're just looking easy busts and meeting quotas
Yes and no
In the past unless it was a case built on it $500,000 in "JUICE LOANS" or a pretty big book.
For a RICO indictment the feds need two "PREDICATE ACTS" loan sharking, gambling alot of times were used for that 2nd act.
In today's world its used quite often with Gambling on a small level, just to get guys off the street for a few years.
That's what it seems the feds strategy is these days.
They are content with these small cases to show they are doing something.
In the past cases were built over years and years and included big money items or dead bodies.
If a gambler doesn't pay and you start charging VIG on his losses you are now a loan shark.
And if that guy gets scared and he runs to the feds your in trouble.
Just to give you an example how things have changed when bookie joints used to get raided one guy would step forward and say it was his place and he would get charged with a felony that had no jail time attached to it, everyone else working the bookie joint would get a misdemeanor charge.
Point being it was bullshit.
Now they headline RICO cases with it.
Again unless it is a BIG SPORTS BOOK, then as they say they can make a federal case out of it.
