its hard to compare the two
In Canada they have no RICO
You can kill in Canada and get away with it
Did anyone get arrested for any of the murders ???
I don't think so
In America these guys are getting pinched on the spot pretty much
Thats incorrect.
I just took this from the google wikipedia defiintion. RICO for a base line reference.
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
In Canada there are various laws that are similar.
As stated in the Criminal Code, section 467.1(1), a "criminal organization" means a group, however organized, that
is composed of three or more persons in or outside Canada; and,
has as one of its main purposes or main activities the facilitation or commission of one or more serious offences, that, if committed, would likely result in the direct or indirect receipt of a material benefit, including a financial benefit, by the group or by any one of the persons who constitute the group.
It does not include a group of persons that forms randomly for the immediate commission of a single offence.
taken from.
http://www.edmontonpolice.ca/CommunityPolicing/OrganizedCrime/Gangs/OrganizedCrimeLegislation.aspx Now in reading the above one might be led to believe that its pretty much the equal to something like the RICO ACT. Except there is a small problem.
An individual or an organization such as the Hells Angels has successfully launch a Charter of Rights challenge. Effectively what it means is that a blanket designation of a criminal organization cannot be applied to each and every HA chapter/mafia/triad/gang across the country. In each case it must be proven that the individuals are operating as a criminal organization. If a guy is a member of the HA and he gets arrested for trafficking cocaine the crown attorney might say he was doing so to benefit the club. The rest of the members of the club who didn't get arrested will all say "We aren't involved in this." It makes perfect sense from an individual's legal Charter of Rights legal perspective to do so. Thus the law was struck down and amended. The outcome is that each and every time there is a case it must be proven by the crown that the individuals involved were doing so to benefit the greater organization rather than just the 3 or more individuals who got caught. This is often more difficult to do that just prosecuting the initial offences.
So there is "RICO" but its an ineffective version. What seems to be more effective is civil forfeiture laws where by the police designate property and money as proceeds of crime and then the onus is on the individual to prove that they legally acquired said assets.
Oh btw. you can't just kill people in Canada and get away with it. People go to prison for that. They just need to be caught first.
