DA Summer Stephan on Using RICO Against Organized Retail Theft Rings

RICO Statute and Organized Retail Theft

• 💡 Senator Whitehouse inquired about the use of the RICO statute to prosecute organized criminal enterprises, specifically those involved in systemic theft rings.
• 🎯 The RICO statute is a powerful tool for dealing with criminal organizations, with transporting, selling, or receiving stolen goods being predicate offenses.

Legal Frameworks in California

• ⚖️ San Diego County DA Summer Stephan explained that California state statutes do not have a RICO component and are not as strong as federal laws.
• 🤝 Cases with RICO elements are often provided to federal prosecutors who can utilize the powerful federal RICO tool.
• 🚫 While California has conspiracy laws, they are not equivalent to RICO statutes.

State RICO Laws and Successes

• ❓ Whitehouse asked about the success of other states with state RICO laws in prosecuting cases involving stolen goods.
• 📈 Stephan noted successes in bringing organized retail theft cases through the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), with San Diego bringing 218 cases under an organized retail theft statute, though not specifically RICO.
• 🔗 Tools like organized retail theft statutes and RICO are imperative for targeting higher-level offenders.

Legislative and Prosecutorial Challenges

• 🏛️ Senator Whitehouse expressed willingness to work on legislation focusing on the organized nature of theft rings, while being skeptical of making ordinary shoplifting a federal offense.
• 📝 He requested any helpful documents from the NDAA regarding state RICO statutes or examples of successful RICO prosecutions involving federal US attorneys for the record.