New Jersey’s Racketeering Influence Corruption Organization Statute (RICO) has been broadly construed in favor of the government since its inception.  A recent case defines the court’s commitment to apply the statute expansively.

The defendant in the case was a reputed member of the Columbo Crime Family.  As a result of his alleged criminal activities, he was indicted by both the federal and state governments for, among other things, the murder of at least two individuals.  At the state trial, one of the defendant’s confederates, who had previously entered into a plea arrangement to cooperate with the government against the defendant, refused to testify.  When the witness left the witness stand, he gave the defendant a thumbs up sign, along with other encouraging gesticulations.  The trial resulted in a hung jury.

Thereafter, the government obtained a superceding indictment against the defendant, which included a RICO conspiracy theory.  The defendant sought to obtain a dismissal of the indictment contending that no criminal activity associated with the conspiracy occurred within the five years of the indictment and, as a result, the statute of limitations barred the conspiracy charge.  The trial judge rejected the defendant’s argument and the case found its way to the Appellate Division. There, the court observed that the witness’s contemptuous silence in the face of a grant of immunity, along with the witness’s word and gestures, including the thumbs up sign was a continuing effort to conceal the conspiracy and thus, was a sufficient overt act under the RICO statute.