This manual is intended to assist federal prosecutors in the preparation and litigation of cases involving the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-1968. Prosecutors are encouraged to contact the Organized Crime and Gang Section (OCGS) early in the preparation of their case for advice and assistance. All pleadings alleging a violation of RICO, including indictments, informations, and criminal and civil complaints, must be submitted to OCGS for review and approval before being filed with the court. Also, all pleadings alleging forfeiture under RICO, as well as pleadings relating to an application for a temporary restraining order pursuant to RICO, must be submitted to OCGS for review and approval prior to filing. Prosecutors must submit to OCGS a prosecution memorandum and a draft of the pleadings to be filed with the court in order to initiate the Criminal Division approval process. The submission should be approved by the prosecutors office before being submitted to OCGS. Due to the volume of submissions received by OCGS, the prosecutor should submit the proposal three weeks prior to the date final approval is needed. Prosecutors should contact OCGS regarding the status of the proposed submission before finally scheduling arrests or other time-sensitive actions relating to the submission. Prosecutors should refrain from finalizing any guilty plea agreement containing a RICO- related charge until final approval has been obtained from OCGS. Moreover, once OCGS approval has been obtained and RICO charges have been instituted, dismissal of any of those charges, or any plea that allows a defendant to avoid responsibility for the most serious racketeering activity in the indictment, must also be approved by OCGS before the charges are dismissed or reduced in seriousness. This requirement for approval includes the dismissal or reduction of such charges as part of or pursuant to a plea agreement with any defendant. Approval for such
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