Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/741/511/90594/
Timestamp: 2020-07-07 11:50:40
Document Index: 514326004

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1', '§ 786', '§ 1961', '§ 1964', '§ 1961', '§ 1961', '§ 1961', '§ 786', '§ 15']

Fed. Sec. L. Rep. P 91,600, Bankr. L. Rep. P 70,000bankers Trust Company, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Daniel Rhoades, Herman Soifer, Milton Braten, Brookfieldclothes, Inc., Brookfield Industries, Inc., Bennington Courtltd., Braxton Ltd., Aura by Laurie Ltd., Erwin Commercialcorp., Michael B. Marks, Inc., Timely Textiles, Inc., Toddequipment Leasing Co., Inc., Capital Aid Corporation, And"john Does Nos. 1-50," Defendants-appellees, 741 F.2d 511 (2d Cir. 1984) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Second Circuit › 1984 › Fed. Sec. L. Rep. P 91,600, Bankr. L. Rep. P 70,000bankers Trust Company, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Da...
Fed. Sec. L. Rep. P 91,600, Bankr. L. Rep. P 70,000bankers Trust Company, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Daniel Rhoades, Herman Soifer, Milton Braten, Brookfieldclothes, Inc., Brookfield Industries, Inc., Bennington Courtltd., Braxton Ltd., Aura by Laurie Ltd., Erwin Commercialcorp., Michael B. Marks, Inc., Timely Textiles, Inc., Toddequipment Leasing Co., Inc., Capital Aid Corporation, And"john Does Nos. 1-50," Defendants-appellees, 741 F.2d 511 (2d Cir. 1984)
US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit - 741 F.2d 511 (2d Cir. 1984) Argued Dec. 14, 1983. Decided July 26, 1984
The complaint alleges a scheme by the defendants to defraud Bankers through, inter alia, the concealment of assets subject to distribution in bankruptcy and the bribery of a judge. Since the case comes to us on an appeal from entry of judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Rule 12(c), we set forth the facts as alleged in the complaint. Many of the allegations have been thoroughly detailed in the bankruptcy court's opinion in In re Braten Apparel Corp. 21 B.R. 239 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. 1982), and the district court's opinion affirming the bankruptcy court's order, see 26 B.R. 1009 (S.D.N.Y. 1983), familiarity with which is assumed.
The initial fraud consisted of a complex scheme devised in 1974 by Braten, Feldesman, and Soifer to enable BAC to eliminate, without payment, much of its $4 million indebtedness to Bankers while retaining valuable assets. In August 1974, BAC acquired all of the stock of Brookfield, an entity then having a net worth of more than $3 million. Prior to the acquisition, Feldesman, Braten, and Soifer agreed that Soifer would be given the apparent ownership of the Brookfield stock but would hold the stock in a secret trust for BAC while BAC filed a bankruptcy petition and gained a discharge of its indebtedness under Chapter XI of the then-applicable Bankruptcy Act of 1898 ("Bankruptcy Act"), 11 U.S.C. §§ 1-1103 (1976). To implement the plan, Braten and Soifer executed a sham "Shareholder's Agreement," drafted by Feldesman, which provided that if BAC or Braten did not furnish a $250,000 loan to Brookfield by a specified date, BAC's stock in Brookfield would automatically be transferred to Soifer. At the time this agreement was entered into, Braten, Feldesman, and Soifer knew that the funding condition would not be met; they intended that Soifer would hold the stock of Brookfield, safe from the claims of BAC's creditors, only during BAC's bankruptcy proceedings. Soifer was to return the stock to BAC following its discharge in bankruptcy.
In September 1976 Bankers commenced a proceeding in the bankruptcy court under Bankruptcy Act Sec. 386, 11 U.S.C. § 786 (1976),2 to revoke the confirmation of BAC's plan of arrangement because of the fraudulent concealment of BAC's ownership of the Brookfield stock. Following lengthy proceedings including a trial, the bankruptcy court revoked the confirmation in 1982, see In re Braten Apparel Corp., supra, 21 B.R. 239, finding that the individual defendants had devised and carried out a scheme to defraud by making false statements and oaths in BAC's listing of the assets of the estate, and by intentionally concealing property of BAC. The bankruptcy court ordered BAC to "offer a plan which is realistic ... in light of the fact that the debtor owns a valuable asset--Brookfield." Id. at 263. This decision was affirmed by the district court, see 26 B.R. 1009, and the district court's decision was affirmed by this Court by summary order entered on September 1, 1983.
Bankers's complaint alleged that the defendants constituted or formed a RICO "enterprise" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4); that their actions were criminal offenses involving, inter alia, bankruptcy fraud, perjury, and bribery; that each of the offenses was a "racketeering activity" within the meaning of Sec. 1961(1); that any two such offenses constituted a "pattern of racketeering activity" within the meaning of Sec. 1961(5); that defendants' formation, control, and conduct of the enterprise through their pattern of racketeering activity violated Secs. 1962(a), (b), and (c); and that defendants' conspiracy to do such acts violated Sec. 1962(d). Bankers demanded, inter alia, treble damages and attorney's fees pursuant to civil RICO, Sec. 1964(c). Defendants moved for judgment on the pleadings principally on the ground that the complaint was insufficient to state a claim under civil RICO.
In deciding the defendants' motion, the district court stated that the facts alleged by Bankers "strongly suggest a sinister scheme to defraud the bank and other creditors of the monies they lent in good faith to BAC," 566 F. Supp. at 1242, and that, "based solely upon the language of the statute, one could hardly contend that [Bankers] has not adequately alleged a violation of Sec. 1962," the criminal provisions of RICO, id. at 1239. The court concluded, however, that the complaint did not state a valid claim for relief under civil RICO. Construing Sec. 1964(c)'s requirement that a civil plaintiff be injured "by reason of a violation of section 1962," the court reasoned that to satisfy this requirement a civil plaintiff must "allege that he has suffered a distinct RICO injury as opposed merely to a direct injury from the underlying predicate acts." 566 F. Supp. at 1240. Although finding it unnecessary to define what such "distinct RICO injury" would entail, the court opined that the provisions of civil RICO should be limited to the redress of "competitive injury" or "an injury to competition," id. at 1241. Because Bankers's complaint alleged only injury that was "a direct consequence of the predicate acts," and not a "distinct RICO injury," the district court dismissed the complaint. Id. at 1242. This appeal followed.
18 U.S.C. § 1964(c). Section 1962 makes it unlawful, inter alia, (1) to invest income derived from a pattern of racketeering activity in any enterprise that is engaged in interstate commerce, Sec. 1962(a); (2) to acquire or maintain control of such an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity, Sec. 1962(b); (3) to participate in the conduct of such an enterprise's affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, Sec. 1962(c); or (4) to conspire to do any of the above, Sec. 1962(d).3
" [E]nterprise" is defined to "include [ ] any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity." 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4). " [R]acketeering activity" is defined as an act or threat involving any of a number of specified felonies chargeable under state law or indictable under specified federal statutes (collectively "predicate acts"); bankruptcy fraud and bribery are included. Sec. 1961(1). A "pattern of racketeering activity" is defined to "require [ ] at least two acts of racketeering activity" within a ten-year period. Sec. 1961(5).
The requirement that the injury be to the plaintiff's business or property means that the plaintiff must show a proprietary type of damage. For example, a person physically injured in a fire whose origin was arson is not given a right to recover for his personal injuries; damage to his business or his building is the type of injury for which Sec. 1964(c) permits suit. Bankers has alleged that it has been deprived of various sums of money by the defendants' activities. There is no question that this constituted "injur [y] in [its] business or property," and that Bankers has thus adequately pleaded an injury of the type contemplated by Sec. 1964(c).
The import of this analysis is that if a complaint alleges a proprietary injury that is caused by the defendant's predicate acts, rather than by its use of a pattern of racketeering activity in connection with a RICO enterprise, the injury cannot be said to have been caused by "a violation of section 1962." See Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co., 741 F.2d 482 at 494 (2d Cir. 1984).5 Accordingly, we agree with the conclusion of the district court that a civil RICO complaint must allege "a distinct RICO injury," by which we mean that it must allege a proprietary injury caused by a RICO violation, not just one caused by some of the essential elements of a RICO violation.6
In 1970 Congress enacted the Organized Crime Control Act. Title IX of that Act, entitled Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-1968 (1982), has stirred a storm of judicial controversy. The question before us on this appeal is whether its provisions mean what they say. Because in my view the majority holds that RICO means something other than what it says, I respectfully dissent. Reflection on RICO's plain language, its legislative history and policy considerations convinces me that the majority has not accorded to civil RICO the broad sweep Congress intended it to have. Instead, the panel has succumbed to the temptation to put in place its own view of when this statute should be applied. But in so doing, it not only has pulled the teeth from the statute and reduced its effectiveness nearly to zero, but it has also trespassed in an area of law-making exclusively reserved to Congress. If civil RICO does not provide a remedy on the facts of this totally outrageous case, it never will.
What did Congress have in mind when it enacted civil RICO? To determine the scope of Congress' purpose in enacting a statute the first place to look, of course, is its language. It is a principle of statutory construction that "absent clear evidence of a contrary legislative intention, a statute should be interpreted according to its plain language," United States v. Apfelbaum, 445 U.S. 115, 121, 100 S. Ct. 948, 952, 63 L. Ed. 2d 250 (1980). It is there that the Supreme Court began its analysis of criminal RICO, United States v. Turkette, 452 U.S. 576, 580, 101 S. Ct. 2524, 2527, 69 L. Ed. 2d 246 (1981), and that is where our analysis of civil RICO should begin. North Dakota v. United States, 460 U.S. 300, 103 S. Ct. 1095, 1102-03, 75 L. Ed. 2d 77 (1983); Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington, 442 U.S. 560, 568, 99 S. Ct. 2479, 2485, 61 L. Ed. 2d 82 (1979).
The word "enterprise" used in 1962(c) is defined in Sec. 1961(5) as including "any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity." The phrase "racketeering activity," which is also part of Sec. 1962(c), is defined in Sec. 1961(1) as any one or more of some 24 acts indictable under state and federal law. These predicate acts include bankruptcy fraud and bribery "chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year," i.e., a state law felony. 18 U.S.C. § 1961(1) (A) & (D). Plainly, the statutory definitions for "enterprise" and the predicate offenses that are considered "racketeering activity" are met in this case. It is necessary next to examine what constitutes a "pattern of racketeering activity." Section 1961(5) provides that such a pattern consists simply of at least two of the included predicate acts of racketeering occurring within ten years of one another. Finally, the statutory language for the relief Bankers seeks must be examined. The provision for treble damages is set forth in Sec. 1964(c) which authorizes "(a)ny person" injured by a violation of Sec. 1962 to sue and "recover threefold the damages he sustains and the cost of the suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee." No limitation in the scope of this broadly worded section appears, and the words employed are not reasonably susceptible of a restrictive limitation.
In short, Bankers Trust has alleged that the individual defendants, Rhoades, Braten and Soifer, and the corporate defendants controlled by them, violated Sec. 1962(c) by acting together as an enterprise to commit four acts of bankruptcy fraud and one act of bribery which is a state law felony, and that these acts occurred during the years 1974, 1976 and 1982--the date of the last act being within ten years of the next most recent one. It has sued as a corporate person and demands treble damages and a reasonable attorney's fee. Examining plaintiff's complaint in light of the statutory language can lead to no other conclusion than that it alleges a civil cause of action under Sec. 1964 of RICO. Such should be sufficient to withstand a Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c) motion to dismiss on the pleadings.
Since the statutory language is conclusive absent clear evidence of a contrary legislative intent, see Iannelli v. United States, 420 U.S. 770, 786-89, 95 S. Ct. 1284, 1293-96, 43 L. Ed. 2d 616 (1975), an analysis of RICO's legislative history is appropriate.
The legislative history further reveals that Congress had fairly detailed information about what was styled a national criminal syndicate known as La Cosa Nostra, a confederation of 24 families consisting of some 5000 individuals. Senate Report at 76-83. But as Senator McClellan noted it is sometimes hard "to tell what is or is not organized crime." House Hearings at 129. And the franchise of organized crime is not one that belongs solely to one ethnic group of Americans, as this case illustrates. "Organized criminals who injure business today do not look like stereotyped criminals. They are executives and technicians. Their forte is manipulation of computer information, tampering with accounting procedures, theft of trade secrets and invasion of confidential company files." House Hearings at 689. Congress determined therefore not to attack a group of persons or any single organization, but to proscribe broadly those kinds of activities which are at the root of business crime. Congress passed this statute, called an "omnibus" act, to purge society of commercial organized criminal activities regardless of the group perpetrating them. Because the disease is long standing and deeply entrenched, the treatment employed radical new civil remedies, including treble damages, award of attorneys fees, injunction, forfeiture, divestment of interests and dissolution of corporations. For good measure Congress incorporated in Sec. 904(a) of the statute a command to the judiciary that the statute be liberally construed to effectuate its remedial purposes. Pub. L. No. 91-452, Sec. 904(a), 84 Stat. 941 (1970). Since Senator Hruska had included a treble damage provision in earlier versions of RICO, it is apparent that RICO's sponsors in the Senate were fully familiar with the implications of such a private remedy.
That the foregoing was the aim of the statute's principal sponsors, Senators McClellan and Hruska and Congressman Poff, a majority of the Judiciary Committees of both Houses, its overwhelming supporters in both Houses, and the President is beyond serious question. Such view of Congress' aim is shared by a number of commentators. See, e.g., G. Blakey, RICO Civil Fraud, supra; J. Wexler, Civil RICO Comes of Age: Some Maturation Problems and Proposals for Reform, 35 Rutgers L. Rev. 285 (1983); Note, Civil RICO: The Temptation and Impropriety of Judicial Restriction, 95 Harv. L. Rev. 1101 (1982). The answer to the question as to whether the legislative history evinces a legislative intent contrary to the plain language of the statute then must be a resounding "no."
The fallaciousness of the district court's opinion and the majority view is demonstrated by analyzing them in the light of the statute's plain language and legislative history. The majority gives its imprimatur to the district court's view that in an ordinary case of bankruptcy fraud civil RICO was not intended to apply. The complaint was dismissed below because Bankers had not been damaged "by reason of" a RICO violation. A number of other courts have sought to thwart RICO's far-ranging impact by requiring "something more" than injury from the predicate acts, i.e. something beyond what the statute and its history require, such as a nexus with organized crime, Moss v. Morgan Stanley, Inc., 553 F. Supp. 1347, 1361 (S.D.N.Y.), aff'd on other grounds, 719 F.2d 5 (2d Cir. 1983), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 104 S. Ct. 1280, 79 L. Ed. 2d 684 (1984), prior criminal conviction or indictment, Sedima S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co., 741 F.2d 482 (2d Cir. 1984), or a competitive injury, North Barrington Dev., Inc. v. Fanslow, 547 F. Supp. 207, 211 (N.D. Ill. 1980).
Interpreting civil RICO as requiring "something more" than injury from the predicate offenses, the majority has thus adopted one variant of the "racketeering enterprise injury" standing requirement. For the most part those cases that have upheld civil RICO claims have noted without extensive discussion that any such requirement was satisfied, see, e.g., Schacht v. Brown, 711 F.2d 1343, 1358-59 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 104 S. Ct. 508, 509, 78 L. Ed. 2d 698 (1983). Similarly, decisions like that of the trial court here which have dismissed RICO claims on this ground have not defined the enterprise injury requirement. See, e.g., Johnsen v. Rogers, 551 F. Supp. 281, 284-85 (C.D. Cal. 1982).
Thus, unlike the "racketeering enterprise injury" test that focuses on the "by reason of" language, cf. Sedima S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co., supra, 741 F.2d at 494 that arguably seems to require a link to organized crime, see id., at 509 (Cardamone, J., dissenting), the majority's approach here creates the risk that even Mafia defendants will not be subject to the civil liability that Congress so clearly envisioned. For this reason, and because the requirement is generally undefined, a host of recent decisions have rejected the racketeering enterprise injury requirement. See, e.g., Kirschner v. Cable/Tel Corp., 576 F. Supp. 234, 244 (E.D. Pa. 1983) (racketeering enterprise injury requirement has been "uniformly rejected" as contrary to statutory language and legislative intent); Ralston v. Capper, 569 F. Supp. 1575, 1580 (E.D. Mich. 1983) (racketeering enterprise injury requirement "undefined"); Mauriber v. Shearson/American Express, Inc., 567 F. Supp. 1231, 1240 (S.D.N.Y. 1983) (racketeering injury has no basis in language of statute or legislative history and would exclude from section 1964 even the conduct of a firm infiltrated by organized crime); Seville Industrial Machinery Corp. v. Southmost Machinery Corp., 567 F. Supp. 1146, 1157 (D.N.J. 1983) ("this judicially imposed requirement of a 'racketeering enterprise injury' seems artificial and unwarranted by the language of the RICO statute."); Kimmel v. Peterson, 565 F. Supp. 476, 493-95 (E.D. Pa. 1983) (racketeering enterprise injury is indistinguishable from competitive or commercial injury requirement and would allow certain targeted behavior to escape section 1964's reach). See also Alcorn County, Miss. v. U.S. Interstate Supplies, 731 F.2d 1160, 1169 (5th Cir. 1984); Sutliff, Inc. v. Donovan Companies, Inc., 727 F.2d 648, 653-54 (7th Cir. 1984); Bennett v. Berg, 685 F.2d 1053, 1059 n. 5 (8th Cir. 1982), aff'd in part on rehearing en banc, 710 F.2d 1361, cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 104 S. Ct. 527, 78 L. Ed. 2d 710 (1983) (implicitly rejecting racketeering enterprise injury requirement).
I fail to see how the complaint lacks any element required by the statute. In my view the complaint sufficiently alleges that Rhodes, Braten and Soifer conducted their crooked corporate "shell game" through a pattern of racketeering activity by way of bankruptcy fraud and state law felonies. It is claimed in the complaint that the RICO enterprise operated by these three and their companies in a continuing pattern of racketeering activity was conducted through conspiracy and fraud, each element of which has contributed to the overall injury--loss to Bankers of some $4 million plus substantial legal fees. These allegations track the plain language of the statute. Moreover, this is not an ordinary "garden variety" bankruptcy fraud since defendants' acts occurred over a nine year period in two different states and involved not only fraud, but frivolous litigation, bribery and corruption of state court judges. Only a semantical--not a practical--reading of Bankers' complaint could conclude otherwise. Thus, Bankers has alleged every element Sec. 1964 requires. See Beth Israel Medical Center v. Smith, 576 F. Supp. 1061, 1070 (S.D.N.Y. 1983).
Further, the majority's reading of civil RICO is contrary to its legislative history. According to the legislative history "it is the factor of continuity plus relationship which combines to produce a pattern." S.Rep. No. 617, 91st Cong., 1st Sess. 158 (1969). While proof is required of an enterprise and a pattern, we have held that the proof need not be distinct as to each, "as long as the proof offered is sufficient to satisfy both elements." United States v. Mazzei, 700 F.2d 85, 89 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 945, 103 S. Ct. 2124, 77 L. Ed. 2d 1304 (1983). Two acts in the same criminal episode may establish a pattern of racketeering. United States v. Parness, 503 F.2d 430, 441-42 (2d Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1105, 95 S. Ct. 775, 42 L. Ed. 2d 801 (1975). In addition to the pattern there must be the requisite connection with the enterprise. We have already spoken on how close that nexus must be by holding that one conducts the activities of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity when he is able to commit predicate offenses solely by virtue of his position, involvement or control over the enterprises' affairs or where the predicate acts are related to the activities of the enterprise. United States v. Scotto, 641 F.2d 47, 54 (2d Cir. 1980), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 961, 101 S. Ct. 3109, 69 L. Ed. 2d 971 (1981). Here that nexus is shown by both tests since the individual defendants controlled the corporate entities and the fraud and crimes were clearly part and parcel of the way the enterprise was run. Plainly, these acts are the type of commercial activity that Senator McClellan recognized would be caught in the statute's wide net. 116 Cong.Rec. 18,913-14.
The majority has simply amended RICO by adding this standing requirement that Congress did not include and which it readily could have included had it so desired. Adding restrictions to defeat the broad remedies of civil RICO seems a particularly unjustified exercise of judicial power when the same text is interpreted to require none of these same restrictions in criminal cases. Finally, the majority's restrictive reading was thoroughly aired in the extensive Congressional hearings and later rejected when Congress considered those disagreements and resolved them in the bill it enacted into law. By judicially enacting the view that did not carry the day, the majority involves itself in those political controversies appropriate in a bill's enactment, but that have no place in its judicial interpretation. See Schwegmann Brothers v. Calvert Distillers Corp., 341 U.S. 384, 393-95, 71 S. Ct. 745, 750-51, 95 L. Ed. 1035 (1951) (Jackson, J., concurring). As another panel of our Court stated recently in Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co. v. Liebowitz, 730 F.2d 905, 909 (2d Cir. 1984): "We are bound by the legislative intent that existed when RICO was passed. Congress is free to change that law if it desires."
11 U.S.C. § 786 (1976).
We do not agree with the view that, because the structure of Sec. 1964(c) was patterned after Sec. 4 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 15 (1982), which grants a private right of action under the antitrust laws, see, e.g., Sedima S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co., supra, at 494; In re Action Industries Tender Offer, 572 F. Supp. 846, 851-52 (E.D. Va. 1983); Blakey & Gettings, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO): Basic Concepts--Criminal and Civil Remedies, 53 Temple L.Q. 1009, 1040, 1042 (1980), a civil RICO plaintiff is required to show a "competitive injury" or "injury to competition". See Bankers Trust Co. v. Feldesman, supra, 566 F. Supp. at 1241; North Barrington Development, Inc. v. Fanslow, 547 F. Supp. 207, 210-11 (N.D. Ill. 1980). Although in enacting RICO Congress made an express finding that organized crime "interfere [s] with free enterprise," Pub. L. No. 91-452, 84 Stat. 922, 923 (1970) (Statement of Findings and Purpose), and the major purpose of Congress's enactment of RICO was to address the infiltration of organized crime into legitimate business and to protect free and fair enterprise, the objectives of RICO go beyond the objectives of the antitrust laws. Congress was concerned as well with the effects of organized crime upon democratic processes, innocent investors, domestic security, and the general welfare of the United States and its citizens. See id.; S.Rep. No. 617, 91st Cong., 1st Sess. 81-82 (1969). The language used in Sec. 1964(c), "injured in his business or property," is unaccompanied by any other restrictions as to type of injury, and hence is broad enough to encompass private proprietary injury that has no impact on the plaintiff's ability to compete or on competition as such. We see no basis in the statute for importing the antitrust concepts. Indeed, as set forth in Sedima S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co., supra, 741 F.2d at 495, the legislative history of civil RICO suggests that Congress did not intend Sec. 1964(c) to be fettered by antitrust concepts. See, e.g., S.Rep. No. 617, 91st Cong., 1st Sess. 81-82 (1969); 115 Cong.Rec. 9567 (1969) (statement of Senator McClellan); id. at 6992-93 (statement of Senator Hruska); Hearings on S. 30, and Related Proposals, Relating to the Control of Organized Crime in the United States, Before Subcomm. No. 5 of the House Comm. on the Judiciary, 91st Cong., 2d Sess. 149 (1970) (statement of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association); id. at 157 (statement of Attorney General Mitchell)
Further analysis of the majority's examples demonstrates their shortcomings. The arson victim, for example, would have a valid RICO cause of action only because, fortuitously, he had an insurer who cancelled his policy. Similarly, the businessman could sue under Sec. 1964 only because he was forced to incur a debt to or associate with some third party. Congress did not intend Sec. 1964's availability to turn on the victim's specific situation or conduct. Rather, the statute is aimed at a defendant's conduct. Suppose, for example, that a member of the Mafia engages in loansharking activity over a ten year period but never forces his victim into dealing with a third party. Even if this member of organized crime were convicted in federal court under RICO's criminal provisions, e.g., United States v. Riccobene, 709 F.2d 214 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 104 S. Ct. 157, 78 L. Ed. 2d 145 (1983), the victim would not have a civil RICO claim under the majority's analysis. In this more likely example, the defendant's conduct not only would have caused the plaintiff's injury but is of the specific type Congress sought to give a remedy for when it enacted civil RICO