RICO is a difficult crime for a prosecutor to prove because it requires the state to show that the crimes were committed for the same purpose or as part of the same scheme. Prosecutors may have difficulty establishing the pattern that connects disparate offenses, especially if the offenses occurred over a long period of time.
Defendants can attempt to make it impossible for a prosecutor to prove all of the elements of a RICO crime, and if they can introduce reasonable doubt about any element of racketeering charges, they should be acquitted of all charges. One common defense involves arguing the prosecutor failed to prove that past offenses were connected. If the predicate crimes are not related, this is a defense to RICO charges.
RICO often requires a lot of evidence collected over time by federal law enforcement agencies. This means that there are many opportunities for law enforcement to illegally find or seize evidence in your case. Evidence that is not discovered legally should be thrown out of the case, or suppressed, by a good criminal defense lawyer. Evidence that is thrown out makes the case more difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.