NY Penal L § 460.00 (2021)
2021 New York Laws PEN - Penal Part 4 - Administrative Provisions Title X - Organized Crime Control Act Article 460 - Enterprise Corruption 460.00 - Legislative Findings.

§ 460.00 Legislative findings.The legislature finds and determines as follows:Organized  crime  in  New  York  state  involves highly sophisticated,   complex and widespread  forms  of  criminal  activity.  The  diversified   illegal conduct engaged in by organized crime, rooted in the illegal use   of  force,  fraud,  and  corruption,  constitutes a major drain upon the   state's economy, costs citizens and businesses of the state billions  of   dollars each year, and threatens the peace, security and general welfare   of the people of the state.Organized  crime  continues  to  expand its corrosive influence in the   state through illegal enterprises engaged in such criminal endeavors  as   the  theft  and fencing of property, the importation and distribution of   narcotics and other dangerous drugs, arson for profit, hijacking,  labor   racketeering,  loansharking, extortion and bribery, the illegal disposal   of  hazardous  wastes,  syndicated  gambling,  trafficking   in   stolen   securities, insurance and investment frauds, and other forms of economic   and social exploitation.The  money  and  power  derived by organized crime through its illegal   enterprises and endeavors is increasingly being used to  infiltrate  and   corrupt  businesses,  unions  and  other  legitimate  enterprises and to   corrupt our democratic processes. This infiltration takes several  forms   with legitimate enterprises being employed as instrumentalities, injured   as  victims,  or taken as prizes. Through such infiltration the power of   an enterprise can be diverted to criminal ends, its resources looted, or   it can be taken over entirely, either on paper or de  facto.  Thus,  for   purposes  of  making  both criminal and civil remedies available to deal   with the  corruption  of  such  enterprises,  the  concept  of  criminal   enterprise  should  not be limited to traditional criminal syndicates or   crime families, and may include persons who join together in a  criminal   enterprise,  as  defined  by subdivision three of section 460.10 of this   article, for the purpose of corrupting such  legitimate  enterprises  or   infiltrating and illicitly influencing industries.One  major  cause  of  the  continuing  growth  of  organized criminal   activities within the state is the  inadequacy  and  limited  nature  of   sanctions  and  remedies  available  to  state and local law enforcement   officials to deal with  this  intricate  and  varied  criminal  conduct.   Existing   penal   law  provisions  are  primarily  concerned  with  the   commission of specific and limited criminal acts without regard  to  the   relationships of particular criminal acts or the illegal profits derived   therefrom,  to  legitimate or illicit enterprises operated or controlled   by organized crime.  Further,  traditional  penal  law  provisions  only   provide for the imposition of conventional criminal penalties, including   imprisonment,  fines  and  probation,  for  entrenched  organized  crime   enterprises. Such penalties are not adequate  to  enable  the  state  to   effectively  fight  organized crime. Instead, new penal prohibitions and   enhanced sanctions, and new civil and criminal remedies are necessary to   deal with the unlawful activities of persons and enterprises engaged  in   organized  crime.    Comprehensive statutes enacted at the federal level   and in a  number  of  other  states  with  significant  organized  crime   problems,  have provided law enforcement agencies with an effective tool   to fight organized crime. Such laws permit law  enforcement  authorities   (i)  to  charge  and  prove  patterns  of  criminal  activity  and their   connection to ongoing  enterprises,  legitimate  or  illegal,  that  are   controlled  or  operated  by organized crime, and (ii) to apply criminal   and civil penalties designed to prevent and eliminate organized  crime's   involvement  with such enterprises. The organized crime control act is a   statute of comparable purpose but tempered by reasonable limitations  on   its applicability, and by due regard for the rights of innocent persons.    Because  of  its  more  rigorous definitions, this act will not apply to   some  situations  encompassed  within  comparable  statutes   in   other   jurisdictions.  This  act  is  vital  to the peace, security and general   welfare of the state.In  part  because  of  its  highly diverse nature, it is impossible to   precisely define what organized crime is. This  article,  however,  does   attempt  to  define  and  criminalize  what  organized  crime does. This   article focuses upon criminal enterprises because  their  sophistication   and organization make them more effective at their criminal purposes and   because  their  structure  and  insulation protect their leadership from   detection and prosecution.At the same time, this article is  not  intended  to  be  employed  to   prosecute  relatively minor or isolated acts of criminality which, while   related to an enterprise and arguably part of a pattern  as  defined  in   this  article,  can be adequately and more fairly prosecuted as separate   offenses. Similarly, particular defendants may play so minor a role in a   criminal enterprise that their culpability would be  unfairly  distorted   by prosecution and punishment for participation in the enterprise.The  balance  intended  to  be  struck  by  this act cannot readily be   codified in the form of restrictive definitions or a categorical list of   exceptions. General,  yet  carefully  drawn  definitions  of  the  terms   "pattern  of  criminal  activity"  and  "criminal  enterprise" have been   employed.   Notwithstanding the  provisions  of  section  5.00  of  this   chapter  these  definitions  should  be  given  their plain meaning, and   should not be construed either liberally or strictly, but in the context   of the legislative purposes set forth  in  these  findings.  Within  the   confines  of  these  and  other applicable definitions, discretion ought   still be exercised. Once  the  letter  of  the  law  is  complied  with,   including the essential showing that there is a pattern of conduct which   is  criminal  under existing statutes, the question whether to prosecute   under those statutes or for the pattern itself  is  essentially  one  of   fairness.  The  answer  will  depend on the particular situation, and is   best  addressed  by  those  institutions  of   government   which   have   traditionally  exercised  that  function:  the  grand  jury,  the public   prosecutor, and an independent judiciary.