Opinion ID: 597807
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: RICO's Pattern Requirement

Text: 74 William challenges the trial court's instruction as to what Metromedia was required to prove in order to establish a pattern of racketeering activity within the meaning of RICO. The court told the jury, inter alia, that Metromedia was required to show that William's unlawful acts were neither isolated nor sporadic, that those acts were related to each other, and that they were continuing or constituted a threat of continuing racketeering activity. The court instructed that one way in which Metromedia could meet this burden was by showing that William's unlawful activity was repeated over a substantial period of time--for example, a few weeks or months. William contends that this was error. While the contention appears to have merit, we conclude that the error was harmless. 75 Though there is no bright line test for determining precisely what period of time is substantial for purposes of finding the continuity necessary to establish a RICO pattern, the Supreme Court in H.J. Inc. v. Northwestern Bell Telephone Co., 492 U.S. 229, 109 S.Ct. 2893, 106 L.Ed.2d 195 (1989), stated that [p]redicate acts extending over a few weeks or months and threatening no future criminal conduct do not satisfy this requirement. Id. at 242, 109 S.Ct. at 2902. Periods of 19 or 20 months, however, have been held sufficient to support a finding of continuity, see United States v. Pelullo, 964 F.2d 193, 210 (3d Cir.1992) (19 months sufficient); United States v. Stodola, 953 F.2d 266, 270 (7th Cir.1992), (closed-ended period of 20 months sufficient), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 104, 121 L.Ed.2d 63 (1992), and where continuity can be inferred from the jury's findings, an erroneous instruction may constitute harmless error. United States v. Pelullo, 964 F.2d at 209; see United States v. Kotvas, 941 F.2d 1141, 1144-45 (11th Cir.1991). 76 In the present case, the district court's illustration that a few weeks or months might constitute a substantial period of time was erroneous. The RICO predicate acts found by the jury, however, were not so limited. In addition to the bankruptcy fraud found by the bankruptcy court, the jury found that William had committed three other types of predicate acts--mail fraud, wire fraud, and securities fraud. The record supports inferences that the securities and mail fraud began at least as early as January 1985, when appellants mailed to Subotnick financial statements for Express that significantly overstated its net worth and understated the losses incurred in its recent performance. The unlawful activity continued at least until January 1987, when William committed bankruptcy fraud by transferring one of Express's assets to his son. The jury was instructed that in order to find for Metromedia on the RICO claim it must find that the predicate acts were related, and it presumably so found. The related predicate acts that the jury found proven spanned approximately two years, and the instructions' reference to a few weeks or months was therefore harmless.