Opinion ID: 76722
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The RICO Enterprise Issue

Text: 30 The Defendants contend that the evidence at trial was insufficient to prove the existence of a RICO enterprise. A jury is entitled to infer the existence of an enterprise on the basis of largely or wholly circumstantial evidence.... [D]irect evidence of association may be difficult to obtain; a jury [is] permitted to draw the natural inference arising from circumstantial evidence of association. United States v. Elliott, 571 F.2d 880, 898 (5th Cir.1978). 31 Under RICO, an enterprise [i]ncludes 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). An enterprise can consist of a group of persons associated together for a common purpose of engaging in a course of conduct ... proved by evidence of an ongoing organization, formal or informal, and by evidence that the various associates function as a continuing unit. United States v. Turkette, 452 U.S. 576, 583, 101 S.Ct. 2524, 2528, 69 L.Ed.2d 246 (1981). 32 [A]n enterprise can exist in the absence of a formally structured group, United States v. Young, 906 F.2d 615, 619 (11th Cir.1990), which can be even a myriopod criminal network, loosely connected but connected nonetheless. Elliott, 571 F.2d at 898. We have held that there is no difference, for enterprise purposes, between a duly elected corporate board and an amoeba-like infra-structure in control of criminal activity. 4 See id.; United States v. Lignarolo, 770 F.2d 971, 979 n. 12 (11th Cir.1985). 33 The Government invites us to hold that the evidence showed that all of the pimps charged in this indictment constituted a RICO enterprise. The Defendants, on the other hand, invite us to hold that their convictions cannot stand unless the evidence showed that all of these indicated southwest Atlanta pimps constituted a RICO enterprise. 5 We decline both invitations, and address a more narrow question: whether the evidence supports a finding that the Defendants agreed to participate in any RICO enterprise — whether or not the enterprise included all these southwest Atlanta pimps. 34 The court's instructions to the jury correctly summarized the definition of a RICO enterprise: 35 The term enterprise includes any partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity or any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity. An association in fact enterprise may consist of a group of persons associated together for a common purpose of engaging in a court of conduct. 36 The Government must prove the existence of such an enterprise by evidence of an ongoing organization, formal or informal, and by evidence that the various associates functioned as a continuing unit. So it is — an enterprise is — in this case is people associated in fact together for a common purpose of engaging in a course of conduct that has a continuity to it. It's ongoing. 37 (R.24 at 1885.) 38
39 The evidence at trial supports the jury's finding that Pipkins agreed to participate in an enterprise, the overall objective of which was to make money prostituting juveniles. The evidence presented the jury with at least two possibilities for finding that there was an enterprise: the jury could have concluded that Pipkins and KK were the chief executives in a juvenile female prostitution enterprise that they organized; alternatively, the jury could have concluded that three pimps — Pipkins, Scooby, and KK — collectively headed up a prostitution enterprise involving juvenile females. In either case, the enterprise's activities included traveling intrastate and interstate to prostitute juvenile females, recruiting juvenile prostitutes, attending the Player's Ball, mentoring a junior pimp, commingling funds and profits, and dividing the track to reduce competition among prostitutes. 40 We have previously summarized evidence that supports the notion that there was extensive cooperation among the southwest Atlanta pimps generally, all of whom associated on a continuing basis in an informal organization. But we now focus first on additional evidence that supports the conclusion that Pipkins and KK headed up a juvenile prostitution enterprise, and second, on evidence that supports an alternative conclusion that Pipkins, Scooby, and KK conducted the affairs of a juvenile prostitution enterprise. 41 Substantial evidence supports a finding that Pipkins and KK conducted a juvenile prostitution enterprise. We note some highlights. Pipkins and KK kept a stable of juvenile prostitutes, including JF5, JF6, Red, Candace (who previously worked for Moore), JF48, Sugar, Lisa, Special, Too Tall (who, although bearing a tattoo of Sir Charles on her leg, later became Moore's bottom girl), Ne-ne, Peaches, Passion, Kimberly, and China Doll. 6 Pipkins and KK provided drugs to their prostitutes, and took them to the track to work. Also, Pipkins and KK provided their prostitutes a place to live, food, clothing, condoms, and money to get their hair and nails done. 42 Pipkins brought KK into his enterprise by mentoring him as a junior pimp. After purchasing a copy of Really Really Pimpin' in Da South at a local barber shop, KK recognized Pipkins and sought his counsel on becoming a pimp. Pipkins invited KK to move into his house, and the two began a symbiotic business relationship. In addition to providing rides to the track for each other and each other's prostitutes, Pipkins and KK supervised each other's prostitutes and collected the money they earned. 43 Additionally, Pipkins disciplined his prostitutes in front of KK, teaching KK his method. For example, after Pipkins learned that JF5 had been smoking marijuana with one of Scooby's prostitutes, Pipkins directed JF5 to lay naked on the ground in front of Pipkins, KK, and other prostitutes. Pipkins then forced JF5 to have oral sex with JF6 (who had just returned from a night of prostitution) in the presence of Pipkins and KK. 44 Pipkins and KK worked the track together, with KK on-site and Pipkins appearing as necessary to prevent any disputes from escalating. The following anecdote illustrates such an agreement. JF6, one of Pipkins's prostitutes, formerly worked for Worm. While Worm was in jail, he gave JF6 to Fantastic, an unindicted pimp, but Worm later claimed that he had not been properly served. After Worm was released, KK was working the track one evening when Worm arrived and verbally assaulted JF6, who had moved to Pipkins from Fantastic. KK called Pipkins on a cell phone to inform him of the commotion, and Pipkins soon arrived to speak with Worm. Pipkins told Worm that because he got JF6 from someone else (and had apparently properly served that other pimp), Worm should consider himself served as well. 45 Most tellingly, Pipkins and KK had an agreement to operate in tandem. According to KK, Pipkins said that KK had a good catch hand and that [Pipkins] had a good turn out hand, and that I could catch the girls and he would turn them out. (R.21 at 1484.) KK explained that this meant that he was adept at finding and bringing girls to Pipkins's house; Pipkins would win the girls' loyalties, explain the rules of the game, and convince them to prostitute for him and KK. KK also worked as a tattoo artist, and tattooed Sir Charles on one of Pipkins's prostitutes. KK took several of Pipkins's other prostitutes to get tattoos for which Pipkins paid. Clearly, there was evidence to support a finding that Pipkins and KK agreed to form an enterprise to make money through juvenile prostitution. 46 As we previously noted, an alternative view that has support in the evidence is that Pipkins, Scooby, and KK collectively could be viewed as the leaders of a juvenile prostitution enterprise in which all of them participated. Pipkins traveled extensively with Scooby, driving out of town with him to prostitute females. They drove to Columbus, Georgia several times to prostitute in the back of The Foxy Lady, an adult entertainment establishment near a military base. Another time, Pipkins and Scooby went to Memphis, Tennessee to prostitute two girls at another strip club, The Queen of Hearts. Pipkins and Scooby traveled together because Scooby did not like to take long trips alone and because protection of their prostitutes was enhanced by having their prostitutes dance and work together. This benefitted the pimps because the prostitutes were more motivated to prostitute when their safety was assured. 47 While in Memphis, Pipkins and Scooby jointly persuaded a female working the drive-through window at McDonald's to quit on the spot and join Pipkins's organization in Atlanta. And, on another trip to Memphis, Scooby found a female who wanted to return with him to Atlanta to prostitute, but who did not have the looks required to join his stable. Remembering that Pipkins's driver's license was suspended and noting that this female had a car, Scooby contacted Pipkins on his cell phone and coaxed him to accept this female because she would be able to ferry both Pipkins and other prostitutes to and from the track. 48 In 1999, Pipkins, Scooby, Herman Hutson, Jr. (known as Redd), and Curtis Webb, Pipkins's tailor, along with one of Pipkins's prostitutes, traveled together to the Player's Ball in Detroit, Michigan. The Player's Ball is an annual event, akin to a nationwide pimp trade show, which rotates through major cities. At the Player's Ball, pimps showcased their finest attire and prostitutes in the hopes of being named Pimp of the Year. Pipkins, Scooby, and Redd were apparently the only pimps in attendance from Atlanta, and were disappointed to discover that the Pimp of the Year had been preselected from the host Detroit contingent. Pipkins took five prostitutes to a different Player's Ball in downtown Atlanta; Scooby also attended. 49 On another occasion, Pipkins and Scooby agreed to work different ends of the track to avoid direct competition and price undercutting between their prostitutes. Scooby testified that his and Pipkins's prostitutes had different looks. Dividing the track into discrete territories reduced the likelihood of consumer confusion and of any possible price-related problems between the prostitutes. 50 From this copious evidence, the jury could have concluded that Pipkins participated in a RICO enterprise with Scooby and KK. Pipkins and Scooby functioned horizontally, traveling together, fixing prices on the track, and recruiting and swapping prostitutes with one another. In contrast, Pipkins and KK operated vertically with Pipkins serving as KK's mentor. Pipkins allowed KK to live in his house and groomed him as a successor, looking after his prostitutes while benefitting from KK's youth and rapport with juvenile females. 51 Whether it involved Pipkins, Scooby, and KK, or Pipkins and KK alone, the jury could have concluded that there was an informal, ongoing organization. The evidence supports a finding that there was continuous association among these pimps, and that they worked together to make money prostituting juveniles. Thus, we conclude that there was sufficient evidence that Pipkins agreed to participate in a RICO enterprise. 52
53 We have previously outlined evidence that there was extensive cooperation among the indicted southwest Atlanta pimps generally. We now focus on additional evidence that supports the jury's conclusion that Moore agreed to participate in a RICO enterprise. Two plausible views of the evidence support this conclusion. One view is that Moore and his legal wife, Linda Moore, headed up a prostitution enterprise involving juvenile females. An alternative view is that Moore and other pimps with whom he was closely affiliated — Hollywood, Worm, Playboy, Black, and LittleD — formed an enterprise to prostitute juvenile females. We now highlight evidence supporting these two views. 7 54 As to the enterprise formed by Moore and his wife, the evidence showed that Moore had a bottom girl named Too Tall and employed many juvenile prostitutes, including 13-year-olds Tasha, JF7, JF9, and JF37; 14-year-old JF15; and 15-year-olds Lil Bit, JF8, JF12, JF22, JF33, and JF53. Moore drove several ostentatious vehicles (one of which he dubbed the Batmobile) and worked the track with his prostitutes, collecting the proceeds from their dates and flagging down customers. Moore complied with the rules of the game, serving other pimps when prostitutes chose him and collecting money from other pimps when one of his prostitutes chose another pimp. Teaching his prostitutes the rules, Moore instructed his prostitutes to milk their dates for as much cash as possible, charging for each discrete sexual act or even each time they changed sexual positions. Moore disciplined his prostitutes for infractions by beating them, hitting them with a baseball bat, and trunking them. Finally, Moore directed his wife, Linda, a pimp also indicted in this case, to take his prostitutes shopping for clothes and to drive them to the track for work. On one occasion, 12-year-old JF11 received a call from a boyfriend named Weasel who told her that he and Moore were in a car outside her home and that she and her family would be killed if she didn't come out of the house. JF11 came out of the house and got into Moore's car. After Moore drove to his house, Weasel beat JF11 on her face. Moore and Weasel then tied JF11 to a bed with a telephone cord. Later, Moore untied JF11, ran errands, and then went to a mall and purchased clothes for her, telling her that if she didn't go with them, he would kill her. That night, Moore forced JF11 to have sexual intercourse with Hollywood, threatening to kill her if she refused. Moore took the money paid by Hollywood for sex with JF11. Even though JF11 escaped Moore's clutches after this incident, Moore returned to JF11's house and again threatened to kill her unless she went with him, which she did. Moore then took JF11 to another person's house, where JF11 was gang raped by three males. 55 There was convincing evidence that Moore, along with his wife, Linda, formed an enterprise to make money through prostitution of juveniles. 56 Even more clearly, the evidence showed that Moore formed an enterprise with Hollywood, Worm, Playboy, Black, and Little D. Hollywood testified that he and Moore recruited females together, and jointly hosted private prostitution parties at a local hotel. Moore also rented rooms in a boarding house to other pimps so that they could prostitute their females. Moore charged pimps different rates, depending on the level of cooperation between Moore and the pimp. 57 Worm, an indicted pimp who had pleaded guilty, testified at trial that [i]t was just like birds of a feather flock together, pimps of a feather flock together. Pimps run in a group, each one look out for each other. (R.18 at 987.) Worm testified that pimps looked out for each other by bonding each other's prostitutes out of jail, and that he wouldn't let nobody down, if they need me I be there. (R.18 at 989.) Worm actively associated with Moore, Dwayne Comer (known as Julio), Anthony Bell (known as Black), and Landreaka Herndon (known as Big D). Most notably, Worm and Moore drove together to Anniston, Alabama at least five times to prostitute females. Once while in Alabama, Moore successfully recruited a prostitute to work for him in Atlanta. Worm also looked out for Moore by helping him with gas money and giving him money as needed for other tasks. 58 Mekell Astin, a neighborhood drug dealer, testified that Moore worked with Dwayne Comer (known as Little D) and Black. On at least five occasions, Moore purchased marijuana and powder cocaine from Astin for his prostitutes, using the drugs as a reward or as a lure for other juvenile females. Moore introduced Astin to Terrance Ramsey (known as Playboy,) another indicted pimp, who became one of Astin's customers. 59 Moore had a relationship with the local police. Worm testified that Moore sat in police vehicles and found out which nights the police would be conducting sweeps. Worm also testified that Moore revealed that Tuesdays and Thursday is vice night, (R.19 at 1017), and that Worm and Moore drove prostitutes to Alabama on those nights to avoid arrest. 60 Moore and Hollywood colluded to keep the prices for dates on the track between $30 to $80. 8 On at least one occasion, Moore and Hollywood confronted another indicted pimp, Deunbray Rucker (known as Poochie), for undercutting the price range. Moore and Hollywood persuaded Poochie to rejoin the price fixing cartel, and agreed that they would force Poochie to leave the area if he tried to undercut prices again. 9 61 The evidence showed Moore to be a central figure among these pimps, as he introduced Playboy to a drug dealer, traveled with Worm out of state to prostitute females, and served as a information conduit from the police to Worm and other pimps. Moore and Linda Moore functioned vertically, as she took direction from Moore about the maintenance of their stable of prostitutes. Hollywood, Worm, Playboy, Black, Little D, and Moore operated horizontally, exchanging favors and working together to accomplish their criminal objectives. 62 Based on this evidence, the jury could have concluded that Moore participated in a RICO enterprise. Whether the enterprise consisted of Moore and Linda Moore, or also included Hollywood, Worm, Playboy, Black, and Little D, the jury could have found that Moore was a member of an informal, ongoing organization with a continuing association, bound together to make money prostituting juvenile females. We therefore conclude that the evidence sufficiently supports a finding that Moore participated in a RICO enterprise.