Opinion ID: 499444
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Substantive RICO and RICO conspiracy counts.

Text: 48 Loiacono appeals his convictions on counts four and five of the indictment, which charged him with substantive and conspiracy violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. 18 U.S.C. Secs. 1962(c) and (d). Loiacono contends, first, that, because the two conspiracies alleged in the indictment as predicate acts arose from a single overall conspiracy, the government has failed to satisfy RICO's pattern requirement, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1961(5); and, second, that his conviction on both the substantive RICO and the RICO conspiracy counts violates the double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment. We disagree. 49
50 To satisfy the pattern requirement in a RICO prosecution, the government must prove that the defendant committed at least two of the predicate acts listed in section 1961(1) within ten years of each other. See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1961(5); United States v. Ianniello, 808 F.2d 184, 189-93 (2d Cir.1986), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 3229, 97 L.Ed.2d 736 (1987). The indictment charged as predicate acts that Loiacono participated in a conspiracy to import morphine base into the United States in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 963 and participated in a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 846. Conspiracies to violate the narcotics laws, if proven, are properly chargeable as predicate acts. See United States v. Ruggiero, 726 F.2d 913, 918 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 831, 105 S.Ct. 118, 83 L.Ed.2d 60 (1984); United States v. Weisman, 624 F.2d 1118, 1123-24 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 871, 101 S.Ct. 209, 66 L.Ed.2d 91 (1980); 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1961(1)(D). 51 At issue, then, is whether the conspiracies are separate crimes or a single crime. Since a defendant can conspire only to import drugs or only to distribute them, we think that each conspiracy can exist independently, and a defendant could be convicted of one or of both without violating the double jeopardy clause. The fact that Loiacono committed both crimes as part of a single plan does not invalidate the RICO conviction, since this circuit has rejected the view that a pattern of racketeering activity or a racketeering enterprise must consist of multiple ventures or plans. So long as the defendants commit at least two predicate acts, they have met the pattern requirement and, so long as the enterprise is long and elaborate enough to be considered continuing, the enterprise requirement is satisfied. See Beck v. Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., 820 F.2d 46, 51 (2d Cir.), petition for cert. filed, 56 U.S.L.W. 3322 (Oct. 13, 1987) (No. 87-616); Ianniello, 808 F.2d at 190-92. 52 If anything, the relatedness of the two conspiracies makes the case against Loiacono more compelling because this relationship highlights the continuity in the enterprise. The conspiracy to import morphine base was part of a larger plan that included the narcotics manufacturing and distribution conspiracy. In addition, trial evidence established that defendants planned additional narcotics ventures, and even had taken steps towards a second venture. Accordingly, we find that the predicate acts of racketeering charged in the indictment and proven at trial satisfy the requirements of the RICO statute precisely because they were two important aspects of a large-scale, continuous drug enterprise. 53
54 Loiacono contends that, where the underlying predicate acts alleged in a RICO prosecution are conspiracies, a conviction under both the substantive RICO and RICO conspiracy sections, 18 U.S.C. Secs. 1962(c) and (d), violates the double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment. We disagree. 55 A single transaction may give rise to liability for distinct offenses under separate statutes without violating the Double Jeopardy Clause. United States v. Biasucci, 786 F.2d 504, 515 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 104, 93 L.Ed.2d 54 (1986) (quoting United States v. Barton, 647 F.2d 224, 235 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 857, 102 S.Ct. 307, 70 L.Ed.2d 152 (1981)). The applicable test for determining whether two offenses are sufficiently distinct to allow prosecutions under each statute is that set forth in Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932): 56 The applicable rule is that where the same act or transaction constitutes a violation of two distinct statutory provisions, the test to be applied to determine whether there are two offenses or only one, is whether each provision requires proof of a fact which the other does not ... 57 See Albernaz v. United States, 450 U.S. 333, 337-38, 101 S.Ct. 1137, 1141, 67 L.Ed.2d 275 (1981); Biasucci, 786 F.2d at 515-16. 58 Loiacono's convictions under the statutory provisions at issue here, 18 U.S.C. Secs. 1962(c) and 1962(d), satisfy the Blockberger test. To establish the existence of a RICO conspiracy, the government was required to prove only the existence of an agreement to violate RICO's substantive provisions. Thus, the government necessarily had to establish that Loiacono agreed with his criminal associates to form the RICO enterprise, the J.E.M. Corporation, agreed to associate himself with that enterprise and agreed to commit two predicate acts in furtherance of a pattern of racketeering activity in connection with the enterprise. In contrast, Loiacono's conviction on the substantive RICO count required proof, not of an agreement to violate the substantive RICO sections, but actual proof that Loiacono associated himself with the enterprise and committed at least two predicate acts in connection with the conduct of the enterprise. 59 The significant distinctions between the proof required to establish the RICO conspiracy and the underlying substantive RICO offense belie Loiacono's claim that convictions under both the substantive and conspiracy counts violate the double jeopardy clause. See Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640, 643-44, 66 S.Ct. 1180, 1182, 90 L.Ed. 1489 (1946) (convictions under both a conspiracy statute and underlying offense do not violate double jeopardy clause). Although the predicate acts charged under the two offenses were the same, proof of the acts was only one element necessary to establish Loiacono's guilt of those offenses. Accordingly, because the Blockberger test was satisfied here, we find no double jeopardy violation. 60