Opinion ID: 1466972
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: rico acquittal as bar to prosecution

Text: We now turn to Sheeran's final challenge to his convictions. In 1979, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania charged Sheeran and Louis J. Bottone with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) (18 U.S.C. § 1962(c)) and conspiracy to violate RICO (18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)). [22] According to the grand jury, Sheeran and Bottone participated in an enterprise [23] affecting interstate commerce through a pattern of racketeering activity [24] in order to enhance and protect their position in the regional organized labor and organized crime hierarchies. To achieve those goals, they allegedly hired Allen to act as a bodyguard and to commit murder and arson at their direction. The pattern of racketeering activity alleged by the government consisted of nine predicate crimes: [25] two murders, four attempted murders, one incident of arson, crossing state lines to promote or engage in racketeering enterprises, and embezzlement of labor union funds. As part of the conspiracy, Sheeran was alleged to have instructed Allen to cause an explosion at HIAB of Newark, Delaware and to assault an official of HIAB. Sheeran was acquitted on all counts of the 1979 federal indictment. Nevertheless, he was indicted in 1981 by a Delaware grand jury on two counts of second degree criminal solicitation based on his instructions to Allen regarding HIAB. Sheeran's convictions of those charges are at issue in this appeal. Sheeran filed a pre-trial motion to dismiss the Delaware charges, arguing that his federal acquittal barred, through the federal and state double jeopardy clauses, state law, and collateral estoppel, the state prosecution. In a carefully written (and now reported opinion), that motion was denied by the Superior Court. State v. Sheeran, Del.Super., 441 A.2d 235 (1981). Sheeran's sole challenge, in this appeal, to that ruling is that the Superior Court erred in concluding that the federal and state prosecutions were not based on the same conduct and, therefore, prohibited by 11 Del.C. § 209(1). We find, upon the analysis set forth in the well-reasoned opinion of the trial court, that Sheeran's prosecution in Delaware was not barred by the provisions of 11 Del.C. § 209(1)(a).