June 5, 2009—On Monday, April 27, 2009 Rochester Police Department (RPD) arrested a group of residents of the Beechwood neighborhood on Rochester’s east side. According to local media accounts of the incident, 21 people were arrested but a total of 24 individuals are being charged with belonging to an organized crime group called the Chain Gang, also known as the Wolf Pack.

They are being prosecuted under the ‘Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act’, a federal statue also called the RICO act. RICO was intended to eradicate organized crime by attacking the sources of its revenue, such as syndicated gambling or bookmakers. The statute imposes both criminal imprisonment from 20 years to life, depending on the racketeering activity involved and civil liability including damages, costs and attorneys fees for persons who engage in certain prohibited acts. According to Jeffrey Rodefer, a former Assistant Attorney General for the State of Nevada, the statute provides “new weapons of unprecedented scope for an assault upon organized crime and its economic roots.”

But individuals arrested and their supporters are saying there is no such organization called the Chain Gang or the Wolf Pack. In a community meeting Thursday at 345 Parsells Avenue members of Activists Against Racism Movement (AARM) insist that there was no basis or foundation to support racketeering charges filed against those arrested. “The use of the RICO statute in these arrests is absolutely unfounded and unconstitutional,” the group said in a statement. Read the full article on the MinorityReporter website by clicking here

Video: Parsells Community Church anti-RICO Rally

Audio: American Freedom: Human Rights v. USA PATRIOT Act: Stephen Bright | Natsu Saito (both discuss RICO in the context of US legal history)

Additional Information: The MinorityReporter at MinorityReporter.net | Activists Against Racism Movement (AARM) | RICO Act | Mafia Law Used Against Environmentalists for Tree Sits, Civil Disobedience | RICO LAWS? PROVE IT!!