I 100TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 4920 To amend chapter 96 of title 18, United States Code, relating to racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations, to restructure the civil claims procedures, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. CONYERS (for himself and Mr. EDWARDS of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend chapter 96 of title 18, United States Code, relating to racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations, to restructure the civil claims procedures, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 4 This Act may be cited as the "Crime Control Act of 5 1988". 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Based on published data and its own studies, the Con 8 gress finds that 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 2 (1) organized crime, white-collar crime, violent group crime and other sophisticated forms of criminal conduct unlawfully inflict each year billions of dollars of damage on public and private institutions as well as individuals; (2) organized crime includes the importation and distribution of narcotics and other illicit drugs, loan sharking, syndicated gambling, theft and fencing, prostitution, bankruptcy fraud, counterfeiting, hazardous waste offenses, the infiltration of legitimate business and labor organizations, and political and other forms of public corruption; (3) white-collar crime includes contract procure ment fraud, credit card fraud, extortion, bribery, pricefixing, illicit market allocation, securities, commodities, and other frauds, tax fraud, medical fraud, bank and thrift fraud, arson for-profit and insurance fraud, product counterfeiting and diversion, coupon fraud, and home improvement fraud; (4) violent group crime includes murder, kidnapping, robbery, arson, gun-running, and explosive offenses, which are engaged in for a variety of motives, including individual pathology, economic profit, the desire to change governmental structures, and racial, 3 religious and ethnic animosity, none of which is tolera ble in a free society; (5) organized crime, white-collar crime, violent group crime, and other sophisticated forms of criminal conduct are not mutually exclusive categories of criminal conduct; (6) Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies have forged an increasingly effective partnership in efforts to curtail organized crime, white-collar crime, violent group crime, and other sophisticated forms of criminal conduct; (7) the curtailment of organized crime, whitecollar crime, violent group crime, and other sophisticat ed forms of criminal conduct requires extraordinary techniques of investigation and prosecution, as well as special criminal and civil sanctions, which are not always available to State and local law enforcement agencies; (8) the existence of an effective private enforcement mechanism is essential to any effort to curtail organized crime, white-collar crime, violent group crime, and other sophisticated forms of criminal conduct; (9) any private enforcement mechanism must be carefully tailored to maximize the advantage and to minimize the disadvantage to the interest of justice; HR 4920 IH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 6 11 12 4 (10) because of marketplace and other relative inequalities, to be effective, a private enforcement mech anism must encourage enforcement, deter violators, and compensate victims for accumulative harm, including opportunity and transaction costs, by authorizing the recovery of multiple damages and litigation costs, including attorneys fees; (11) to curtail litigation abuse in the administration of the private enforcement mechanism, the use of 10 terms of opprobrium must be circumscribed, verification must be required in certain litigation, more particularly in pleading standards involving secondary liability must be enforced, burdens of proof on certain issues must be heightened, and adjustments must be made to the provision for multiple damages; and 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 (12) divergent court decisions require the clarification of original congressional intent under title IX of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 (18 U.S.C. et seq.). 20 SEC. 3. BURDEN OF PROOF. 21 Section 1964(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 22 amended by 23 (1) inserting "(1)" after "(a)", 5 (2) inserting after "of this chapter by issuing" the following: ", upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence," and (3) inserting at the end thereof the following: "(2)(A) A trusteeship over a labor organization may be imposed under this section by a court only for the purpose of correcting corruption or financial malpractice, restoring democratic procedures, or otherwise carrying out the legitimate objects of the labor organization. "(B) During any period when a labor organization is in trusteeship under this section, it shall be unlawful to count the votes of the delegates from the labor orga nization in any convention or election of officers of the labor organization unless the delegates have been chosen by secret ballot in an election in which all the members in good standing of the organization were eligible to participate. "(C) A trusteeship imposed on a labor organization under this section by a court shall not continue beyond a period of eighteen months from the date of its imposition. After the expiration of eighteen months, the trusteeship shall be presumed invalid, and its discontinuance shall be decreed, unless the trustee shall show by clear and convincing evidence that the continuation HR 4920 IH |