What federal legislation aims to curtail organized criminal activity?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The first federal legislation specifically aimed at curtailing organized criminal activity was the Hobbs Act, which was a series of statutes passed beginning in 1946. The Hobbs Act made it a violation of federal law to engage in any form of criminal behavior that interferes with interstate commerce; criminalized interstate or foreign travel in furtherance of criminal activity; and made it a crime to use the highways, telephone, or mail in support of activities such as gambling, drug trafficking, loan-sharking, and other forms of racketeering.

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is the single most important piece of federal legislation ever passed that specifically targets the activities of organized crime. It was part of the federal Organized Crime Control Act of 1970. RICO brought together the many diverse activities of American organized crime and made each one punishable in a variety of new ways. While RICO did not make racketeering itself illegal, it focused on the ill-gotten gains from racketeering, making it unlawful for anyone involved in a pattern of racketeering to derive any income or proceeds from that activity. One of the punishments provided under RICO is asset forfeiture.