RICO - The Beginning of the End of Radical Islam In America - The Feds Are Claiming A "Criminal Conspiracy"

Yesterday, Imam Abdullah was shot dead by Federal Authorities, after he opened fire on those who were attempting to arrest him.

Normally, that would be enough cause for celebration.

But, in this case, we have even more cause for celebration. I have been scanning the horizon of Internet news, for over a year now, waiting to find the Magic Words; "Criminal Conspiracy".

Why?

Because I am, and have been convinced, that we already have laws on the books which can bring Radical Islam to it's knees here in America.

The most important of these laws are the Smith Act (Sedition), and the RICO Statutes (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act). For today, we will just concentrate on RICO, because that is what we have before us in the, apparent, Federal Prosecution which is brewing against the ten people who were sought yesterday in the raid which ended with Abdullah dead.

First, let's look at some of the text from the original New York Times article:

"Federal authorities say a leader of what they describe as a nationwide radical Sunni Islam group ... at a Dearborn warehouse on charges that included conspiracy to sell stolen goods and illegal possession and sale of firearms. Authorities also conducted raids elsewhere to try to round up 10 followers named in a federal complaint."

Now, let's look at what is covered by the RICO Act:

Under RICO, a person who is a member of an enterprise that has committed any two of 35 crimes—27 federal crimes and 8 state crimes—within a 10-year period can be charged with racketeering. Those found guilty of racketeering can be fined up to $250,000 and/or sentenced to 20 years in prison per racketeering count. In addition, the racketeer must forfeit all ill-gotten gains and interest in any business gained through a pattern of "racketeering activity." RICO also permits a private individual harmed by the actions of such an enterprise to file a civil suit; if successful, the individual can collect treble damages.

Under the law, racketeering activity means:

• Any violation of state statutes against gambling, murder, kidnapping, extortion, arson, robbery, bribery, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in the Controlled Substances Act);
• Any act of bribery, counterfeiting, theft, embezzlement, fraud, dealing in obscene matter, obstruction of justice, slavery, racketeering, gambling, money laundering, commission of murder-for-hire, and several other offenses covered under the Federal criminal code (Title 18);
• Embezzlement of union funds;
• Bankruptcy fraud or securities fraud;
• Drug trafficking;
• Money laundering and related offenses;
• Bringing in, aiding or assisting aliens in illegally entering the country (if the action was for financial gain);
• Acts of terrorism.

And now, let's look at how RICO has been used in past years:

While its intended use was to prosecute the Mafia as well as others who were actively engaged in organized crime, its application has been more widespread.

Famous cases

Hells Angels Motorcycle Club

In 1979, the United States federal government went after Sonny Barger and several members and associates of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels using RICO. In United States v. Barger, the prosecution team attempted to demonstrate a pattern of behavior to convict Barger and other members of the club of RICO offenses related to guns and illegal drugs.

Major League Baseball

In 2002, the former minority owners of the Montreal Expos baseball team filed charges under the RICO Act against Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and former Expos owner Jeffrey Loria, claiming that Selig and Loria deliberately conspired to devalue the team for personal benefit in preparation for a move.^[11] If found liable, Major League Baseball could have been found liable for up to $300 million in punitive damages. The case lasted for two years, successfully stalling the Expos' move to Washington or contraction during that time. It was eventually sent to arbitration where the arbiters ruled in favor of Major League Baseball,^[12] permitting the move to Washington to take place.

Key West PD

In June 1984, the Key West Police Department in Monroe County, Florida was declared a criminal enterprise under the Federal RICO statutes after a lengthy United States Department of Justice investigation. Several high-ranking officers of the department, including Deputy Police Chief Raymond Cassamayor, were arrested on federal charges of running a protection racket for illegal cocaine smugglers. ^[8] At trial, a witness testified he routinely delivered bags of cocaine to the Deputy Chief's office at City Hall. ^[9]

So, we see there is a history of RICO being used to go after larger corporations, police departments, and gangs, not ordinarily thought of as Organized Criminal Organizations. RICO has also been used to prosecute the Gambino Crime Family, the Chicago Outfit, and Mohawk Industries. Most interestingly, RICO Statutes were cited in the Civil Suit NOW v. Scheidler, which sought damages and an injunction against pro-life activists who physically block access to abortion clinics.

This demonstrates that RICO can be used against organizations of all types, and may be used to prosecute anyone who participates knowingly in a Criminal Conspiracy which involves, as has already been pointed out, just two of a list of thirty-five total crimes.

Now, here is a case of a bust, from earlier this year, which demonstrates how closely many Mosques may be tied to large Criminal Conspiracies:

May 15, 2009 · From Fairfax Gov and Silent Majority. Fairfax County Police led a massive bust near the popular and growing radical Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, VA Fairfax County, home to Falls Church, one of the major frontlines of Islamist aggression. We have:

• The Dar al-Hijrah Wahabbi corridor which is a massive Islamist enclave built up around the mosque
• Tax payer subsidized K-B.A. in Jihad via the Islamic Saudi Academy and George Mason (ISA is not taxed and Mason is public)that has already produced one convicted terrorist
• Gitmo trials and Gitmo prisoners coming And our first pro-jihad candidate

On Wednesday, May 6, over 135 law enforcement personnel participated in concluding a year-long undercover investigation. Operation Build America
was launched in May 2008 to better understand the criminal activity
taking place in and around the Build America Shopping Center. The
shopping center is nestled in the Skyline community in the 3800 block
of South George Mason Drive. Community concerns of illegal activities
in the shopping center coupled with indicators that crime was in the
upswing sprung the operation into motion.

The investigation successfully infiltrated several criminal
organizations and businesses operating around the center. Undercover
police officers identified nearly 40 people suspected of criminal
activity that ranges from property crimes to crimes of violence. The
undercover operation successfully recovered stolen firearms and illegal
narcotics including cocaine and marijuana.

Collectively, 143 criminal arrest warrants and 15 search warrants were issued in this undercover operation.

If it could be proven that money from those criminal enterprises was donated at Zakat (Islamic Charity) to the local Mosque or Islamic Saudi Academy, and that the authorities within those Mosques knowingly accepted that money gained from criminal activity, then RICO could be used to bring down the entire structure of what is here called the Dar al-Hijrah Wahabbi corridor.Think about it, with all these criminal businesses, run by Muslim men, operating right in the neighborhood surrouding the Mosque and the ISA, do you really believe the Imams and the directors of ISA are completely ignorant of what is going on right under their noses. (Have the Feds even thought to look into the Imams and the Zakat payments?)
Futhermore, if my sources are correct, nearly 80% of the Mosques in the United States are funded, at least in part, by Saudi Arabia. (Here's some information on the Saudi-funding of Wahabbist education and Mosques in the United States.)

So, what's the point? Why do I bring up the Saudi-funding of Mosques? What does this have to do with using RICO to prosecute Radical Islamists?

Simply this, I believe it is possible that one could show Criminal Conspiracy involving whole groups of Saudi-funded Mosques. Once again, this depends on whether one can prove that Imams and Directors of Mosques knowingly accept money gained from Organized Criminal Activity as Zakat. It would also help if one could prove that some of that Zakat was then used to promote terrorist organizations (such as the Holy Land Foundation), or for aiding or assisting aliens in illegally entering the country.

Does that sound far-fetched? Perhaps. Imams knowingly involved in Criminal Activity?

What do you think?

Have we not seen examples already, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here?

And, most of all, what about THIS?


UPDATE: There is precedence for Western governments going after religions as, essentially, Racketeering Organizations. Check out this article on how France is handling Scientology:

The German domestic intelligence service keeps the Church of Scientology under surveillance as a potential threat to democracy. Belgian prosecutors have been building a blackmail case against it for 11 years.

Now the French have taken a more forceful step.

In a decision that could reverberate across Europe, a court in Paris Tuesday convicted the French branch of the church of “organized fraud” and said it had systematically tricked recruits out of their savings.

The two flagship Scientology outposts in Paris, a bookstore and an information centre, were ordered to pay €600,000 in fines. The head of the church in France was given a two-year suspended sentence for fraud and fined €30,000.

However, the court allowed the church to keep operating in France. In May, when the trial began, prosecutors asked that it be shut down as a criminal enterprise, only to discover that the law that might have allowed its banishment had just been deleted as part of an overhaul of the penal code.

The judges said they did not order the church offices closed because they did not want to drive Scientologists underground, where they could not be monitored.

They also said a paid notice of the church's conviction would be published in Time magazine and the International Herald Tribune so that news of the church's conviction would spread beyond France.

“The court told the Scientologists, in essence, to be very, very careful, because if you continue to use the same methods of harassment, you won't escape next time,” said Olivier Morice, the lawyer for the civil plaintiffs in the case.