United States v. Bledsoe case brief

 United States v. Bledsoe (8^th Circuit)

1. 1. RICO was not passed in order to reach two criminals who merely associate together and perpetrate two of the specified crimes, rather it was aimed at “organized crime”
   2. RICO must have been directed at participation in enterprises consisting of more than simple conspiracies to perpetrate the predicate acts of racketeering. Commonality of purpose is often times not sufficient to distinguish between individuals merely associated together for the sporadic commission of a crime from an enterprise.
   3. In addition to a common purpose, an enterprise must function as a unit and there must be an “ascertainable structure” distinct from that inherent in the conduct of a pattern of racketeering activity.