Designer Crimes by Lia Matera

Author:Lia Matera
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
Published: 2021-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

21

Having tentatively considered a more mature response to Sayres—finding an arena in which his slanders meant nothing—I was shocked by Sandy’s news.

Sandy looked plenty shocked himself, hovering over my desk as only a very tall man can.

“It’s somebody’s handiwork, Laura,” he insisted. “This didn’t happen, timed just right for you, out of the blue.”

I was still reeling on the brink of delirious cheer, afraid to believe and celebrate. For the very reason he cited. “Tell me again, Sandy.”

“Steve gave advice that caused two different clients to maybe violate RICO.” The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. “That’s the news hitting Montgomery Street today.”

I wanted to laugh. It was probably untrue, very likely unfair. The racketeering laws, written to nail organized crime, were now being used against businesses and political groups. They added a heavy federal component to allegations that some law had been broken more than once. If a pattern of law-breaking could be shown, a conspiracy repeatedly to break the law could be charged. By calling this “conspiracy” racketeering, the feds upped the ante, slapping on penalties far exceeding the total for individual violations.

Corporations dreaded RICO because minor violations of the law—almost unavoidable if one did complex banking—could be patchworked into a charge of conspiracy. Businesses were then wide open to civil suits as well—suits entitling plaintiffs to three times their actual money damages. And the word “racketeering” made investors nervous, bringing to mind wiseguys and sleazy practices.

That was why corporations insisted their lawyers provide protection from RICO. Rules might be interpreted to a client’s benefit, others might be cautiously ignored, but the lawyer was there to make sure this didn’t appear conspiratorial, didn’t trigger RICO.

Because, once alleged, a racketeering charge was going to be expensive, whether it stuck or not. At best, investors would bail, and lawyers by the battalion would arrive to comb business records, requiring an expensive army of one’s own. At worst, it meant treble damages and other stiff penalties on top of years of legal fees.

Leaving a client vulnerable to RICO was major egg on a lawyer’s face.

But before I rejoiced, I needed to be fair. “Steve’s a jerk, but I can’t imagine him letting two RICO patterns develop.” Some rule-bending was normal practice for any client, but a vigilant lawyer put a lid on it before it got noticeable.

“The banks will beat the charges, if that’s what you mean.” Sandy had worked for White, Sayres & Speck long enough to know who was doing what. “Hell, I doubt if they’ll even be charged. Just investigated.”

“Then why the RICO rap?”

“Somebody’s gone and done a bunch of legwork, that’s what I think. Presented the feds with a good strong brief, something they can’t ignore and feel like they have to at least check out.”

“Someone set the banks up?”

“Looked through their business records with an eye toward RICO, yeah. The feds wouldn’t have put these cases together. The violations are too small, no red flags. This was someone finetoothing to see what they could find.” Sandy’s scowl deepened.

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