This was a significant win for Combs and his legal team, as reflected in his reaction, while the prosecution saw their big win disappear in a Puff of smoke.
Racketeering sounds like an offence which normally occurs at Wimbledon, but any Sopranos fan will know that racketeering is a powerful weapon in the federal prosecutor’s arsenal. Racketeering comprises various illegal activities that multiple people engage in to earn a commercial profit, usually on the pretext of conducting legitimate business. It does not refer to one specific crime, but several different crimes that fall under the 1970 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
RICO charges have historically been used to pursue high-ranking Mafia members, as the statute permitted prosecutors to charge the directing individuals for crimes committed by lower ranking members or associates, but have since been used to tackle street gangs, cartels, corrupt police departments and even politicians.
Racketeering conspiracy, of which Combs was acquitted, required the prosecution to prove that Combs knowingly worked with others to commit at least two underlying crimes – “predicate acts” – within 10 years of each other. Although Combs was the only person charged with racketeering conspiracy, the prosecution’s case was that Combs relied on the help of others, including personal assistants, bodyguards and business associates, to facilitate the predicate acts. The prosecution alleged that Combs used his businesses – including his famed record label, Bad Boy Entertainment – to run a criminal organisation that served to “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”.
This was an ambitious charging decision by the Southern District of New York but presumably the prosecution team thought the odds were in their favour. Between 2018 and 2022, federal prosecutors won convictions in more than 97% of the cases in which RICO was the most serious charge filed.
This is also not the first time that RICO charges had been brought against famous music artists for similar conduct. In 2021, R&B singer R. Kelly faced a charge of racketeering in relation to 14 connected accusations including the sexual exploitation of children, sex trafficking, and forced labour. Kelly was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Similarly, Combs’ lawyers made their own high-stakes gamble, placing all their chips on their client’s acceptance of the violence he inflicted on his partners which they argued was the high point of the prosecution, rather than the using of his businesses to facilitate other crimes. Their wager largely paid off, as the jury acquitted their client of the two more serious charges. However, the judge used this admission as grounds for withholding bail ahead of sentencing, stating to Combs’ legal team, “You full-throatedly in your closing argument told the jury that there was violence here”. Nevertheless, Combs and his team are likely to feel that this was a small price to pay in exchange for being acquitted on the weightier charges.
This trial is a lesson for prosecutors and defence lawyers alike. It demonstrates the risks associated with robust charging decisions, where lesser charges might better capture the alleged offending, as well as the strategic decisions defence lawyers need to make when facing a possibly overzealous prosecution team.
Amelia Clegg is an employed barrister practising in business crime and regulatory law at BCL Solicitors LLP. She is dual-qualified at the English Bar and as a New York attorney and has experience practising on both sides of the Atlantic.
Amelia is Vice Chair of the Young Barristers’ Committee.