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Glite Dictionary
RICO

RICO

1 8.8
A U.S. law that lets prosecutors punish and take money and property from organized crime groups
  • noun
  • /ˈriːkoʊ/
  • Formal
: ley RICO
  • She paid him substantially more than an actually qualified Rico special prosecutor.

We all know that this is all going to contribute to this Rico case against Donald Trump.

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Examples

  • So we went and put a federal Rico case against these guys.

    Shawn Ryan Show

  • We all know that this is all going to contribute to this Rico case against Donald Trump.

    Meet Kevin

  • I, I said I had three Rico indictments.

    Dodge Woodall

  • That crazy rico out there shooting at moonbeams just to let me know he was there.

    Underwater! (1955)

  • She paid him substantially more than an actually qualified Rico special prosecutor.

    Megyn Kelly

  • The New Mexican ricos did not, however, follow the path taken by prominent californios.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Sonny, you can't say nothing about lil Saint to rico.

    You Got Served (2004)

  • "The gentleman glued to his saddle" describes the well-deserved fate of a rico too greedy to grant his humble sharecropper an advance.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The authorities filed a RICO suit against the criminal organization to seize their assets.

  • Under federal law, prosecutors can use RICO charges to hold members of a crime syndicate accountable.

Synonyms

RICO Act
vsRICO
  • Formal
1 7.2

A U.S. federal law that punishes organized crime and lets authorities seize money and property

is the same law but stated with emphasis on ongoing criminal enterprises
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
vsRICO
  • Formal
1 8.8

United States law from 1970 used to fight organized crime by giving stronger punishments

is the more general term that focuses on penalties and seizure of assets

Compounds

Puerto Rico
5 1.6

An island in the Caribbean that belongs to the United States

RICO Act
  • Formal
1 7.2

A U.S. federal law that punishes organized crime and lets authorities seize money and property

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
3.5

A self-governing area linked to the United States on the island of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Trench
7.8

A very deep part of the Atlantic Ocean north of Puerto Rico and Haiti

Surface Forms

RICO singular
RICOs plural

Morphology

RICO = R + I + C + O

RICO is an initialism; the individual letters do not convey the meaning unless the full expansion is known, so the morphological relation is opaque to learners.

Etymology

The word RICO is a short name made from the first letters of the law Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a U.S. law created to fight organized crime. It focuses on racketeering, meaning being part of an illegal 'racket' or 'business', so RICO lets the government charge a whole corrupt group and take their money.