The Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Statute (better known as RICO) was enacted as a section of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970. It was signed into law by former President Richard Nixon. The purpose of enacting the RICO statute was more to send a message to high-ranking members of criminal organizations than to add a law that did not exist. It has always been illegal to instruct somebody else to commit a crime; however, there were some people who seemed to not believe this to be the case. In order to make sure that everyone knew this was illegal, the United States government decided to enact this law.
The RICO Statute refers to a federal law in the United States that was passed in late 1970. The RICO Statue was passed specifically to prevent high-ranking members of criminal organizations from being able to be exempt from punishment for crimes they did not commit themselves, but had other people commit for them.